Design, Creativity and Human Computer Interaction Design Education

In this paper, we investigate ways to engage computer science students, majoring in design, use, and interaction (with technology), in design practices through an advanced graduate course in interaction design. We take a closer look at how prior embodied and explicit knowledge of HCI that all of the students had before their enrollment in the course, combined with better understanding of design and design practice, and in particular the emergence of creativity on both individual and team levels, shapes them as humancomputer interaction designers. We evaluate the results of the effort in terms of increase in creativity, novelty of ideas, body language when engaged in design activities, and in terms of perceptions of how well this course prepared the students for the work practice outside of the university, usually, in multidisciplinary settings. Keywords—HCI education; interaction design; creativity; studio; design education; multidisciplinary teamwork.