Overview
This course examines the principles, methods, and practice of human-computer interaction (HCI), with emphasis on designing usable, useful, accessible, and satisfying computational experiences. Students study human perception, cognition, memory, motor behavior, mental models, interaction paradigms, affordances, signifiers, feedback, constraints, consistency, error prevention, information architecture, navigation, visual hierarchy, layout, typography, colour, and responsive design.
The course develops competence in user-centred and human-centred design through contextual inquiry, interviews, observation, personas, scenarios, journey maps, task analysis, requirements gathering, ideation, participatory design, and iterative prototyping. Students apply heuristic evaluation, experimental design, usability testing, interviews, surveys, qualitative analysis, and quantitative measures of effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, and learnability.
Accessibility, inclusive and universal design, assistive technologies, relevant standards, privacy, persuasive design, dark patterns, cultural context, ethical research, and emerging interfaces—including voice, gesture, augmented reality, and intelligent systems—are considered throughout. A team project guides students through an iterative design cycle from research and requirements definition to a tested prototype and professional design documentation.
Learning Outcomes
- Explain the historical development, scope, and interdisciplinary foundations of human-computer interaction.
- Analyze how perception, cognition, memory, motor behaviour, mental models, and cultural context influence interaction design.
- Apply established interaction design principles, including affordances, signifiers, feedback, constraints, consistency, and error prevention.
- Conduct ethical user research using contextual inquiry, interviews, observation, task analysis, surveys, and related methods.
- Translate user research findings into defensible personas, scenarios, journey maps, requirements, and design opportunities.
- Create and justify low-, medium-, and high-fidelity prototypes using appropriate interaction styles, information architectures, and visual design systems.
- Evaluate interfaces using heuristic evaluation, accessibility criteria, usability measures, and evidence from structured user testing.
- Design and conduct an ethical usability evaluation and analyze qualitative and quantitative findings.
- Synthesize evaluation evidence to prioritize design changes and iteratively improve an interactive system.
- Communicate design decisions, research evidence, accessibility considerations, and evaluation results in professional documentation and presentations.
- Evaluate the ethical implications of privacy practices, persuasive design, dark patterns, assistive technologies, and intelligent or emerging interfaces.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Lab | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Fortnightly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Research plan and contextual inquiry report | 15.00% |
| Assignment | Interaction design analysis and heuristic evaluation | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Prototype development and design rationale | 20.00% |
| Assignment | Usability evaluation plan and findings report | 15.00% |
| Capstone | Team project: iterative research, tested prototype, and professional documentation | 25.00% |
| Exam | Final examination | 10.00% |
Prerequisites
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.
