🦆 Interaction Nerds by UXA | F23.02
Sustainable Design, UX & Philosophy, how Figma is destroying our individualism, and a People x AI Guidebook.
👋 Announcements — kicking off the semester!
Happy September, everyone! Hopefully you had a successful & not-too-tiring first week of school… because it’s time to get ready for club kickoffs 🤩
Come to THE FAIR on Wed. September 6th, 4:30-6:30pm at Table 119 on The Cut to learn more about CMU UXA and everything we have planned this upcoming year. Come join us for free snacks and an exciting mini design challenge!! Can’t wait to see you there!
Welcome back UXA-ers!! 🕺With the semester in full swing, we are excited to launch our fall UXA event series! 🍂 We invite you to join our Kickoff event on Wednesday, September 13th, from 5-6pm @ Tepper 2612. RSVP through our link tree!
🍎 Campus Compass — Sustainable Design: Materials, Artifacts and Computational Tools
Written & edited by: Sophie McGrady 😈
🌿 What is sustainable design? How can we make sure our designs are sustainable from the start of their lives to the end? In this HCI Special Topics course, students begin with an overview of sustainable design principles and practices and move to examining the impact of materials and manufacturing processes on the environment.
🔍 05-499/899 HCI Special Topics - Sustainable Design: Materials, Artifacts and Computational Tools
🤔 What is Sustainable Design?
Sustainable Design is an interdisciplinary course that explores sustainable design principles, materials science and engineering, consumer factors, and computational tools used in creating sustainable artifacts. The goal of this course is for students to gain a deeper understanding of sustainable design principles when working with conventional products, smart materials, and computational tools. Students will also work to analyze existing designs and propose alternative, more sustainable designs.
🧐 What do you do in Sustainable Design?
Students will critically analyze existing designs and explore alternative designs that make for a more sustainable future. These new designs will take into account the environmental impact of various materials, including natural, synthetic, and recycled materials, as well as robotic and morphing materials.
😯 Who should take Sustainable Design?
There are no prerequisites for the course. Both graduate and undergraduate students from various backgrounds (design, engineering, art, science) are welcome. Hands-on fabrication, CAD design, and hardware prototyping experiences will likely be helpful in the final project.
🍀 Editor’s Pick — UX, Philosophy, and Feng Shui
Written & edited by: Eunice Lee 😊
Did you know that the term user experience is only 30 years old? Coined in 1993 by cognitive psychologist and designer Don Norman, user experience is defined as how a user interacts with a product or design.
💡 Despite its young age, the concept of user experience actually goes further back in history with deep ties to philosophy.
Feng Shui
Feng Shui, one of the earliest origins of user experience, is an ancient Chinese practice and philosophy used to create comfortable & positive energy environments. Much like UX design, Feng Shui aims to meet the needs of the user through considerate design choices, such as:
⚖️ Striking Balance
💭 Having Spatial Awareness
💫 Achieving Natural Flow
🌱 Industry — Figma culture is destroying our individualism
Written & edited by: Alana Wu 🐳
Since being founded in 2016, Figma has brought sweeping changes to the UX design workflow. But like all companies & tools, it too has pros & cons.
In a scathing (and a mildly arrogant) tone, author Michael Buckley speaks on…
🔔 the similarities between Figma and social media platforms,
💬 how online feedback can veer away from good design,
🏁 and why we shouldn’t become brand fanatics.
Some key points:
💄 Online communities (eg. dribbble, LinkedIn groups, etc) can be great places for feedback, but it’s key to ask specific questions about design decisions & provide context. Otherwise, you risk getting shallow validation on appearance… and not much else.
🌈 Figma is a brand that inspires brand loyalty, too much of which can be toxic. It’s critical for any fan to find a balance between admiring a brand while still expressing their own opinions outside of the collective.
While this article solely focuses on the negative aspect’s of Figma’s influence, it’s a good reminder that everything, no matter the positive effects it brings, will have its downsides. To fully reap the benefits of anything, we need to always look with a critical eye 👁️.
🎯 Resource — People X AI Guidebook
🧠 A framework for anyone interested in AI products or services:
common AI patterns & decision making
deep dive into the AI product development process
real life case studies of AI-driven products
glossary of common AI x product terminology
🙈 Cool - an incredible data visualization of the rise of anti-trans bills in the US
🤔 Who’s behind the scenes?
Thanks for reading this week’s Interaction Nerds by CMU UXA! The editors behind this week’s issue are Eunice Lee, Sophie McGrady, and Alana Wu.
🥰 Follow Us
We look forward to co-curating future content with you! Let us know what you think about the content and send us some good vibes through these channels below.
Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | UXA Website
🤩 Opportunities
Looking for participants for your research? Wanting to recruit students to work in your lab or on your project? Advertise on the UXA newsletter! Fill out our opportunity form with some information about what you want to advertise, and we'll feature your project/opportunity on the UXA newsletter!
🌱 Join the Community
Join the Slack channel to get updates on upcoming events, learn about cool resources and opportunities, ask questions about anything HCI, and much more.