87749 User Experience Design
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
This subject introduces students to experience design, a research-based practice focused on creating meaningful interactions between users and products, services, or environments. It considers the future contexts and interrelationships of these designed elements with humans, other objects, and networks. The aim is to enhance the user experience and add value to the artefact for specific user groups. This methodology is used throughout the design process to ensure that the end result meets the needs and expectations of its intended users.
Students learn research methods to understand current users, their experiences, and the contexts they design for; how to deeply understand their target audience and their needs; how to apply research insights to generate design concepts; the iterative process of prototyping and evaluating proposed solutions in potential scenarios; and communication skills for effectively presenting their ideas.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1. | Demonstrate awareness of and/or engagement with sustainable and socially responsible practices in the practice of experience design |
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| 2. | Present design processes and concepts in a compelling manner, by articulating and validating them in light of discovered human needs through research methods. |
| 3. | Deliver a research informed design response. |
| 4. | Iterate and refine a design response through processes of collaboration, testing and prototyping. |
| 5. | Develop insights and hypotheses through an analysis of research findings. |
| 6. | Employ qualitative research methods from the field of experience design to gather information on a design context and its possibilities and constraints. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Engage critically in urgent ecological issues in practice-led projects. (A.2)
- Work cooperatively and professionally as part of a team, initiate partnerships with others, take a leadership role when required, and constructively contribute to peer learning. (C.1)
- Create designs that respond to their context in formally or conceptually innovative ways. (I.1)
- Advance ideas through an exploratory and iterative design process. (I.2)
- Source, evaluate and utilise appropriate academic and professional references. (R.1)
- Employ a range of qualitative research approaches including practice-led visual and material exploration and social and participatory methods. (R.2)
Teaching and learning strategies
Students are expected to commit ~9 hours per week to each 6 credit point subject. This includes the contact hours. The 6 hours remaining each week are for the completion of preparatory activities and assessment tasks.
Time in studio will orient you to specific experience design concepts, methods and theories, studio and between-studio activities and project requirements.
Studio sessions will give you the opportunity to discuss questions about the weekly topic/content with your peers and with an expert studio leader, to collaborate on activities directly relevant to key ideas and to develop your skills as a design practitioner with assistance from your studio leader. Your studio leader will facilitate discussion and offer expert insight and direction where needed, but as students you are primarily responsible for the mood of the studio session.
This subject incorporates a PBL (problem-based learning) strategy. The focus is on allowing students to engage with practical, experiential models of visual communication design. The design methodology of developing creative responses to project briefs continues to underpin the learning experience. Peer learning groups and learning partnerships are encouraged at this stage for students, as individuals and collaboratively in groups to develop their ability to reflect upon and critically analyse their research and design work in order to experience perceptual change and enact their new understandings in progressive design iterations. Emphasis is placed on developing each student’s confidence in processing and refining ideas.
STUDIO ETIQUETTE
Studio sessions provide important opportunities for you to interact with your studio leaders and peers. Mobile phone and laptop use can be distracting to yourself and those around you. Mobile phones and laptops should not be used in lectures or studio sessions. You will be given explicit information about situations where limited use of these technologies might be appropriate.
PREPARATORY ACTIVITIES
Each week before class, you will familiarise yourself with a range of written and visual texts that relate to the subject or undertake preparatory tasks for the next studio session. These are included in the weekly outline and assignment briefs.
Before leaving the studio, you will write an ‘action list’ of tasks you need to complete before the next studio session and assign times in your personal weekly planner to complete these tasks. You may be asked to reflect on how you managed these tasks with your learning group or studio leader in the following studio session.
PEER CRITIQUES
Learning to give and receive feedback is essential to your development as a professional designer. In peer feedback sessions you will ask your group to give you feedback on ideas and visuals. Try to sit back and listen. Try not to prompt your peers with information about your intentions. You want feedback from as many different perspectives as possible.
Content (topics)
Experience Design
Primary and secondary research methods to gather data on users, user experiences and contexts of design
Reframing design problems through insights from research
Methods for design ideation in response to research findings
Prototyping methods relevant to the field of experience design or user experience design
Presentation techniques relevant to the field of experience design or user experience design
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Research Folio
| Intent: | For this task, you will be undertaking research activities to: discover or gather insights on the context* of your future design concept (its current stakeholders, users, user experiences and environments); as well as defining actionable problem statements by developing a deep understanding of who you are designing for and what they need. * Details on the context of your design investigation will be briefed in the first studio and provided on a separate PDF available for download on UTS Canvas. |
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 5 and 6 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.2, C.1, R.1 and R.2 |
| Type: | Portfolio |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 40% |
Assessment task 2: Project Presentation and Design Prototype Folio
| Intent: | For this task, you will be ideating designs in response to your research as well as undertaking prototyping methods as a means to test and improve your designs, leading towards a final design concept. |
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 2, 3 and 4 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): C.1, I.1 and I.2 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 60% |
Minimum requirements
The DAB attendance policy requires students to attend no less than 80% of formal teaching sessions (lectures and tutorials) for each class they are enrolled in to remain eligible for assessment.