📄Syllabus

Fall 2019 • Carla Gannis • Mondays and Wednesdays • 4:30 – 6:20pm • 370J Rm 312

Tandon School of Engineering of New York University

TECHNOLOGY, CULTURE AND SOCIETY ∙ INTEGRATED DIGITAL MEDIA

DM-UY 1143 IDEATION AND PROTOTYPING

PROFESSOR		COURSE INFO
Name	Carla Gannis	Year & Term	Fall 2019
Email	[e-mail]	Meeting Day	Monday & Wednesday
Phone	646-997-3009	Meeting Time	4:30 – 6:20pm
Office	370 Jay Street (370J), Office 360	Location	370J, Classroom 312
Office Hours	By appointment or after class	Course prerequisites	None

COURSE WEBSITE: https://carla-gannis.gitbook.io/dm-uy-1143-ideation-and-prototyping/ The course website is the official source for all dates and assignments. This syllabus provides a general overview and guideline for the course. All dates and assignments may be subject to change at the discretion of the professor.

COURSE HUB: https://idm-iandp.slack.com Slack will be our primary communication tool via a public class channel and a private channel for student and professor notifications.

COURSE DESCRIPTION In this class, the creative process will be investigated in order to generate ideas for art, design, technology, and business endeavors. The course will show how ideation, design research & thinking, and prototyping can inspire, inform, and bring depth to what one ultimately creates. Students will expand their arsenal of design research skills, learn how to think critically about their audience, content, form, and processes, as well as, understand the importance of utilizing more than one research and design strategy.

IDM PROGRAM LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will:

1. develop conceptual thinking skills to generate ideas and content in order to solve problems or create opportunities.

2. develop technical skills to realize their ideas.

3. develop critical thinking skills that will allow them to analyze and position their work within cultural, historical, aesthetic, economic, and technological contexts.

4. gain knowledge of professional practices and organizations by developing their verbal, visual, and written communication for documentation and presentation, exhibition and promotion, networking, and career preparation.

5. develop collaboration skills to actively and effectively work in a team or group.

COURSE OBJECTIVES To get students to:

1. develop a rigorous, iterative process for looking, questioning, thinking, making, and communicating that challenges assumptions and preconceived ideas.

2. use their imagination to create something entirely new & innovative OR to reinvent an old idea into something new.

3. introduce students to the many research & design methodologies available to them.

4. develop skills of description, research, analysis, visualization, design and critical thinking.

5. improve writing, documentation, and presentation skills.

6. facilitate collaboration.

LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this course students should be able to:

• to search and spot ideas, and to transform these invisible ideas into visible realizations.

COURSE STRUCTURE This course will include lectures, critiques, discussions, readings, screenings, exercises, projects, and a collaborative research paper.

Presentations and critiques will occur frequently.

Critiques Presenting your work in a critique situation is exceptionally useful. You learn to structure your ideas and to articulate them to an audience. Subsequently your audience provides you with constructive criticism that can increase the impact of your project. It is important to take notes when your work is being critiqued. Be receptive to audience responses and remain unbiased. Later you will be asked to reflect upon the feedback you have received. Resist incorporating all suggestions and comments, like checking off tasks on a to-do list. Analyze, prioritize, then utilize the feedback that will work for you and your project. Rules of the Critique:

• Be Present and Engaged

• Give Meaningful Feedback to your classmates

  • Avoid vague statements such as “it’s interesting” or “it’s cool” without follow up. Why or how is it interesting or cool?

• Do NOT take feedback personally.

There will be discrete team and individual exercises and projects that require you to apply the tools, techniques, and methods presented in the lectures, discussions, readings, and other material. These fundamentals are organized according to five phases:

Phase 1: Discovery / Inspiration

• Seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, feeling

• Collecting, obsessing, hoarding

• Remixing

Phase 2: Research / Ideation / Brainstorming

• Asking and listening

• Visual researching

• Materials researching

• User / audience researching and ethnographic researching

• Systems researching

• Activity researching

• Primary researching

• Scholarly researching

• Brainstorming, gamestorming, ideation

Phase 3: Design / Sketching / Mapping

• Visualizing, drawing, sketching

• Planning and mapping

• Grouping, clustering, comparing, contrasting

• Organizing and designing

• Reorganizing and redesigning

• Shaping and forming

• Discerning and revealing

• Connecting and disconnecting

Phase 4: Prototyping

• Making, building, creating

• Rapid prototyping

• Iterating

• Selecting and editing

• Breaking then repeating all of the above

Phase 5: Positioning / Pitching

• Framing and positioning

• Storytelling, engaging, communicating, selling

Students will conduct self-assessments as well as be evaluated by the professor during or after midterm and at the end of the semester.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Schedule your time responsibly

