Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prospective IxD student seeking some portfolio / grad program advice
I'm not sure how you feel about going outside of the US, but you should also definitely check out the graduate programs at Simon Fraser University's SIAT program (School of Interactive Arts and Technology), in Vancouver, BC (well, actually Surrey). I received a B.Sc.in Interactive Arts, major in Interaction Design there 4 years ago and had no problems getting right into the field. I also loved the programs and people there. http://www.siat.sfu.ca I'm not sure about other schools, but here I wouldn't be too concerned with portfolio pieces... more so a strong letter of intent and any relevant work experience. The fact that you actually have relevant work experience is more than a lot of the recent undergrads students entering these programs, I think, so don't get discouraged! Good luck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35211 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prospective IxD student seeking some portfolio / grad program advice
Hey Aaron, I just started at the Institute of Design this fall and I'd be happy to talk with you about my experience in the program so far as well as the portfolio/application process. Somewhat similar to CMU's summer session, the Institute of Design has a year long introductory program for students without design undergrad degrees who have had some (or even no) design experience before coming. I'm doing Foundation, and it's been great digging into communication design, product design, photography and design planning. Feel free to get in touch. John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35211 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prospective IxD student seeking some portfolio / grad program advice
I graduation from the HCI program at Georgia Tech in 2007 and am pretty fanatical about the education and opportunities I got while studying there. I can't recommend it enough (I'd be happy to talk to you more about it off line). Similar to some of the other programs commenters on this thread mentioned, you don't need a portfolio to apply for that program. The curriculum is set up to accomodate three different general 'tracks' : computer science, digitial media, and psychology / usability, depending on what your interests/goals are. The idea is that you have a focus, but can pick classes from each area to round out your skills. I went in with a computer science undergrad degree -- and no portfolio, just a carefully written statement of purpose that related my past experiences and future goals to why I wanted to be in that HCI program. I suppose if you wanted to concentrate on the digital media track, then a portfolio could be an asset to your application there, but most likely still not mandatory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35211 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prospective IxD student seeking some portfolio / grad program advice
Hi Aaron, I think it's not necessary to have a portfolio beforehand.You can think in other aspects and do a better job in interaction design if you have learned something in other fields.By the way,I'm a sophomore with the major of industrial design.Next year,I will choose interaction design as my direction of research. I think CMU has a good reputation for interaction design.I hope I can take my master's degree of interaction design at CUM. Best wishes for your applying! Good luck! Angela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35211 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prospective IxD student seeking some portfolio / grad program advice
Hello Aaron, is it a criteria to have a portfolio beforehand? I did a BA in Internationcal Business COmmunication where my major was English and my minor American Studies. I applied for the Master of Science programme in User Centered Design in 2006 and recently graduated. Isnt a motivated letter of application enough? If you need a letter let me know I will send you mine. (though note that my MSc was done in Denmark.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35211 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
[IxDA Discuss] Prospective IxD student seeking some portfolio / grad program advice
Hi! I'm a recent member to this site, and to the IxD world. I've got two questions at the moment that I'd love some input on. a) What are my options? The programs I've come across and am planning to apply to are: CMU's Masters in Interaction Design and possibly the Comm Planning and Information Design program as well IIT in Chicago School of Visual Arts in New York is starting an Interaction Design program for the first time in Fall of '09 NYU? There's the Interactive Telephony Program which I need to look into to find out what it's all about. I know the choices are somewhat limited, so I'm curious if there are schools that I've missed - I don't have a design background and am not sure how strong my portfolio will be, so I'd like to apply to a number of schools. b) I'm not a designer! (yet) I'm suffering from portfolio phobia. I studied English Lit in college, then taught Special Education for 5 years and worked as a technical trainer for a VOIP company for 2. I'm going to try to lean on my experience in the last job (the most satisfying part of it involved providing user feedback to the engineering team and helping guide development of their Web Portal and the menu layout on the phones' displays). My concern, however, is my lack of tangible products to put into a portfolio. My next step will be contacting the programs to ask for their advice (actually headed to an SVA open house in about an hour), but I'm curious if anyone who's in or went to grad school would be willing to share some of their portfolio work, or if anyone can point me towards resources that will help me get some direction in creating dummy design projects I can use as portfolio pieces. Thanks so much! Aaron 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prospective IxD student seeking some portfolio / grad program advice
Hi Aaron, I can only speak to the CMU interaction design program, but when I applied six years ago they required a portfolio that consisted of a sheet of slides documenting previous design work. Slides are static and don't communicate much more than visual qualities, so my take is that in the portfolio they're looking for evidence of basic visual literacy. I applied to three schools, and tuned the emphasis of my portfolio for each: a combination of web application design, website design, information design, page layout, logos, posters, photography and illustration. No wireframes; no design research. Just things that look good on a 35mm slide. As a counterbalance, your statement of intent will carry quite a bit of weight; explaining your interests and goals for study in Design. If I remember correctly only a handful of incoming students at CMU had a formal background in Design, so you're not alone there. Most came from other undergraduate programs such as Economics, Art, Marketing, English, German, Anthropology. I think one student used to build pipe organs. That diversity of experience is valuable, but I believe that all had actually worked as designers or come to Design in one way or another before applying to the program. Carnegie Mellon holds a summer session for incoming graduate students without an undergraduate Design education. It's a series of one-week immersions into photography, layout, type, form etc, coupled with a software bootcamp to get up to speed with the Adobe suite of tools. Check out Dan Saffer's CMU blog. http://www.odannyboy.com/blog/cmu/archives/000596.html He documented his entire course of study in the graduate program, starting with the summer boot camp. It might give you some ideas for the kind of portfolio pieces to focus on for admission. Good luck with the search. // jeff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35211 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prospective IxD student seeking some portfolio / grad program advice
Hi! I'm new to the field as well, but I'm a Web Designer by trade. I've found two books by Alan Cooper especially helpful, as he's a proponent of Interaction Design: The Inmates are Running the Asylum and About Face I (there's three books that I know of in the About Face series). Go to Alan Cooper's company website, cooper.com and cruise the information there. VERY informative from one of the people who started Interaction Design itself. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35211 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prospective IxD student seeking some portfolio / grad program advice
I am a graduate of the HCI Design program at Indiana University. http://xavier.informatics.indiana.edu/gradsites/hcid/masters/ A portfolio is not required for this program. My background is in Journalism so I had some photography and graphic design training. I had been doing web design and development before I started the program. Others in the program had backgrounds in psychology, criminal justice, computer science and a wide variety of other majors. The program also had people from all over the world. Feel free to contact me off list if you want to discuss the program some more. Others to look at: University of Michigan http://www.si.umich.edu/msi/hci.htm Georgia Tech http://www.cc.gatech.edu/education/grad/ms-hci I know Savannah College of Art and design is working on a program. David Malouf can speak about this program more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35211 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
