Interactions between humans and smart products (i.e. digital components integrated in physical Internet of Things devices) are becoming more complex and less visible. Yet designers lack tools to capture these interactions and incorporate them into their design. In this paper we present the Human-Computer-Context Interaction (HCCI) tool that helps…

The case study research reported in this paper followed the iterative design trajectory of youth game designers (ages 11-17) in a week-long summer game design camp, focused on the fundamentals of video game design. Drawing on data from a daily conceptual pitch and feedback activity, the research team traced the iterative design trajectory for one…

Science and computational practices such as modeling and abstraction are critical to understanding the complex systems that are integral to climate science. Given the demonstrated affordances of game design in supporting such practices, we implemented a free 4-day intensive workshop for middle school girls that focused on using the visual…

All university educators perform design work as they prepare and plan learning experiences for their students. How such design work is undertaken, conceptualised, and optimally supported is the focus of ongoing research for the authors. The purpose of this article is to present the results of a research study that sought to gain a richer…

The purpose of this article is to study the personality dominant values in Graphic Design students from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. A scale developed by Allport, Vernon and Lindsey called: "Study of values. A scale for the measuring of personality dominant interests" was used. The sample was applied to 124 students,…

As a consequence of fruitful discussions about joining theory and practice both in design research and educational design programmes, this article aims to explore phenomenological parameters in the framework of an exercise for Engineer-architecture students from the University of Leuven in Belgium. Relying upon the arguments of recognised…

Many books, designers, and design educators talk about visual design principles such as balance, contrast, and alignment, but with little consistency. This study uses empirical methods to explore the lore surrounding design principles. The study took the form of two stages: a quantitative literature review to determine what design principles are…

A wide range of design literature discusses the role of the studio and its related pedagogy in the development of design thinking. Scholars in a variety of design disciplines pose a number of factors that potentially affect this development process, but a full understanding of these factors as experienced from a critical pedagogy or student…

Texts are a group of letters which are printed or displayed in a particular style and size. In the course of the fast speed of technological development everywhere and expanding use of computer based instruction such as online courses, students spend more time on a computer screen than printed media. Texts have been the main element to convey…

An empirical study examined the effects of two influencing factors in usability tests on user performance and usability ratings. Product aesthetics (high vs. low) as the main independent factor and prior usage event (positive vs. negative) as a subsidiary independent factor were varied in a between-participants design. 60 participants took part in…

This study explored the impact of using best practices identified in previous studies in designing age-appropriate websites for middle and high school youth. Utilizing a mixed-method approach, 31 middle and 22 high school youth took part in six focus groups across four states. Participants were introduced to a website specifically designed for…

Website quality measurement tools have been largely static and have struggled to determine relevant attributes of user satisfaction. This study compares and contrasts attributes of user satisfaction based on usability guidelines seeking to identify practical easy-to-administer measurement tools. The website users assessed business school homepages…

Subjects who were shown slides of four newspaper front pages--traditional, contemporary, well-designed traditional, and well-designed contemporary--preferred contemporary to traditional designs and well-designed pages to those of average design. (Reproductions of the four front pages are included.) (GT)

A survey of 194 graduate students compared the old and new formats of "Esquire" magazine, combining two issues of each format in a sequence of four viewing pairs (to negate possible bias effects of content). The subjects indicated their preferences and reasons for preferences for old and new logos, typefaces, tables of content formats,…

Four experiments tested reader reaction to selected newspaper design techniques, including jumps, wraps, type style, and picture size. The results implied that a newspaper striving for the highest overall readership of its stories will get the best results by keeping jumps to a minimum and running larger pictures. (RL)