W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
Tangible Experience Design
An educational bridge between Industrial Design and
Computing

W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
Once upon a time…
Industrial Design
“Our first year graduate
students need to learn
interaction design.”

W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
Once upon a time…
Information Technology
“Our students need to
understand HCI beyond
traditional platforms.”

W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
What course might serve both?
Tangible-oriented
designers without
prior programming
knowledge
Digital-oriented
technologists without
prior industrial design
knowledge

W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
What course might serve both?
Communicate
with people as
Design for users with
Tangible-oriented whole bodies with
context and baggage.
designers without five senses.
prior programming
knowledge
Digital-oriented
technologists without
Build something that responds
prior industrial design
in an intriguing way.
knowledge
Test different stages
& aspects of a design
Set and achieve specific
with real people.
goals for user experience.

W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
What course might serve both?
Communicate
with people as
Design for users with
whole bodies with
context and baggage.
five senses.
Designing Physical Interactive Experiences
Tangible Experience
Design
Build something that responds
in an intriguing way.
Test different stages
& aspects of a design
Set and achieve specific
with real people.
goals for a user’s experience.

W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
The setup
“At the beginning of the quarter, you will study people in a
particular context, and decide how you would like to
change that experience for a particular audience. The
rest of the quarter will be devoted to
designing, refining, testing and building a prototype to
accomplish that change.”

W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
First year, “in an elevator”

W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
This/last year, “portable forest”

W. Michelle Harris - http://people.rit.edu/wmhics HASTAC III - 4/21/09
The mixed reviews
 Still trying to get the right balance:
 How much electronics, when and how deep?
 Which theories, when and how deep?
 Send out the programmers and teach programming, too?