Description:

The course is designed as a series of lectures and workshops with a focus on the field of user research and research by design. In order to achieve high usability of the products/services/interactions they conceive, designers need to have a deep understanding of the needs and desires of the end-users the products are for. This class aims at giving students a foundation in user psychology and practical tools for user research. You will learn how to design a research plan, execute it and present it.

Lectures will be completed by a seminary work. Students will be assigned a design brief and will have to use research as a base for their design proposals. The outcome of the project will be a research report and a presentation

Abbreviations used:

Semester:

• W ... winter semester (usually October - February)
• S ... spring semester (usually March - June)
• W,S ... both semesters

Mode of completion of the course:

• A ... Assessment (no grade is given to this course but credits are awarded. You will receive only P (Passed) of F (Failed) and number of credits)
• GA ... Graded Assessment (a grade is awarded for this course)
• EX ... Examination (a grade is awarded for this course)
• A, EX ... Examination (the award of Assessment is a precondition for taking the Examination in the given subject, a grade is awarded for this course)

Weekly load (hours per week):

• P ... lecture
• C ... seminar
• L ... laboratory
• R ... proseminar
• S ... seminar