We develop the role of computing in human terms, as communication, through interaction. This is the foundation course in human centered systems and information.

Humans are positioned as fundamental in the context of digital systems. Initial investigations into practice establish needs and requirements; they continue into evaluation, which motivates design iterations and validates results. Programming methods for building actual systems are developed. Projects are conducted by individual students and teams. The human centered projects are programming intensive.

We explore frameworks for understanding and conceptualizing interaction. We investigate social processes and new modalities of interactivity, such as games and location- and context-aware systems, in addition to more traditional interactive applications. We engage in iterative design and prototyping processes for developing interfaces. We get involved in visual media design, while considering principles of color theory, space, and layering. We connect these methods with principles of information structuring and visualization. Evaluation informs design, as well as validating the efficacy of software in use.

We develop techniques for graphical user interface programming, including object-oriented approaches to animation and other aspects of game programming. We create graphical and interactive projects, based on the above principles, methods, and techniques.