All

Networked Media

Sam Heckle | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 223 | Tues 12:20pm to 1:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 412> Thur 12:20pm to 1:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 412 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Computation and Data (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, In-Person, Midday, Programming and Data (New Structure), Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

The network is a fundamental medium for interactivity. It makes possible our interaction with machines, data, and, most importantly, other people. Though the base interaction it supports is simple, a client sends a request to a server, which replies; an incredible variety of systems can be and have been built on top of it. An equally impressive body of media theory has also arisen around its use.

This hybrid theory and technology course will be 50% project driven technical work and 50% theory and discussion. The technical work will utilize JavaScript as both a client and server side programming language to build creative systems on the web. Technical topics will include server and client web frameworks, such as Express, HTML, CSS, templating, and databases. The theory portion of the course will include reading and discussion of past and current media theory texts that relate to the networks of today.

**** it is HIGHLY recommended you take Front End Web Development (or have equivalent front end web development experience) to get the most out of this course. We will be going over fundamentals of HTML/CSS but it would be useful to have prior knowledge ***

Prerequisite: Creative Computing or equivalent programming experience.

Communications and Technology

Shawn Van Every | IMNY-UT 273 | Tues 12:20pm to 3:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Midday, New, No Tags, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

From alphabets to virtual realities, this course will explore the development, reaction, and long term impact of various communication technologies. How have these technologies, such as writing, printing, the telegraph, television, radio, the internet and beyond, transformed society? And what changes can be observed both today and tomorrow? After students look closely at past and current inventions, students will speculate on the future of communication in a connected world by proposing their own transformative technology. Readings and discussion will cover communication theory, technical processes, creative applications, and critical investigation. Writing assignments will be paired with practical assignments where students will be challenged to bring their analysis and ideas to life. The web will also be utilized as a test bed for experiencing and experimenting with various forms of communication both old and new.

This course will be part seminar and part studio. In the seminar portion of the class, time will be spent engaging in short lectures, critical discussions, and reviews of both reading and writing assignments. In the studio portions, students will participate in hands-on creative and technical activities, share and evaluate project ideas, and present practical assignment work. Throughout the class, students will be encouraged to learn through play, experimentation, collaboration, and exploration. Both individual and group work will be assigned.

Useless Machines

Blair Simmons | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 272 | Mon 12:20pm to 1:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Wed 12:20pm to 1:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, Midday, Monday, Studies/Seminar (Old Structure), Tech and Society (New Structure), Wednesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Useless Machines is about redefining “usefulness.” Through making, we will explore what it means, on an ideological, political and historical level, to create something ‘useful’ or ‘useless.’ We will play with these definitions and explore how these objects serve to be humorous, critical, disruptive and at times… useful. We will study ‘useless’ machines throughout history, which will provoke conversations and disagreements around the implications of existing and emerging technologies. The students will design ‘useless’ machines for their final project.  Examples of ‘useless’ machines are drawn from Kenji Kawakami’s The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions, Dunne & Raby’s Speculative Everything, Stephanie Dinkins’ Conversations with Bina 48, esoteric.codes/, CW&T, Mimi Ọnụọha’s  Missing Data, Jacques Carelman’s Catalog of Impossible Objects, viral videos/objects and much more.

Anatomy of Truth (Topics in Design)

Yuliya Parshina-Kottas | IMNY-UT 271 | Fri 12:20pm to 3:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:7-First Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Friday, Midday, New, No Tags
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This course will explore current and historical misinformation, disinformation and propaganda campaigns in the global media landscape through the lens of visual information design. Students will identify misleading and malignant visual content in online and broadcast media and analyze it using a design framework grounded in information design principles, visual storytelling concepts, user research practices and journalistic ethics. Working in groups, students will apply the same design framework to create a media literacy campaign addressing a specific misinformation, disinformation or propaganda trend.

Real-Time Media

Carrie Sijia Wang | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 285 | Tues 3:40pm to 5:10pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407> Thur 3:40pm to 5:10pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Computation and Data (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, Media and Entertainment (Old Structure), Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This course focuses on designing, developing and delivering real-time, performative work using audio and video elements. The class will have an emphasis on using MaxMSPJitter and other tools to create performative experiences that dynamically combine interactive elements such as video, sound, and code, allow for the unfolding of engaging narratives, and generate compelling visuals in real time.

We will look at various examples of both multimedia performances and installations, explore how we can apply the technologies we have learned to design real-time systems, and discuss methods we can use to make our work more engaging.

