Major Courses

The Experience Design Major intends to:

• Develop relevant and related competencies through a range of courses and prepare them for the industry.
• Allow students to explore areas of technology, business, and the humanities in addition to design.
• Provide a holistic curriculum by covering the breadth as well as the depth of subjects that are vital and of interest to students.
• Cultivate diverse perspectives and foster new approaches to thinking and problem-solving.
• Refine hands-on skills that will allow students to create tangible outcomes.

Major Outcomes

After successful completion of the Major, the student will be able to

• Understand how to conduct user studies and research in a systematic way to identify the needs and concerns of users.
• Develop a strong design portfolio demonstrating the skills and knowledge acquired.
• Effectively develop and communicate their design ideas with the help of data, technology, strategy, and even the humanities.
• Conduct research and add value by generating their own insights.
• Demonstrate interdisciplinary knowledge and skills.
• Approach problems and design opportunities through systems thinking.
• Demonstrate the ability to realize their ideas as prototypes or even finished outcomes.
• Employ critical thinking and reasoning, data analysis, and technical skills, including software skills, in their projects.
• Hone their creative as well as business acumen, which will help them in the professional sphere.

Experience Design offers the following courses:

1. Design Thinking and Process

Design thinking is a creative and strategic model that serves as a guide for a design life cycle ranging from problem/need identification to solution prototyping and testing. In this course you will learn design principles and methods through practical application in your projects that will foster creativity.

2. Basics of UX Design 

This course introduces students to UX design principles and processes. User Experience Design encompasses all of the elements that allow human users to interact with computer systems. The students will be able to learn to create an intuitive user experience (UX). The course will cover topics such as the design thinking process, need-finding and problem framing, idea generation techniques, task analysis and flow diagrams, navigation and information architecture, wireframing techniques, user interface development, user testing, and usability study, along with a final presentation.

3. Interaction Design

The course goes beyond simply creating products and services; it focuses on the user experience at the point where the user and product or service come together. You will gain practical experience through the execution of digital or analog concepts designed for specific users.

4. Basics of Graphic Design

The course introduces students to the basic orientation of the field of graphic design. Students will learn the skills and fundamentals of designing logos, symbols, stationery design, brand identity, and a single-page layout through graphical and allied media.

5. Typography and Calligraphy

In this course, you will be introduced to the fundamentals of type. You will learn about the deliberate use of existing typefaces and their characters across different media and will also explore your own unique creations.

6. Service Design

In this course, you will learn how to design efficient services that enhance the user experience. The course will cover research methods, brainstorming and ideation, and concept refinement to produce viable and value-adding design proposals for real-world and relevant subjects.

7. Fundamentals of Programming

This course is a gateway into the domain of programming and coding. Keeping in mind the increasing application and importance of programming across various fields, this course offers an opportunity to develop and refine problem-solving skills through code writing.

8. Makers Studio (Technology Tinkering)

This course serves as a collaborative space to share ideas and test them. You will have access to tools and equipment to dive into realizing your concepts as tangible outcomes through experimentation and prototyping. There are no limits here.

9. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Under the vast umbrella of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the course primarily focuses on machine learning, a field that involves the improvisation of machine functioning by leveraging data. It helps students handle complex datasets in order to understand and apply them in various fields, especially those that require decision-making and predictions.

10. Sketching and Prototyping

In this course, students will be encouraged to explore and communicate ideas through sketching. They will also learn how iterative design processes will help them refine their projects and fabricate tangible outcomes.

11. Digital Prototyping 

The design and prototyping of digital products is an experiential design group project focused on the development of digital products and services. The objective of this course is for students to work in small groups to develop a case concept, from the initial concept development to the development of a prototype with high fidelity. To test the feasibility of various aspects of a concept, prototypes are developed during an iterative design process based on acquired knowledge about users in the target group. Students will learn how to use digital surface prototyping techniques and tools, conduct user testing, and design products, as well as discuss ethical issues related to prototyping and design.

12. Game Design 

This course provides students with a practical foundation in game design with a focus on concept development, design decomposition, and prototyping. Using game design theory, analysis, physical prototyping, playtesting, and iteration, students learn how to translate game ideas, themes, and metaphors into gameplay and player experiences. Students will be further exposed to the basics of effective game idea communication and execution. Students will choose to execute the final idea in a physical or digital medium. Students will develop a game idea from concept to a playable prototype and communicate their game ideas through a pitch, prototype, and presentation.

13. Ethnographic Research

Through this course, students will have access to tools to help better understand and analyze cultures and their dynamics. Ethnographic research will benefit various projects by improving their understanding of the interactions and needs of the society or target culture.

