HCID 540 一 2025 Summer

Design Tools & Processes

Syllabus

Course Format

This is an online class for 14 weekly sessions.  Course weeks will begin on Wednesday and end each week at 11:59 PM on Tuesday night. All materials for the course will be found on Canvas.

Course Descrip0on

This course offers the student the opportunity to work with a variety of tooIs and processes that support design prac8ce. The course exposes the student to tradi8onaI and digitaI tooIs, tempIates, and techniques for design. Using an exampIe project suppIied by the professor, the course is run as a series of studios. ABer using tooIs and processes in each stage of the design process, the student reflects on the suitabiIity and use case for each tooI and reflect on their evoIving sense of seIf as a designer. The course covers the tooIs, processes, and techniques necessary to professionaIize the student’s design prac8ce.

Learning Objec0ves

Upon successfuI compIe8on of this course, students wiII be abIe to appIy a suite of design tooIs and conven8ons to address cri8caI design chaIIenges in their chosen environment.

Required Texts/Readings

This course does not require a specific textbook, however if you wish to further your understanding with more detaiIs than this course provides, the book I wiII be teaching from is: About Face by AIan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, Christopher NoesseI (4th edi8on).

Self-care 

If you or someone you care about is experiencing hardships, be it for basic needs (food, sheIter, safety) or you have a need to taIk with someone about the difficuI8es in your Iife and/or the worId today, you are encouraged to reach out to our Student Services department and to me to work out some accommoda8ons and assistance. If you wouId Iike to taIk with someone neutraI for support, pIease do not hesitate to reach out to the CounseIing Center at [email protected] or 717–901–5100, extension 1727. Our BHS student assistance program is aIso avaiIabIe for aII students 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year at 800–327–2251 or heps://portaI.bhsonIine.com/ (Login: Harrisburgu)

Learning Disabili0es

Any student who may require Iearning support and may need accommoda8ons at HU, shouId first contact the  Director of Student Services. The first step in the university process is to provide documenta8on of the IEP and diagnosis to Student Services; this private informa8on shouId not be presented to individuaI instructors.

Student Responsibili0es

You must cuI8vate responsibiIity for coursework and take ownership of your Iearning efforts. Each week, you are expected to compIete assignments, review notes, and otherwise prepare prior to each cIass or workshop.   Knowing due dates and preparing for each week’s topic is YOUR responsibiIity as a student - do not expect me to constantIy remind you of your course obIiga8ons and due dates.

Student Success

In order to succeed in this cIass, and earn at Ieast a grade of C, you shouId expect to spend at Ieast 2–3 hours a week preparing for every scheduIed cIass hour. Consider this to be ungraded work that you must undertake in addi8on to each graded assignment’s work 8me commitment.

Professionalism

The highest IeveI of professionaIism in your work is expected. A ruIe of thumb is to ask yourseIf whether you’d be comfortabIe turning in or presen8ng a document or product of a simiIar caIiber to your internship supervisor, or to a cIient who is paying you a steep hourIy rate for your consuI8ng services. In other words, I reserve the right to return assignments ungraded or to deduct points for sIoppy wrieen or oraI communica8ons, poor aeen8on to assignment instruc8ons, or a Iack of aeen8on to design aesthe8cs, func8onaIity, or user–centeredness.

Course Organiza0on/University Policies

To fuIfiII the innova8ve pedagogicaI mission of Harrisburg University, your ac8ve par8cipa8on is extremeIy important.

•   AUendance/ParNcipaNon – Students are expected to aeend every cIass as weII as par8cipate in in–cIass projects, compIete the readings and assignments, and to par8cipate in onIine discussions.

•   Late Work Policy - Students are encouraged to submit aII assignments by the due date (check Canvas frequentIy for detaiIs). Late assignments will not be accepted. If an assignment is not in by the due    date, the student wiII receive a zero for the en8re assignment. If a student has extenua8ng circumstances that prevents them from turning in the assignment on 8me, they must contact the instructor ahead of 1me.

•   E-mail - All course and university business should be conducted with an official HU e-mail address.  Response 8mes will vary and are not guaranteed to be same day. I generally check my e-mail twice daily.

•   MicrosoX Teams – is the virtual mee8ng tool that we will use for our weekly online course sessions and Office Hours. The schedule for Office Hours is listed at the top of the syllabus. To access the sessions, go to the Weekly Class Link area in Canvas.

Course Grading Scheme

Grading will be based on points achieved divided by total points.

Assignment Details and Grade Weights

All assignments are submieed electronically so an unreadable file will be deemed “unsubmieed.” Please be sure to check your files before submission to assure correctness and to avoid deduc8ons in your grade.

Also, the use of arNficial intelligence (AI) in any form is prohibited in this class. Any student who submits work that was done with the aid ofAI will get an automaNc zero for that assignment and reported to Graduate Student Services. If you use AI again, you will be reported for academic dishonesty and you will receive an automaNc failure for the class.

Ac8vi8es for the course include the following:

•   Assignments (59%) — Assignments will be assigned for most topics in the course. You must submit

your homework to Canvas by 11:59 PM EST on the due date assigned in the course outline. Late work will not be accepted and will result in an automa1c zero.

•   Final Project (24%) — The final project (a case study) will serve as a culmina8on of the topics and

ac8vi8es presented throughout the course. Students are expected to show their understanding of the course materials and proficiency in the tools learned by crea8ng a pornolio-ready case study detailing the steps of interface design from research to interac8ve prototype.

•   ParNcipaNon andAUendance (24%) — It is important for students to fully aeend and par8cipate in the course. This includes showing up on 8me to each session, staying the en8re 8me, and ac8vely par8cipa8ng in class discussions and by asking ques8ons. Each class session is worth up to 5 pts.

Missing a class means receiving a 0 for Par8cipa8on and Aeendance for the week.