The class is three-fold and divided into tech tutorials, discussions of existing examples, and in-class performances.

Content Strategy (Topics in Media Art)

Art Kleiner | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 260 | Thur 12:20pm to 3:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Media and Entertainment (Old Structure), Midday, Thursday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This is a course about how to develop an idea and bring it to the world, using a variety of digital media. Students will create 3-4 pieces of work that relate to each other and form a portfolio of content — communicating effectively with real audiences using real media platforms. The curriculum covers content strategy, basic narrative, and translating that narrative into multimedia. We’ll look at successful (and unsuccessful) examples of content strategy, often based on headlines of the day or deeper themes, and show how to emulate the best of it.  By and large we will be working with digital formats with which students are already familiar, but this class should help bring their skills to another level of impact. We’ll work in teams, starting with students’ own ideas. Students will craft a portfolio of complementary short pieces, some in text and some in multimedia, that can build awareness. We will also cover how to judge effectiveness and impact.

Playful Experiences

Gregory Trefry | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 290 | Mon 3:40pm to 6:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, Media and Entertainment (Old Structure), Monday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Forget the screen. People want to be part of the action. They don’t want to watch detectives and control superhero avatars. They want to solve the mystery and be the hero. They want to experience it. We see this craving for playful experience in everything from immersive theater to escape rooms to the Tough Mudder to gamified vacation packages. Designing live experiences for large audiences that demand agency offers a distinct set of challenges, from how much choice you give each participant to how many people you can through the experience. We’ll look at examples from pervasive games to amusement parks to immersive theater, examining both the design choices and technology that make the experiences possible. Along the way we’ll create large, playful experiences that put the participant at the center of the action.

This class focuses on the particular design problems of large-scale games and playful systems. In this class students develop a foundation in design fundamentals from which to approach the problems of design particular to experiential entertainment. We will analyze existing digital and non-digital games and playful experiences, taking them apart to understand how they work. We will also work on a series of design exercises that explore the social, technological, and creative possibilities of play.

The class will be broken into three sections: People, Time and Space. People will focus on experiences that coordinate the actions of a large number of participants. Time will focus on experiences that stretch out in time and begin to integrate with our everyday lives. Space will ask you to design an experience that takes advantage of physical space and integrates other elements of the class.

100 Days of Making (Topics in Media Art)

Karalyn C Lathrop | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 260 | Tues 09:00am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, Morning, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

100 Days of Making offers students the opportunity to pursue a creative passion and develop or refine a skill over a 100-day period. Students choose a topic of interest and produce an expression of that topic every day for 100 days. Class time is spent discussing student progress, reflecting on the students’ creative journey and the importance of practice.

Introduction to Machine Learning for the Arts

Yining Shi | IMNY-UT 224 | Fri 5:20pm to 8:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Computation and Data (Old Structure), Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Friday, Programming and Data (New Structure)
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

An introductory course designed to provide students with hands-on experience developing creative coding projects with machine learning. The history, theory, and application of machine learning algorithms and related datasets are explored in a laboratory context of experimentation and discussion. Examples and exercises will be demonstrated in JavaScript using the p5.js, ml5.js, and TensorFlow.js libraries. In addition, students will learn to work with open-source generative models including text generation models and image generation models. Principles of data collection and ethics are introduced. Weekly assignments, team and independent projects, and project reports are required.

Some experience and basic familiarity with programming is a plus, but not required.

Contemporary Sculpture in the Digital Age (Topics in Fabrication)

Maya Pollack | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 250 | Mon 09:00am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, Monday, Morning
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Why, in an era dominated by the digital, do physical objects endure? In this fabrication course, delve into the philosophical and practical considerations that underpin the enduring significance of sculpture in an increasingly virtual world. This course not only explores the tactile and spatial dimensions of sculpture but also prompts a critical inquiry into the unique qualities of physicality and how this not only persists but responds to our digital age. Throughout the semester, students will develop practical skills in class sessions, engaging in a variety of material studies and projects. They will produce three formal, finished, and meticulously documented works, drawing from the diverse materials and forms available in the ITP/IMA Shop. Including woodworking, metalworking, mold making, vacuum forming, laser cutting, spray painting, finishes, and 3D sewing/soft sculpture. Students are welcome to integrate skills, materials, and techniques acquired from other classes. In addition to hands-on studio prompts, students engage in class discussions, critiques, and gallery visits.  Assignments are designed to build art making skills, and explore the conceptual and formal properties of sculpture. This course aims to foster a deep engagement between individual making and the context it resides within theory, art and tech history, prompting students to consider how the technological revolution has reshaped our understanding of physical spaces and experiences, and the role sculpture can play to examine, reflect, and create the world today.

