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The AI Augmented Designer will explore how designers can augment and accelerate their work with the use of AI. The course will involve explorations of AI use across the design process. Students will design and develop four prototypes on their own. They will document their process and critically reflect on if and how AI changes their practice for better or worse. The course will help students develop an understanding of when and where AI can best support their work. Throughout the course, we will have readings and discussions on scholarly thought regarding the symbiosis of designers and AI.
This course is intended for students with strong design fundamentals looking to take the next step in their work. The course will introduce students to off-the-shelf tools as well as skills for building their own augmentation tools using generally available AI systems.
The course will introduce students to:
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Project 1 will be a redesign of an existing product. Students will use AI to research the product and its users. They will then use AI to ideate and prototype improvements to the product. They will then test and evaluate the new design. The core learning objective of this project is to introduce students to the basic use of AI for each phase of the design process.
Duration: 4 weeks
Project 2 will be a design of a competitor to an existing product. Students will use AI to research the market and the users. They will then use AI to ideate and prototype the new product. They will then test and evaluate the new product. The core learning objective of this project is to have students explore more advanced use of AI for design and reflect upon where AI is useful and where it is not in their own design process.
Duration: 3 weeks
Project 3 will have students design an AI-powered tool to support their design process. Based on their experiences in Project 1 and 2, students will choose one aspect of their design process to support with AI. They will then conceptualize and design and build a new tool that uses an AI backend to support their process. They will then test and evaluate the tool. The core learning objective of this project is to have students move beyond using prompt-based chat tools or other pre-built tools toward building their own tools that support their individual design process and provide improved user interfaces for working with AI.
Duration: 3.5 weeks
Project 4 will have students design a new product. Students will identify a problem to solve and a user group to target. They will conduct AI-assisted user research and develop a set of design requirements and specifications. They will then use AI to prototype the new product. They will then test and evaluate the new product. The core learning objective of this project is to have students solidify their personal AI-augmented design process and to test how much their process has changed with the use of AI.
Duration: 3 weeks
This course is about having students experiment with AI as a means to augment their design practice. However, it is really a course on developing effective judgement and critical thinking on the use of AI in design. We will approach all potential uses of AI from a skeptical but inquisitive perspective. One person's use of AI in one phase of the design process could be accelerating while another's could be detrimental. We will withhold judgement until presented with real-world evidence. By the end of this course, students should develop the skills to test new uses of AI and make judgements on its utility for themselves. In the end, students should work to produce good design and to know when they have produced good design, regardless of their use of AI.
This course will have students work individually on their projects. This is intentional for three primary reasons:
This course is highly experimental and aims to test how far students can go by augmenting their process with AI. Students should expect to be challenged in their use of AI while trying to create great design. Projects are intentionally short to promote more iterations of full design processes. There will be numerous points for feedback on the course itself. The course activities may be subject to change based on feedback. Students should expect to be active in their own learning.
This course will focus on in-class studio time where students can work on their projects, help each other, and get feedback on their work. Students are expected to be present in class.
This course expects you to produce working prototypes. The final deliverables for each project will be functional prototypes that you have tested with real users. While not all aspects of a prototype must be functional, the distinguishing aspects that you believe set the design apart from the competition must be functional. The course believes that you learn by building, testing, and iterating.
This course expects students to reflect on their process and use of AI. When evaluating your work, you should consistently ask yourself: "Is this good?"
This course has two primary graded components: peer- and self-critiques of your design work and written reflections on your process and use of AI.
Student design work will be evaluated via peer- and self-critique. These critiques will be facilitated by a critique guide. Students are expected to be critical and constructive. Students will be graded primarily on the quality of their critique, and not wholly on the quality of the design. Students should take risks and show up with something worthy of being critiqued. Overall, peer- and self-critique is aimed to help students develop their own judgement that they can take with them beyond this course and into the real world. For each Project, peer-critiques of your work will be 25% of the grade and self-critiques will be 25% of the grade.
Student reflections will be evaluated by the course instructor. The reflections will be graded according to a rubric focusing on depth of reflection and quality in documenting one's process. By the end of a project, students should be able to convey what they did, what they learned, and what they would do differently next time. These reflections should serve as useful material for student design portfolios. For each project, reflections will compose 50% of the project grade.
Peer critique sessions will occur during class on the last day of each project. Students who miss the critique session for an excused reason can submit their demo prior to class to be critiqued by their peers. They will be asked to critique a set of their peers' demos within 24 hours.
Self-critiques and reflections submitted after the deadline will receive a 10% penalty per day.
Below, you will find a list of free software tools that you can use to complete the course. The entire course can be completed with free tools. However, you may find that you want to try other tools that require payment. Many have free trials and you are welcome to replace free tools with paid tools. You will be responsible for your own usage limits and costs for these tools. You should consider the benefits of using paid tools over free tools and think about their use as an investment in yourself. Nik recommends that you pay monthly so that you can cancel at any time if you find the tools are not working for you or wish to try something else.
This course assumes that you have a basic foundation in interaction design, programming, and user-centered research. Advanced knowledge of these topics is not required, however, when using AI to support your design work you should be able to discern if AI is working well or not based on your experience in each area. The course will not cover the basics of these topics.
Attendance is expected for all class sessions. This course is designed as a studio environment where you will work alongside your peers, learn from each other, and receive rapid critique from each other and the instructor. An empty studio is not a fun studio! Being present ensures you have dedicated time to make progress on your projects, which helps reduce the amount of work you need to do outside of class.
It is especially important to attend class on project critique days, as these sessions are essential for giving and receiving feedback.
Note that your reflections will require reflections from class studio time. If you miss class, you will likely not have much to say here and this will negatively impact your grade.
If you are sick, please stay home and get well. Missing class due to illness is excused.
If you are unable to attend class for any other reason, please contact the instructor as soon as possible.
Part of your grade will be based on your self-critique. You should take this as an opportunity to hone your skill at evaluating your own work. You should be critical of your own work and not be afraid to say what you did well and what you could do better. This is an important skill to develop as a designer producing professional work.
You are ALLOWED to use AI for your project and design work (the class expects this). You are required to document your use of AI for each part of your work in your reflections.
You are NOT ALLOWED to use AI to generate and write your peer-critique, self-critique, or reflections. Your writing must be your own as this is a key part of your learning. You are ALLOWED to use AI to edit your writing for grammar and spelling.
Your design work, your self-critique, and your reflections should be your own work. You should collaborate with your peers by providing feedback and critique of their work. You should also share methods and tools with your peers. Overall, collaborate on process, not product.
If you have a disability and require accommodations but do not already have them approved by the Office of Disability Resources, please apply for accommodations through the Application section of the Disability Resources Online Portal. If you already have accommodations approved with Disability Resources, please use the Accommodations Management section of the Disability Resources Online Portal to notify me about your accommodations, and discuss your accommodations and needs with me as early in the semester as possible. I will work with you to ensure that accommodations are provided as appropriate.