Experience Design

The term experience design is actually slightly misleading. We do not actually design an experience. We design or develop a plan to create opportunities for experiences, and interactions. As designers we have to draw from all of our own life experiences, influences and exposures to different things as a way of developing opportunities for new experiences. We also need to understand that our audience or users will in turn bring their own experiences and influences to the project as well. These influences then affect what their actual experience will be.

Experience is something that can be defined in terms of scale. For example, something that’s personal, something that’s intimate that you experience with others, something that you experience on your own or with others in the environment. It may even be something much larger, that may transcend focused objects and locations such as a brand experience. In this class we’re going to test out this theory of experience at scale through a broad range of projects, case studies, readings and lectures in an attempt to frame that scale of small to large. We will attempt to cover a lot in a short amount of time so we will move pretty quickly. This class is a design studio so we will be emphasizing design concepts and how a process of research and discovery support and provide the basis for the concepts.

The goal of this studio is to help you begin to develop a process of approaching, defining and solving design problems, taking into consideration both your voice as a designer and the needs of your audience. You will be asked to complete a series of projects which confront this idea at different levels of scale. The intent is not to focus on a specific aspect of experience design but to set you up to become a better design thinker.

Class Rules

• Work hard.
• Be respectful.
• Show up. And show up on time.
• Work harder.
• Show your work, process, everything you have or be prepared to, daily. The more you are getting feedback from the class the better. It makes your work better and it helps you evolve as a designer.
• Questions. Ask them. Often. Questions are ALWAYS beneficial to the entire class, not just the person asking.
• Experiment. Sketch. Test. Sample. Prototype.
• The project is never complete.
• The printer is always broken.
• Collaborate.
• Dish it out and take it.
• Laugh.
• Be opinionated. Debate. Ask more questions.

Communication

It is expected that you as a class will help and support each other throughout this course and others for that matter. That said, I am of course fully accessible in class, at my office, via email: nickrock@bu.edu and Instant Messenger (AIM, iChat) RockBostonU. In addition to these avenues of communication we will also be using an online collaboration tool called Basecamp.

The projects in this class will be sequential, however we may also have work that happens simultaneously. There will be small weekly homework assignments in addition to readings given in context to certain projects.

Weekly Readings

Individual · weekly

Every week you will be given a reading based on the current level of scale of experience that we are discussing at that time. These readings are for your own benefit and I may refer to them in class.

Class Blog

Individual · weekly

We will be contributing to a BU design blog on Posterous (bugd.posterous.com). You will be given access to this blog today. Everyone will be expected to post at least one thing each week. You may post more if you choose. The only requirement is that you participate. This means you can post an image, video, etc or write a critique of a design. Really anything you would like to post that is design related. The idea is that you begin to form your own opinions about design by way of curating this blog.

Project 01A — Experience Is Personal

Individual · first of a 2-part project

You will be creating a personal scale diary or journal. You may define what this is exactly whether it’s part calendar, daily journal, a personal diary or a photo journal it is entirely up to you. In the end this will be an actual object for you to carry so the scale is something that fits in your pocket or backpack etc. The goal is that it is for you to use by yourself, even if you would plan to share with others. YOU are the audience for this project.

You will be defining all the parts to create an opportunity for experience, based on your own experiences, influences and ideals.

Requirements: Personal scale designed object, something you carry and physically / manually interact with. NOT DIGITAL.

Your grade in this class will be based on a number of factors:

• Attendance. Attendance at each class is mandatory, you must contact me in advance if you need to miss a class. If you have more than one un-excused absence your mark will be lowered by one full grade. If you are late, or absent you must follow up with me, as you will still be responsible for the work.
• Class Participation. Part of the job as a designer is communicating effectively, on a design team, in a studio environment or with clients. You will be expected to be an active member of the class, particularly during critiques as all feedback is important.
• Project Execution. All projects should be given your full attention and effort. Each component of your projects will be reviewed, projects need to be submitted on deadline and should be complete according to project brief. Projects must be completed by the due date. Late work will be penalized.
• Project Process. You are expected to document the process of each of your projects throughout the semester. This means, saving all sketches, writings mock ups etc. You are not required to formally document your process, however it may be helpful as we may ask to refer to your process documentation in order to understand how you arrived at a solution. It will be particularly important to have this with you during final critiques for each project.

• Basecamp — an online collaboration tool: a central portal for class discussion outside of class and a digital library of class resources.
• Posterous — the BU design blog, bugd.posterous.com.