Master of Design
Graduate Interaction Design
Degrees and Certificates
Program Learning Outcomes
Mission Statement
The ArtCenter MDes in Interaction Design prepares designers to lead at the intersection of emerging technology, strategic futures design, and ethical practices in digital product and service design.
Interaction Design
Graduates will be able to:
- Create and integrate advanced methods and principles of Interaction Design for a range of existing and emerging technologies across multiple platforms in applied domains.
Strategy
Graduates will be able to:
- Effectively drive Interaction Design as a strategy in organizations. Survey and design new models for strategic communication, futures studies and organizational design. Develop and employ prototypes to strategically investigate, engage, analyze and communicate to multiple stakeholders.
People
Graduates will be able to:
- Understand the role of ethics and participatory design in building inclusive, effective, persuasive and inventive experiences. Propose solutions for specific contexts. Use Human Centered Design Practices and Co-Design methods to shape organizational culture. Demonstrate ethical and creative leadership in designing and undertaking primary research and the integration of analytics. Ability to integrate qualitative and quantitative insights in strategy and design for usage over time.
Impact
Graduates will be able to:
- Demonstrate the value and impact of Interaction design from concept to final product in a range of contexts. Evaluate and communicate personal creative and professional position, value and leadership. Move from presenting ideas to articulating a vision.
In our one-year online program, students will take project driven classes with creative and industry leaders and alums. You'll graduate from this program with extensive experience in emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning, participatory research and inclusive development of digital services, platforms, tools and applications. These are the new tool sets to drive strategic design in your organization and in your career. This interaction design program goes beyond the interface. We've designed a curriculum that focuses on professional creative development. For students with a background in design, you'll bring new skills and strategies to your company or institution by working with emerging technologies, organizational design, and incorporating user research and data into your designs.
Curriculum subject to change.
For students entering Fall 2026
Courses
Product, Services, Systems
This class serves as an introduction to the main frameworks of the MDEs program. In this practice based class, students will move beyond traditional UX and IxD Methods (service blueprints, wireframes and personas) to frame their work in Inclusive product , AI (Agentive Tech) and Strategic Prototyping methodologies. People experience a product, tool or service in a complex architecture of interactions. Students will consider a specific ecosystem in which to experiment and innovate optimally and sustainably. Integrating core concepts from service and customer experience (CX) Design, students will craft service blueprints, strategic prototypes with an eye to inclusion, sustainability and innovation across a range of canvases, for multiple users and stakeholders. Students will break services into sections and adapt fine-tuned solutions to suit all users' needs in context-based on actors, location and other factors. This class will include 1 group and 1 personal project. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a series of additional workshops through GradLab on Interaction Foundations to hone existing skills in HCD, IxD and UX methodologies. Class is divided into 2 sessions, including group crit, panel review and a series of 1-1 design review sessions, to be scheduled during class times. All students will also receive an introduction to Human Subject Research and take online CITI certification.
Credits
3
Product, Services, Systems
This class serves as an introduction to the main frameworks of the MDEs program. In this practice based class, students will move beyond traditional UX and IxD Methods (service blueprints, wireframes and personas) to frame their work in Inclusive product , AI (Agentive Tech) and Strategic Prototyping methodologies. People experience a product, tool or service in a complex architecture of interactions. Students will consider a specific ecosystem in which to experiment and innovate optimally and sustainably. Integrating core concepts from service and customer experience (CX) Design, students will craft service blueprints, strategic prototypes with an eye to inclusion, sustainability and innovation across a range of canvases, for multiple users and stakeholders. Students will break services into sections and adapt fine-tuned solutions to suit all users' needs in context-based on actors, location and other factors. This class will include 1 group and 1 personal project. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a series of additional workshops through GradLab on Interaction Foundations to hone existing skills in HCD, IxD and UX methodologies. Class is divided into 2 sessions, including group crit, panel review and a series of 1-1 design review sessions, to be scheduled during class times. All students will also receive an introduction to Human Subject Research and take online CITI certification.
Credits
3
Design Research and Strategy
Observations, Insights, and Opportunities. Exploring various quantitative and qualitative research models into ethics, human behaviors, trends, and societal shifts in defining viable strategies. How to use participatory design methodologies.
Credits
3
Creative Prototyping 1
This course focuses on hands-on prototyping for impact: mastery of digital tools, computation and strategic prototyping. Technology based projects will use a range of contemporary technologies including code, computation such as AI and ML, screen and physical interaction and networks. Using mixed fidelity prototypes, students will leverage prototyping for management, engineering and investment opportunities to build credibility and impact as design leaders.
Credits
3
Writing for Interaction
From presentations to publishing, white papers to interaction scenarios, writing and critical readings lead students to effective facilitation and communication strategies.