14. Storytelling and Scenarios

Through this course, you will be introduced to narrative tools and techniques that will foster story-building, imaginative thinking, and communication skills. While these skills are useful in communication design, they are becoming increasingly relevant and important in other areas of design to effectively convey project essence.

15. Information Design

Under the umbrella of visual communication, this course specifically deals with data, and is built around the effective representation of the same in order to convey the message to the target audience and promote understanding. You will also learn how to analyze data before presenting it, and hacks for dealing with complex datasets.

16. Design History

The course highlights the evolution of design practices and trends over time and evaluates the same within different contexts such as social, cultural, environmental, and so on. You will gain a profound understanding of how design has been used to achieve goals and will be able to apply that in your design practice.

17. Color Fundamentals

Colors play an integral role in designs. This course will deepen your knowledge of the primal use of colors and also how color psychology can be used strategically to influence behaviours and invoke emotions toward designs.

18. Data-Driven Design

With data emerging at the forefront of many fields, the course explores the role and application of data within design to generate creative outcomes. The course covers a range of techniques that will help you analyze and work with data in order to employ it in your projects.

19. Tangible Interfaces

This course will focus on providing seamless interfaces between people, digital information, and physical environments. Students will get to work hands-on with microcontrollers, sensors, actuators, etc., on developing several physical interactive surfaces and products.

20. Advance UX/UI Design

This course is for those who have had sufficient experience with the basics of user experience design (UX). In this course, you will learn tools and hacks that will further your expertise in this area. You will also apply theoretical lessons from case studies to your projects.

21. Interface Design Development

This course builds upon students' understanding of coding and prototyping. It introduces advanced prototyping techniques and development platforms. Students learn how to create prototypes using the most up-to-date tools and emerging technologies, which they then use to test and develop their projects.The students will work very closely with the technological side of design development.

22. Business Design

This course highlights the correlation between business and creative sensibilities and introduces designers to the world of business. It will help them not just create designs but also understand their viability in today's dynamic market and environment. It covers subjects like project management, strategy, and understanding systems with the help of case studies and tools.

23. Capstone Project 1

Students involved in the final design project participate in a multidisciplinary project or projects with a high degree of closure and present them within an industry or professional design environment. Students sharpen prior learning by employing design processes in iterative, active, and analytical ways, utilizing prototyping, testing, and comparative research. Project work requires the completion of proof-of-concept models that are critiqued both inside and outside the School.

24. Capstone Project 2 

Essentially, this is an expanded and advanced version of Capstone Project 1.

25. Immersive Media

This course focuses on the enhancement of human experience and perception with the help of immersive practices and platforms such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. It serves as a platform to engage with up-and-coming technology and explore human-computer interaction.

26. Systems Thinking

This course will teach you how to critically analyze systems and apply your knowledge to your projects. Using a systems approach, you will learn how to leverage different elements of the system in order to intervene and improve it. The tools learned can be adapted and applied to various fields.

27. Design Trends

This course consists of a series of modules that cover some of the more in-depth and emerging areas of design, followed by a short project that demonstrates the idea of where the design industry is headed in the future. This course will explore new trends that will shape our world and their impact on today and the future. The course will help you identify, analyze and reflect on your awareness and knowledge of megatrends, tectonic shifts, and game changers.

28. Service Prototypes and Blueprints

As part of this course, students will gain a deeper understanding of the importance of co-design activities that allow users to participate directly in the design process and become active participants in the process of creating a product. Some of the topics covered are service safaris, prototyping experiences, storyboarding, and service blueprinting, as well as elements of service design systems. After learning those tools and practices, students will apply them to a real-life service design project.

29. Behavior Design

Behavioural alteration or enhancement is an intended or unintended outcome of most products and services available. This course will deepen your understanding of human behaviour and rationale and provide frameworks to help you leverage it in your projects to influence user behaviour and decision-making.

30. Speculative Design

This course harnesses a futuristic approach to design to address current and anticipated challenges. It will push you to conceptualize imaginatively for the future based on existing information. You will be able to choose between a research-based and an experimentation-based path.

31. Data Visualization

In this course, students will learn techniques and algorithms that are useful when designing and creating effective visualizations. These techniques and algorithms come from graphic design, visual art, perceptual psychology, and cognitive science principles. The course will teach students to analyze data using exploratory visualizations, critique existing visualizations constructively, create useful, performant visualizations from real-world data sources, create beautiful static and interactive visualizations using perceptually appropriate forms and encodings, improve their own work by usability testing and iteration, take context into account when picking appropriate tools for building visualizations, and develop skills in evaluating them.