Information Design
HCDE 510 (Fall 2012)
Prof. David K. Farkas
Human Centered Design & Engineering University of Washington
Course Website — Fall 2012 (Preliminary version)
Whether you are a student in HCDE 510 or a visitor from outside the course, welcome to this course website.
Information design is the use of imagery, text, sound, interactivity, and umediated human behavior to create a message and an information experience.
Information products are fundamental to human culture. Information design is very widely practiced, and information design concepts and skills are valuable in user interface and user experience design.
This fall we will learn and use a wide range of information design concepts, carry out three design projects, and examine the information design process. The three projects are these: designing a consumer-information graphic, researching and writing two design patterns, and engaging in a design project that you define in collaboration with the instructors.
The broad goals of the course are that you will:
- Gain a deeper understanding of the concepts that underlie information design and learn to use them both as a designer and evaluator.
- Reflect productively upon the many ways in which information design is carried out and strengthen your own design process.
- Understand the role of design patterns and pattern libraries as part of the design process.
- Become a more broadly educated individual and a stronger participant in conversations and innovations regarding media and communication.