I'll bite. I run the *MINOR* in interaction design here at Savannah College of Art & Design.
Bill Moggridge recently came out and said that a major as an undergrad in IxD is not valuable at this time. That the requirements of the form giving design programs should include IxD in it. And I can't agree more! To this point, if you aren't at a design school you will not be learning to design. You'll be learning how to research, how to evaluate and how to engineer, but not design. You won't learn about aesthetics and you won't learn about design thinking and other core methods and practices towards applied creative thinking. That being said, if you want to be a designer, I would not (you asked for an opinion and I'm giving it to you; and people will disagree) go into an HCI program. I would go to a design school and join a program in graphic design, interactive design or industrial design to learn design and then add the concentration of HCI & IxD specific stuff to that course load through electives. If you can't go to a out of state or private schools due to cost (totally reasonable) try to get into a design program like that at Virginia Tech. if you can go private or out of state and the technical side is as important to you as the aesthetic side, then be sure to go to a school that offers both sides like CMU, UCLA, Stanford, Berkeley, the list goes on and on. OR! come down here to Savannah!!!! & SCAD. I've only been here a short time, but I can say confidently you will never work harder in your life, nor be more ready for the real world. You get out of it what you put into it. Anyway, as to specific curriculum I'd put it this way: Series of studios in Interactive Media and Production (2D) Series of studios in interactive PRODUCT design (3D) Research methods (generative/contextual & evaluative) General HF (erogonomics, cognitive/perception) Art History & Critique Design History & Critique Anthropology/Sociology Cultural Criticism Business/Economics/Management Computer Science & Math Lit & Composition Speaking & Presentation That should do you well right there! Have fun! and Good Luck! -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42102 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