Intro to Fabrication or equivalent fabrication experience is highly recommended but no prerequisite is required.

Internet Famous

Zoe Fraade-Blanar | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 201 | Mon 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409> Wed 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Media and Entertainment (Old Structure), Monday, Wednesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Looking to become famous on the internet? Getting attention online may be easy, but controlling it is a lot harder. As traditional celebrities continue to struggle with their digital images, a wave of micro-celebrities and influencers has rushed to fill the gap with viral content, product suggestions, memes, and conspiracy theories. This new breed of stars rules a media landscape where anyone can be their own manager or PR department – for a price.

This class examines the transformation of celebrity from a 19th-century sales gimmick into the formidable cultural, social, and technological force it is today. It explores what happens when fame is freed from its traditional magazine and TV gatekeepers, delving into issues of media manipulation, fan management, commercialization, exploitation, cancel culture, and the surprising importance of cute cat pictures. And we’ll also experiment with the raw tactics and techniques of stardom for anyone looking to chase their own celebrity dreams.

Typography and Technology (Topics in Design)

Kelli Anderson | IMNY-UT 270 | Thur 3:40pm to 6:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, Thursday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

When we see the shape of an uppercase serif letterform, we may subconsciously be reminded of the Roman Empire. What we may not consciously realize is that this association has its roots in the technology used to make these letters, thousands of years ago. Serifs are a wedge-shaped artifact that occurs when a chisel hits stone—the tool used by the Roman Empire to carve their letterforms into monuments called capitals (now a word synonymous with “uppercase” due to this same history.) Though some debate exists among historians, it is widely believed that “capital” letters get their geometric shape from the constraints of the tool of the chisel itself. To understand how the wide stylistic variety of letterforms arrived in our font library (and to understand where our own hazy associations with letterforms originate), one must look to the technology which produced them. From the exigencies of the sign painter’s brush to the psychedelic warping of 1960s Phototype to the 8-bit pixel-based typefaces found in 80s video games, letterforms contain the technological history of the world in microcosm. The subtle choices in each typeface’s form bear the imprint of their moment’s philosophical, technological, and visual conditions, capturing an era’s zeitgeist with a miraculous economy of expression. The letters that we use today are more than 2,000 years old—persisting longer than any other artifacts in common use—but have undergone dramatic fluctuations alongside tech’s major physical transitions from stone to paper to metal to celluloid to digital information. Parallel to this technological history, letters shifted context from cuneiform to letterpress to Linotype to phototype to digital screens in a continual reinterpretation of the the fundamental question “what is a letter?” In the 1970s, technologists and computer scientists found themselves grappling with this same fundamental question as they carried letterforms over into the digital realm: What are letters? Are they fixed visual information? Or are they an idea—a set of executable, gestural instructions? Are letters best understood as reconfigurations of a set of modular parts— building-block components rather than the choreographed gestures of calligraphy? Are they the organic product of the human hand or the output of a system? Early digital technologies wagered “is this what computers are for?” with typefaces in tow—choosing which aspects of the old analog world to reconstruct—in deciding what attributes to port-over. The world we live in today has been impacted by how technologists answered these questions. Questions which, just as easily, could have been answered differently. This course will begin from a place of reflection on our own lived associations with typographic morphology. We will then explore the possible technological origins of those associations while reflecting upon how [what seemed like] tiny digitization decisions delivered us the typographic reality we inhabit today. Students will be asked to look to history for “reasons” for typographic form (which is fun!) But we will also practice looking to history for alternate futures—to examine the “dead ends” that might have otherwise been and daydream about where these paths lead. Typographic technological history offers a manageable jumping-off point for such a thought experiment. This thought experiment scales up to larger problem-solving (and conceptualization) skills related to understanding the implications and effects of tech.

 Three.js for Makers (Topics in Media Art)

Brian Ho | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Tues 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Thur 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

In this increasingly online world, the internet has proven to be a powerful tool that can connect us with one another, host meaningful experiences, and provoke critical thinking. In this class, students will have an opportunity to learn about breaking out of the 2D web page and the fundamentals of working with 3D on the web. This course hopes to introduce new avenues for creative expression and experimentation via the web and promote learning practical web development skills through experiential learning. Students will use Three.js to create dynamic and immersive web-based experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible online. Creative Computing or equivalent familiarity with programming is a plus, but not required for this course.

