Project 3
10-week project, Fall semester, Year 2
The aim of this project is for the students to gain experience
of the process of designing a product or system where playfulness
and ubiqutous computing are involved. Emphasis is this project is
give to experience prototyping and systemic thinking as methods for
exploring user experience on a conceptual level.
The third major project in the Master Programme in Interaction
Design at Umeå Institute of Design (uid) focuses on Interaction
Concepts where interaction design is explored in three levels
simultaneously: firstly, "human-artifact-interaction level" with
the actual user interface in focus, secondly, "socio-cultural
level" with focus on how and why people communicate through
technology and services, and finally "systemic level" where an
holistic view is focusing on the bigger picture and emergence of
digital eco systems.
In this third semester project the concept of Ubiqutous
Computing, coined by Mark Wiser at Xerox PARC in 1991, is very
prominent. Ubiqutous Computing is a post-desktop model of
human-computer interaction in which information processing has been
thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. In the
course of ordinary activities, someone "using" ubiquitous computing
engages many computational devices and systems simultaneously, and
may not necessarily even be aware that they
are doing so. This model is usually considered an advancement away
from the desktop paradigm.
This project is carried out in collaboration with an industrial
partner, and emphasizes integration of hardware and software
solutions in the final design of the product. Tutoring by
professional designers and experts are given at frequent intervals
throughout the project.