• Come to class on time and participate (be present and engaged)

• Study outside of class (ideally with classmate(s)

• Devote at a minimum 4 to 8 hours per week outside of class, fulfilling homework assignments, reading, and studying concepts covered in class

• Consult gitbook class site and slack at least once a week for up to date info

• Complete all assignments by due dates

• Acquire and read all assigned readings before they are due

• Do your absolute best

• Strive for continuous improvement

• Direct message me on slack re: contact about logistics (when, where, how many?) only

• Talk to me in person about issues and problems. Do not direct message me long conversations on slack. (if your email turns into a paragraph or two that means you should be talking to me in person, not emailing me)

• Have desire amounting to enthusiasm (to learn, to explore)

• Have patience, persistence, and discipline

• Be creative

• Pay attention to detail & craft

• Have self-confidence and pride in your work

• Take risks & be fearless in your projects

• Have fun!

REQUIRED SUPPLIES An Analog Notebook or Sketchbook Digital Camera (You can also use a smart phone.) Digital Storage (Thumb Drives or External Hard Drive, Laptop, Cloud Storage, etc)

REQUIRED READINGS The following list of required readings may be incomplete and is subject to change. Please see the course website for updates.

• Brown, Sunni. The Miseducation of the Doodle. A List Apart. January 25, 2011.
• Rohde, Mike. Sketching: the Visual Thinking Power Tool. A List Apart. January 25, 2011.
• IDEO’s Human-centered Design Toolkit (available free online)

REQUIRED MEDIA The following list of required media may be incomplete and is subject to change. Please see the course website for updates.

• Everything Is A Remix
• Ira Glass on storytelling
• Metal Gear Solid Documentary: Watch The Making of a Hollywood Game
• Metal Gear Solid Documentary: Hideo Kojima's Gene

GRADING & ATTENDANCE POLICY Your final grade will be based on a synthesis of quantitative & qualitative rubrics:

• Makeup assignments are only available when discussed with and approved by the professor in advance of the due date.

• Each student will be accessed on the commitment, fearlessness, and continuous improvement that their work shows. Incomplete or unsatisfactory work will receive a failing grade.

Quantitative Grading Overview

2% Input Map 2% Love Letter or Breakup Letter 4% Object Evolution Timeline 5% Self Assessments (2.5% each) 10% Notebook or Sketchbook 12% Constant Input Choices 14% Process Website 20% Future Dystopia / Utopia Project 31% Creative Process Annotated Bibliography & Video Documentary Qualitative Grading Overview

A. Excellent (90-100: Work of exceptional quality; Exceeds Expectations)

Performance, participation, and attendance of the student has been of the highest level, showing sustained excellence in meeting course responsibilities. Work clearly differentiates itself from other work, has memorable impact, pursues concepts and techniques above and beyond what is discussed in class. The student thoroughly understands the theory and practice behind ideation & prototyping.

B. Very Good / Good (80-89: Work of high quality)

Performance, participation, and attendance of the student has been good, though not of the highest level. Work demonstrates a better than average understanding of ideation & prototyping theory & practice.

C. Satisfactory (70-79: Average; Satisfies course requirements)

Performance and attendance of the student has been adequate, satisfactorily meeting the course requirements. Work is average and competent, showing a basic understanding of ideation & prototyping theory & practice..

D. Poor; Below Average (60-69: Deficient, but passing)

Performance and attendance of the student has been less than adequate. Work is lacking in many or most areas that show any understanding of ideation & prototyping. Problems may include lack of interest, procrastination, poor planning and poor craft.

F. Unacceptable (59 & Below: Failing Course Requirements)

Performance and attendance of the student has been such that course requirements have not been met. Work shows no overall understanding of the course material on many levels or either a severe lack of interest.

Attendance Four late arrivals (15 minutes or more) will be counted as an absence. Five unexcused absences will result in course failure. You are responsible for making up work on account of any absence.

Contact the professor IN ADVANCE if you will not be in class (in person or via direct message on slack is preferred). If you are experiencing difficulties or feel you are falling behind, see the professor immediately, so that she is properly informed and can work with you. Communication is key.

Attendance is mandatory for the midterm and final presentations / critiques.

TECHNOLOGY & ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Technology Use in the Classroom Laptop computers and other mobile devices are invaluable tools for artists, designers, and students when used responsibly. However, this technology can also be incredibly distracting, especially in the classroom. When in class, you may use your laptops and other devices for any activities pertaining to the course: taking notes, researching material relevant to our readings and discussions, doing homework, making class presentations, etc. However, the following uses are unacceptable: checking email, instant messaging, texting, using social networking sites such as Instagram, etc. Also, during class screenings, your laptops should not be used.

