Core 1 Interaction

Notes on Process

This Class

What we are asking you to do in this class is perhaps not what you are used to in a studio class. We will be creating one-off coded designs each week based on specific design prompts.

The best learning outcomes for this assignment will come with consistent experimentation and risk-taking. You should not know where you will end up from the start. Each week is a new design prompt, with original content (based on your theme), and the sky’s the limit! And remember, you can do a lot with a little in terms of code. If followed, this way of making spread out over the semester will be greatly beneficial to your design practice.

Questions and Answers

Q: How long should I spend on an entry?

As a loose guide, the weekly homework expectation for this class (including reading, etc) is 5.33 hrs (2 hrs for every hour of the class session.) You will get from the course what you put in.

Q: How do you recommend we sketch?

Creating your entry each week, I recommend trying a few different designs and then submit your favorite one. For example, you might create eight sketches, and select the one that works best with your theme, your idea and your other previous entries. Be open to surprising yourself.

It’s helpful to try a variety of methods. Each working method provides its own pros and cons:

  1. Draw a few ideas with pen and paper before choosing one and moving to code.
    • Pros: This helps gather your thoughts before moving to code. Moving prematurely to code can sweep you into technical roadblocks that have nothing to do with your design.
    • Cons: None!
  2. Sketch in Figma (we will go over this in class) then begin coding.
    • Pros: This helps refine and quickly iterate on finer details like type choice, color palette, interaction.
    • Cons: The environment of Figma is an interface, designed by humans for a very specific purpose. It’s important to investigate how the interface of our design tools affects the designs that we make. Sketching entirely in programs like Figma/Adobe  also tends to remove the possibility for chance. Sometimes mistakes while coding lead to interesting ideas and surprises!
  3. Move straight to code when you have an idea in your head. Create a new HTML file each time you want to make an adjustment or try a new design idea.
    • Pros: Your final entry will be in code, so it makes sense to sketch in code as well. But make sure to have some intention or visual idea before coding.
    • Cons: As mentioned before, moving to code prematurely can sweep you up in technical roadblocks. When you’re stuck, you might move between sketching methods.

Q: Can I change my theme midway through the semester if I get bored with it?

No. We will take the time in the first part of the project to discuss your theme ideas, and you will be guided to choose one that will be able to sustain you for the entire semester (a total of 10 entries.) Mid-semester, we will review your trajectory and you will make adjustments as needed.

Q: How will we critique work if there are no big projects?

In the first half hour of class each week, we will divide the class into groups of 3-4 to discuss the work from the week as a whole. Each group will be assigned a specific discussion question, such as, “What kind of aesthetic similarities are there between the works produced this week?” Discuss for about 10 minutes.

Then each group will present their discussion points going around the room, about 2 min each, by pulling up one or more sketches from the week’s homework that their group discussed. Your work may not be discussed every week but you will always learn from reviewing other people’s work.

Part of your HW is reviewing your peers’ work BEFORE the start of class. That is also why it is important that everyone post their work as they go throughout the week, so there is work for your peers to look at before the start of the next class.

Q: I need portfolio pieces, will I produce some in this class?

In fact you’re more likely to get to a great piece in your own way if you’re not directly trying to do so. You’re going to make and refine 10 coded entries, and a more refined website to house your entries. Out of those entries, you might have 3 design ideas you want to pursue further, which you will have the opportunity to do in next semester’s Core 2: Interaction. In similar classes, some students may end up taking a sketch they did and turn it into a thesis project down the road!

And speaking as someone who has been on both sides of the hiring process, it is always very informative to see experiments like these in someone’s portfolio. It helps to see how someone sketches and thinks in a more raw way.
For example: samkilg.us/playground, fionnbreen.com/kitchen-sink, taliacotton.com

Q: What if everything I make is terrible?!

Some sketches will inevitably be terrible, because you tried something new! But they won’t ALL be terrible. And that’s an important distinction. Legibility, by the way, isn’t a requirement of your entries, for example, take a look at these coded compositions: reading-machines. These all would be fantastic responses to the assignment, depending on the design prompt.

A parable on the creative process:

A ceramics teacher asks their students how they want to be evaluated: They can either turn in one pot at the end of semester, and receive a grade based on that. Or they can make as many pots as they want, and receive a grade based on how many they made. The people who made many pots made many single pots far more interesting and even with better craftsmanship than the students who belabored over just one all semester.

Q: I can’t decide what to work on this week.

If you have more than one idea, just pick one at random and start there. Don’t change your mind, just run with it. You can try another idea next week.

If you have no ideas, review the class notes, take a walk around the block, do some daydreaming, read something, talk to a friend, and be open to any idea that pops up. Just run with the first idea even if it seems bad. Zoning out looking at a blank wall has been known to produce some profound ideas ...

If you’re regularly finding you’re spending a lot of time coming up with content around your theme idea, that might mean you have to add a bit more specificity or structure to your theme.

Q: My computer is broken this week; I missed class and I’m confused; I’m just overwhelmed this week. What should I do?

Use the New School computer labs. If you’re overwhelmed, feel free to ask me for guidance. If you missed class, ask myself or a classmate for what you missed.

Q: Can I create a template and just swap out the content every week?

In short, no. Each week you will be given a specific design prompt like “hover,” “animation,”

“Hierarchy,” etc. You are expected to experiment, try new things, and surprise yourself throughout the project. You also should not plan ahead what your “container” website will be, as that should be guided by your content. We will turn our attention to that at the end of the semester.

Other Notes

Attend every class. This class moves fast. New content is introduced in every meeting. We will have individual or group activities in most if not all meetings.

Technique v Concept

Of course, technical know-how is important, but it is nothing without ideas. So you should always be trying to articulate something with each entry. Think of it like starting each sketch with a “What if” statement.

This guide has been found on Sasha Portis' talking-digital.net and has been adapted from Justin Bakse’s class compform.net.