Intro to Fabrication

Molly Ritmiller | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 242 | Thur 09:00am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 411 Meetings:7-First Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Morning, Thursday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Time to get your hands dirty. Prototypes need to be created, motors have to be mounted, enclosures must be built. Understanding how things are fabricated makes you a better maker.

But hardware is hard. You can’t simply copy and paste an object or working device (not yet anyway), fabrication skills and techniques need to be developed and practiced in order to create quality work. You learn to make by doing.

In this class you will become familiar and comfortable with all the ITP/IMA shop has to offer. We will cover everything from basic hand tools to the beginnings of digital fabrication. You will learn to use the right tool for the job.

There will be weekly assignments created to develop your fabrication techniques. There will be in class lectures, demos, and building assignments. Emphasis will be put on good design practices, material choice, and craftsmanship.

Front-End Web

Lenin Compres | IMNY-UT 228 | Thur 5:20pm to 8:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 412 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Computation and Data (Old Structure), Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Thursday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This course will provide a foundation for understanding modern web development with a focus on front end technologies and accessing public data. The forms and uses of these technologies are explored in a laboratory context of experimentation and discussion. This studio stresses interactivity, usability, and the quality and appropriateness of look and feel.

Students will create two web applications, including one that leverages public APIs and Javascript libraries. The goal of the course is for students to learn how to think holistically about an application, both by designing a clear user experience and understanding the algorithmic steps required to build it. Assignments are arranged in sequence to enable the production of a website of high quality in design and engineering. 

Prerequisite: Creative Computing or equivalent programming experience.

Mobile Application Development (Topics in Computation and Data)

John Henry Thompson | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 220 | Fri 09:00am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Computation and Data (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, Friday, Morning
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

One of the most transformative consumer products in history, the iPhone remains the standard bearer for great design and user experience. With the latest versions of iOS and iPhone, Apple puts depth sensing and augmented reality in our pockets. How do we take advantage of this incredible platform to produce our own compelling experiences?

This course will be a hands-on workshop where we explore the world beyond generic apps and push the boundaries of what’s possible on iOS hardware. Each week, you’ll be asked to complete a programming exercise meant to foster your understanding of iOS application development. We’ll leverage existing open source libraries to quickly build out your app with features such as real time communication and cloud storage.

We aim to create distributed instruments for computed expression.

Full-time access to an iOS device and a Mac laptop computer running the latest operating system and development tools are required.

Prerequisite: Creative Computing or equivalent programming experience, and willingness to learn Apple’s Swift programming language.

User Experience Design

Staff | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 262 | Tues 09:00am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 411 Meetings:14
Prerequisites: None | 4 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Design and Fabrication (New Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, In-Person, Morning, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This course aims to provide students with the critical thinking and practical skills for creating effective and compelling interfaces. We will dissect what a compelling user experience is and discuss and apply design methods for creating one. Throughout this 14-week course we will examine a wide range of examples of interfaces with a focus on understanding the attributes of a successful interface and applying proven research, mapping and testing techniques. The class format will include lectures, case studies, student presentations, discussions of readings and in-class design exercises. The format is very hands-on with assignments that focus on problems that are typical of those a UX designer will encounter in the professional world.

Creative Approaches to Emerging Media

Ami Mehta | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 205 | Thur 5:20pm to 8:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Media and Entertainment (Old Structure), Project Development and Research (New Structure), Thursday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

We live in a world where we have more data, computational power, and access to digital connectivity than ever before. But how do we make sense of the promise inherent in this reality while holding space for the challenges that it presents for different groups and communities? How do we situate the technologies that we have come to take for granted? And more importantly, how do we leverage an artist’s perspective to creating active responses that interrogate and hint at the potential for different futures?

This course examines emergent technological fields, spanning topics like data collection/representation, digital archives, artificial intelligence, social algorithms, and automation and asks how the technologies inherent to each can be leveraged for artistic response, creation, and critique.

While this course is primarily conceptual and art theory-based, the content covered will be technical in nature and students will be tasked with making three creative responses to the content in the tradition of the new media, digital, and conceptual art worlds.

Category: Studies (aka Seminar) OR Computation and Data

Prerequisites: Creative Computing or equivalent programming experience and Communications Lab: Hypercinema or equivalent media production experience is required.