Academic Integrity All work for this class must be your own and specific to this semester. Any work recycled from other classes or from another, non-original source will be rejected with serious implications for the student. Plagiarism, knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own work in any academic exercise, is unacceptable. Any student who commits plagiarism must re-do the assignment for a grade no higher than a D. In fact, a D is the highest possible course grade for any student who commits plagiarism. Please use the MLA style for citing and documenting source material.

The complete policy on Academic Integrity for Students at NYU can be found at https://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-compliance/policies-and-guidelines/academic-integrity-for-students-at-nyu.html

ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS Moses Statement If you are student with a disability who is requesting accommodations, please contact New York University’s Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212-998-4980 or [e-mail]. You must be registered with CSD to receive accommodations. Information about the Moses Center can be found at www.nyu.edu/csd. The Moses Center is located at 726 Broadway on the 2nd floor. Diversity and Inclusion The TCS Department is dedicated to the university's goals for diversity, equity and inclusion. NYU is committed to building a culture that respects and embraces diversity, inclusion, and equity, believing that these values – in all their facets – are, as President Andrew Hamilton said, “…not only important to cherish for their own sake, but because they are also vital for advancing knowledge, sparking innovation, and creating sustainable communities. They should be indispensable elements of an NYU education on all of our campuses. A diverse population encounters and appreciates all perspectives of an issue with a wealth of different approaches to confront it. The result is a higher quality of debate, and a more excellent and advanced academic enterprise.”

Title IX Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources here https://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-compliance/equal-opportunity/title9.html

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

WEEK	MONDAYS	WEDNESDAYS
WK 01		09.04 INTRODUCTIONS & COURSE OVERVIEW
WK 02	09.09 INPUT MAPS PRESENTATIONS	09.11 OPEN WORK SESSION
	09.16: LAST DAY TO DROP FALL 2019 CLASSES
WK 03	09.16 CLASSMATE DISCOVER EVERYTHING IS A REMIX	09.18 REMIX ARTIST RESEARCH BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUE
WK 04	09.23 BEGINNING CREATIVE PROCESS ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY & VIDEO DOCUMENTARY (CPABVID) PROJECT	09.25 DISCUSS CPABVID PROJECT ANIMATICS
WK 05	09.30 CPABVID PROJECT	10.02 PRESENT & DISCUSS CPABVID TEAM HYBRID ANIMATION/VIDEO & VIDEO DRAFTS ITERATION02
WK 06	10.07 OPEN WORK SESSION PROJECT 01: CPABVID	10.09 OPEN WORK SESSION PROJECT 01: CPABVID
	10.15: CLASS DOES NOT MEET TODAY BUT WILL MEET TOMORROW (TUE) INSTEAD
WK 07	10.16 PREPARING FOR MIDTERM MEETINGS Self-Assessment Process Blog Constant Input or Output Notebook/Sketchbook	10.17 VISTING EXPERT (TBA)
WK 08	10.21 MIDTERMS ONE ON ONES	10.23 MIDTERMS ONE ON ONES
WK 09	10.28 PRESENT AND DISCUSS FINAL ITERATION OF PROJECT 01: CPABVID	10.30 PROJECT 02: FUTURE DYSTOPIA / UTOPIA PROJECT (*DYSTOPIA/UTOPIA) Brainstorming Framing Story Brainstorming Message
WK 10	11.04 PRESENT & DISCUSS ASSIGNMENT Love Letter or Break Up Letter	11.06 PRESENT & DISCUSS ASSIGNMENT Object Evolution Timeline
WK 11	11.11 ONE ON ONES Discussing the scope of your FUTURE DYSTOPIA / UTOPIA PROJECT	11.13 ONE ON ONES Discussing the scope of your FUTURE DYSTOPIA / UTOPIA PROJECT
WK 12	11.18 PROJECT 02: DYSTOPIA/UTOPIA Storyboard Lo-fi Prototype	11.20 OPEN WORK SESSION
WK 13	11.25 OPEN WORK SESSION	11.27: CLASS DOES NOT MEET
WK 14	12.02 OPEN WORK SESSION	12.04 PRESENT AND DISCUSS FINAL ITERATION OF PROJECT 02: DYSTOPIA/UTOPIA
WK 15	12.09 PRESENT AND DISCUSS FINAL ITERATION OF PROJECT 02: DYSTOPIA/UTOPIA	12.11 ONE ON ONES End of Semester Deliverables