Credits
3
Grad Lab
Grad Lab is a core, practice-based course that anchors each term of the Graduate Interaction Design program. It features mentoring sessions, workshops, and guest talks from industry leaders, enabling students to expand their technical fluency, creative methods, and professional practices in interaction design. The course directly supports ongoing studio and research projects, preparation and execution of Capstone projects and Thesis papers, portfolio design, and individualized professional development.
Graduate IXD students must enroll in Grad Lab each term.
Credits
3
People, Environments, Society
Develop creative concepts to investigate significant challenges in relationships between people, environments and society. Engage with stakeholders in the real world to inspire and evaluate ideas. Focus will be on designing for digital products and Inclusion and ethics.
Credits
3
Strat: Pple, Proc, & Leadrshp
Identify common leadership and innovation challenges throughout organizational life cycle (pre-launch ?to maturity) in multiple setting: mature organizations, startup and independent practice.Review progress and evolving body of personal work. Guest speakers include: Senior Interaction, Creative Officers and entrepreneurs
Credits
3
Creative Prototyping 2
This course offers design and technology projects that complement other courses in the program, and focuses on emerging technologies such as machine learning, AR/VR, and simulation. Students learn to apply new technologies in creative ways, and experiment with fast prototyping and experimentation to discover potential and unexpected affordances of technologies. Students will critically examine the role and application of Machine learning, cultural analytics, generative representations, AI behaviors, and neural networked systems. Using code as a design medium, we will explore the future of graphic and interaction design, through generative future scenarios
Credits
3
People, Process, Leadership 1
This advanced, professional studio class focuses on cultivating self-awareness in leadership and enhancing collaborative practice. Students will navigate the myriad challenges and unspoken expectations in corporate, startup, studio, agency, and other professional environments. Through a collaborative group project, the course guides students in managing design operations and developing adaptable leadership methodologies for diverse professional contexts. While designing product interfaces and service blueprints, students will learn to write and evaluate design briefs, craft ethical technology solutions, and develop persuasive communication strategies. This comprehensive approach helps prepare students for design management and leadership roles.
Credits
3
People, Process, Leadership 2
This advanced, professional studio class focuses on cultivating self-awareness in leadership and enhancing collaborative practice. Students will navigate the myriad challenges and unspoken expectations in corporate, startup, studio, agency, and other professional environments. Through a collaborative group project, the course guides students in managing design operations and developing adaptable leadership methodologies for diverse professional contexts. While designing product interfaces and service blueprints, students will learn to write and evaluate design briefs, craft ethical technology solutions, and develop persuasive communication strategies. This comprehensive approach helps prepare students for design management and leadership roles.
Credits
3
IxD Topic Studio
Inclusive Design for example, Industry Partner, DM, Social Innovation, current trend. Students will learn to work in multidisciplinary teams with internal and external stakeholders to build and interrogate design briefs, craft relevant technology solutions and build persuasive communication strategies.
Credits
3
IxD Topic Studio
Inclusive Design for example, Industry Partner, DM, Social Innovation, current trend. Students will learn to work in multidisciplinary teams with internal and external stakeholders to build and interrogate design briefs, craft relevant technology solutions and build persuasive communication strategies.
Credits
3
IxD History and Futures
Interaction Design in various forms goes back more than a century to the industrial age. That history is marked by a gradual evolution from direct tactile and mechanical interfaces to metaphorical interactions, paralleled by an evolution from machine-centric design to human-centric design. In this course we will examine these histories around thematic areas of tactile/mechanical interfaces, graphical/screen-based interfaces, and multi-modal interfaces such as voice, gesture, etc. Charting the specific history of entrepreneurial design in technology, students will see how their own design process, focusing on people and prototypes, prepares them for emerging technologies, social change, and the future of human interactions. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) sits at the confluence of computer science, psychology and cognitive science. Students explore commonly used HCI research methods as they apply to interaction design and emergent future casting models. Moving from past to present and then future Interaction models, students will examine scifi-predicted/designed future tech. Through readings, seminar discussions, and hands-on experiments, students will learn how to apply methods HCI and futurecasting into their design practice.
Credits
3
Capstone 1
This course provides a structure for students to develop their research and design work for their Capstone project and Thesis paper. Design experiments and research activities are structured through assigned briefs and deadlines that help each student follow a line of inquiry and progressively build a body of work. Seminars and workshops expose students to contemporary work and provide depth and context to the student's research questions. By the end of the term, each student will have defined the research focus and design work that is the foundation for their capstone project. The final work will be shown in multiple mediums, e.g., code, video, streaming, and mixed-fidelity prototypes.
Credits
3
Capstone 2
This course provides a structure for students to develop their research and design work for their Capstone project and Thesis paper. Design experiments and research activities are structured through assigned briefs and deadlines that help each student follow a line of inquiry and progressively build a body of work. Seminars and workshops expose students to contemporary work and provide depth and context to the student's research questions. By the end of the term, each student will have defined the research focus and design work that is the foundation for their capstone project. The final work will be shown in multiple mediums, e.g., code, video, streaming, and mixed-fidelity prototypes.
Credits
3