name / hours / prereq
What's this class? Why take it?
2D Design/Color Theory
ART1100 (3)
pre: n/a
What? Studio-based class, facilitated by the School of Art & Design. Students apply 2D design principles and color theory in a studio environment.
Why? To learn design principles that students will apply to screen-based projects later.
Drawing I
ART1150 (3)
pre: n/a
What? Studio-based class, facilitated by the School of Art & Design. Students draw using a variety of techniques––figures, still-life, and landscapes.
Why? To become more comfortable with drawing, which will be applied to later sketching/wireframing.
Prototyping I
IAD2100 (3)
pre: n/a
What? Students learn a solid foundation in a prototyping tool as well as fundamental principles of user interface design.
Why? To become effective and fast at navigating a prototyping tool interface.
Productivity & Tools
TCID2002 (3)
pre: n/a
What? Tools-based class where students learn how to use design tools (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop) and productivity tools.
Why? To learn digital tools so students will enter later classes prepared for more complex projects.
Intro to Digital Media & Culture
TCID2170 (3)
pre: n/a
What? Theory-based class where students learn about the Information Society and human-centered design.
Why? An introductory class that lays out some basic foundations of interaction design.
Programming Principles
IT1113 (3)
pre: n/a
What? Computation thinking-based class where students explore how to become informed and curious users of computing technologies.
Why? Students will take this class to enhance computational thinking skills.
name / hours / prereq
What's this class? Why take it?
Interaction Design I
IAD3000 (3)
pre: IAD2100
What? Project-based class where students learn method (Goal-Directed Design) and work in teams on a large-scale project (designing/prototyping a mobile app). The class includes presentations and should produce a portfolio-worthy project.
Why? To have the experience working in teams toward a common goal and effectively displaying a design method/thought process through a Process Page. No coding in this class.
Visual Design I
IAD3150 (3)
pre: IAD2100, TCID2002
What? Students learn fundamental visual design principles that interaction designers need to know. A teaching-based class that covers icon/logo designs, typography, brand identity, and style guides.
Why? Students need to learn basic visual design principles to be comprehensive interaction designers as well as good teammates to visual designers. No coding, interaction design, or user research in this class.
User Interface Design I
IAD3230 (3)
pre: IAD2100, TCID2002
What? Students learn fundamental user interface design principles that interaction designers need to know. A teaching-based class on the psychological theories of how to organize screens.
Why? Students need to learn how to organize and present individual screens within larger software systems. No coding, interaction design, or user research in this class.
Professional Development
TCID3100 (3)
pre: IAD3000
What? Students work on crafting a professional identity, going to networking meetings, and finalizing their digital portfolio.
Why? Students learn how to articulate the methods, principles, and experiences learned in the degree to post-collegiate contexts.
Front-end Development I
TCID3400 (3)
pre: n/a
What? Not a design-focused class. Computation thinking-based class where students learn basics of hosting, file structure, HTML, and CSS.
Why? Students enhance computational thinking ability, learn some front-end development, and to understand better technical environments.
Capstone and Portfolio Showcase
TCID4700 (3)
pre: 21 hrs Upper Div.
What? Students revisit Goal-Directed Design on a UI-related team project. The class includes presentations and should produce a portfolio-worthy project. The class also works with the TCID main office to prepare a Capstone Showcase at the end of the semester.
Why? Students have one more chance to create an effective project for a portfolio.
Name / Hours / Prereq
What's this class? Why take it?
Ethnography for Designers
IAD3300 (3)
pre: IAD3000
What? A research methods class where students apply user research (i.e., ethnographic) methods to interaction design.
Why? Research methods are introduced in IAD3000 and this class provides students more practice with the reasoning behind research, interview and observation techniques, how to interpret research, and how to communicate results to stakeholders.
Internship
IAD3398 (3)
pre: 28 hrs in Degree, Dept. approval
What and Why? While not required, students are encouraged to find an internship. These experiences are invaluable in helping students transition to post-collegiate contexts. An internship should ideally be done after IAD3000. For more on internships, see our website↗︎.
Interaction Design II
IAD4000 (3)
pre: IAD3000
What? Students incorporate Agile & Lean into interaction design and work in teams on a large-scale project (designing/prototyping some type of UI). The class includes presentations and should produce a portfolio-worthy project.
Why? Students learn a new design method to enrich a methodological toolkit. No coding in this class.
Visual Design II
IAD4150 (3)
pre: IAD3150
What? Project-based class where students expand their knowledge of how visual design applies to interaction design. This class should produce a portfolio-worthy project.
Why? Students need a project-based environment to practice and apply their visual design skills.
Prototyping II
IAD4200 (3)
pre: IAD2100
What? The class primarily focuses on increasing student ability (speed, effectiveness) with prototyping as well as expanding opportunities to practice more advanced techniques. This class should produce a portfolio-worthy project.
Why? Students need a project-based environment to practice and apply their prototyping skills.
User Interface Design II
IAD4230 (3)
pre: IAD3230
What? Students delve further into UI design while applying these principles to UI projects. This class should produce a portfolio-worthy project.
Why? Students need a project-based environment to practice and apply their user interface design skills.
Front-end Development II
TCID3800 (3)
pre: TCID3400
What? Not a design-focused class. Computation thinking-based class where students refine their understanding of HTML & CSS, add responsive design, API-integration, and jQuery-integration.
Why? Students learn higher order front-end development concepts to understand better the needs of technical environments.
Front-end Development III
TCID4500 (3)
pre: TCID3800
What? Not a design-focused class. Computation thinking-based class where students focus solely on learning JavaScript to enhance their computational thinking and coding ability.
Why? Students learn higher order front-end development concepts to understand better the needs of technical environments.
Information Architecture
TCOM3046 (3)
pre: permission of TCID advisor
What? Information architecture is a core skill for being a good interaction designer. This class allows further exploration to concepts in information architecure learned in IAD3000.
Why? In short, interaction designers are information architects and more work in this area is helpful.
Usability Testing
TCOM4120 (3)
pre: permission of TCID advisor
What? This is a research methods class where students apply usability methods to interaction design.
Why? Research methods are introduced in IAD3000 and this class provides students more practice with the reasoning behind a very specific type of user research (usability testing).
