The exchange semester at Interaction Design Programme gives the students a chance to develop experience prototyping skills on the one hand and conceptual skills on the other. The package contains 5 weeks of practical exercises in experience prototyping and a ten-week project course centering on concept development in interaction design, often in collaboration with cutting edge research. The last course in the package is oriented towards reflecting on the individuals ideas of her role as interaction designer, and developing ideas for and structure of a degree project.
5ID239 Experience Prototyping, 7,5 credits The course provides introductions to relevant technologies and techniques for prototyping experiences with interactive technologies. It provides practical experience with techniques and approaches to making, exploring and communicating experiences with interactive systems, and introduces different technological aspects of interactive systems.
5ID082 Project 3: Interaction Concept, 15 credits The course provides hands-on experience designing a conceptual product or system. The course is divided in two parts: 1. Project III - Interaction Concept, 13.5 credits. Emphasis is on techniques and methods for creating interaction prototypes. Dynamic methods that emphasise the importance of context, time factors, sensory and social factors are emphasised. 2. Writing for designs II, 1.5 credits. Methods for documenting projects. During this part, attributed to a shorter academic paper for presentation at a student conference.
5ID238 Creative reflections on interaction design, 7,5 credits This course provides a platform for both theoretical and practical information gathering and individual reflections about the design process and the role of the interaction designer in contributing to sustainable societies. The course includes reflection on and application of design research practices and individual assignments. The objective of the individual assignments is to identify, map, reflect and propose relevant design spaces and related approaches that could form an initial project brief.
In the requirements you are asked to have taken Course Project 1: Professional Product 15 ECTS and course Project 2: General Product 15 ECTS, or equivalent. This means providing evidence to have knowledge and experience in working with user centered design in the context of professional use, and design ethnographic methodologies oriented towards product service systems.
The portfolio should contain 8-12 samples of your work, showing your present creative and aesthetic design experience and capabilities on professional and/or academic level. You can include videos, photos, sketches, 3D renderings, graphics, or interactive presentations to demonstrate your design skills and perspectives. For each work sample that you include, provide a short text (10-20 words) describing the content and context of the presented work and what it presents about you as a designer. In group projects, specify what your contribution was. Keep the presentation of each work sample to one page each and select the parts that best presents your strengths. However, one or two of the presented work samples should be described in more detail over 3-4 pages, with particular attention to presenting the design process.
Send your Portfolio and letter of motivation directly to the International contact person at Umeå Institute of Design via e-mail. E-mail address: uid.exchange@umu.se
