The future of design is digital. Whether it’s a watch that tracks every step you take, or sensors embedded in our clothing: every part of our lives is shaped by technology. The degree in Interaction Design provides you with the skills and knowledge to think creatively about how we interact with the technologies that surround us and to develop designs that are people-centred in innovative ways.
The field of Interaction and User Experience Design is constantly evolving. The degree in Interaction Design will provide you with the skills to design engaging interactive experiences for users building on new technologies. You will work with real-world design cases and gain insight into the industry from our design partners, as well as cultural and civic organisations.
Working as an Interaction Designer means continuously evolving with the needs of users and developments in emerging technologies - this requires critical and creative thinking.
We help you develop essential skills to identify and respond to people’s needs, using a number of people-centred design methods. We help our students to understand what people want and how to design suitable interfaces and interactions working with technologies.
We encourage creativity and reflective design by teaching research skills and supporting students in active research projects. We develop designers who can explore existing and emerging technologies in a meaningful way. Our students have access to cutting-edge hardware, software and the support of expert lecturers and technicians, for multiple purposes, including:
- Prototyping apps on mobile platforms (e.g., Android)
- Producing screen-based content with creative software (e.g., Adobe, Processing, Figma, Sketch, Final Cut Pro)
- Building interactive objects with physical computing (e.g., Arduino, Raspberry Pi)
- Exploring interactive programming (e.g., Processing, HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
Student Profile
Colin Doherty
Digital Media Design focuses on new media industry perspectives, teaching students how to use industry-standard applications, but also teaching creativity and understanding. The main focus is on interaction design, but people who also love videography, photography and graphic design find themselves a welcome home in DMD!
One of my favourite subjects on the course is Digital Video Fundamentals which has become a great passion of mine. The skills I learned in this area proved to be very useful when I was on CoOp and I was given the opportunity to film and edit videos, which went on to win international awards.
I went on CoOp to the SAP Apphaus in Dublin as a User Experience Intern. The Apphaus is a new generation office, which is built around teamwork in a highly collaborative, flexible and creative environment. This placement benefited me greatly as I was given a project for myself in which I came up with my own problems and solutions. The team I worked with were always willing to answer my questions, and under their guidance, I learned a great deal. The experience helped me build a solid foundation for my future career by improving my customer interview skills, which is exactly what an interaction designer needs to do!