Adapting Everyday Items (Topics in Physical Computing and Experimental Interfaces)

Holly Cohen | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 248 | Mon 5:20pm to 8:20pm in 370 Jay Street, Room 316C Meetings:7-First Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Monday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

For individuals with disabilities, custom adaptations can be critical for a myriad of activities, including work, play, daily living, and actively participating with family and community. Recent advancements in affordable DIY technologies have created opportunities for individuals and communities to build, modify, and adapt countless everyday items. This course examines accessibility and barriers to inclusion, the field of custom adaptations, and the open source and maker communities working together to deliver affordable solutions. Students will develop weekly prototypes as well as a final project.

Introduction to Digital Fabrication

Maya Pollack | Adrian Edgard Rivera | IMNY-UT 252 | Tues 09:00am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
Prerequisites: None | 4 Point, All, Design and Fabrication (New Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, Morning, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Do you want to MAKE THINGS with your computer? Are you an artist, engineer, designer, sculptor or architect? Are you a few of those things? How are 3D scanning and 3D modeling different? What materials should I be using? Should I be 3D printing or CNC-ing this CAD file? What is a boolean operation and why is it my new best friend? This class will answer all of your questions. Don’t know what any of these things are? This class will answer those questions also.

By the end of this course, you will be familiar with all that digital fabrication has to offer. We will cover everything from laser to 3D to CNC. You will learn how to identify which digital fabrication technique works best for your projects. But more than that, you will learn what kinds of questions you should be asking in order to complete a project from start to finish. As technology advances at rapid speeds, digital making machines and software are changing just as fast. So instead of just being taught about the machines of today, you will also be given the tools to teach yourself the machines of tomorrow. Emphasis will be put on learning how to ask the right kind of questions to successfully finish a project.

What do you want to make? Let’s make it.

Introduction to 3D Printing

Xuedi Chen | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 244 | Tues 5:20pm to 8:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:7-First Half
2 Point, All, Design, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, physical, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Prerequisite – Communications Lab (IMNY-UT 102) OR equivalent coursework.

3D environments and objects are powerful prototyping tools. This class will introduce the basics of 3D modeling techniques in Rhino and students will learn to create assets for prototyping and 3D printing. The class will take an industrial design approach to design and build with specifications and materials in mind. Students will learn to think, plan, design, and produce well thought out objects to fit their specific needs. (examples: motor mounts, enclosures, wearables etc.)

New Portraits (Topics in Media Art)

Alan Winslow | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Mon 5:20pm to 8:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Media and Entertainment (Old Structure), Monday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

“Portraiture stands apart from other genres of art as it marks the intersection between portrait, biography, and history. They are more than artworks; when people look at portraits, they think they are encountering that person,” says Alison Smith, chief curator at the National Portrait Gallery in London. For thousands of years, artists have used cutting-edge tools and resources to create portraiture, giving viewers a glimpse into the subject’s life. A successful portrait embraces technology to bring the viewer closer to the subject but is not overshadowed by it.

In this course, we will delve into portraiture through the lens of various volumetric capture systems, including Depth Kit, Evercoast, Polycam, and Gaussian splatting. Through hands-on assignments, students will learn the entire pipeline of volumetric capture, from configuring the systems to capturing our subjects and final output. Simultaneously, we will focus on fundamental aspects of portraiture, such as lighting, storytelling, production techniques, and historical foundations. The course will explain the techniques and considerations involved in creating volumetric portraits. Students will gain proficiency in the systems to produce high-quality volumetric portraits that can be integrated into different mediums, including game engines, augmented reality (AR), or traditional 2D outputs.

Communications Lab: Hypercinema or equivalent experience in time-based media and game engine fundamentals is required.

Immersive Experiences

Thomas Martinez | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 282 | Fri 12:20pm to 3:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
Prerequisites: Creative Computing or permission of the instructor | 4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Friday, Media and Entertainment (Old Structure), Media Arts (New Structure), Midday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience creating immersive experiences, with a focus on designing artistic, meaningful worlds for virtual reality headsets. The class will also touch on related technologies, methods, and fields including experience design, virtual painting, augmented reality, interactive installation, and 360 video/audio. The course materials will also include readings and discussions on prior art/relevant critical texts. This class uses VR as a lens for understanding experience design in general. Some basic familiarity with programming, image-making, and time-based media is a plus, but not required.

Communications Lab: Hypercinema or equivalent experience.

Code! 2

Dave Stein | IMNY-UT 2 | TBD Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This online course focuses on applying fundamentals of computer programming in JavaScript to interactive media projects. In particular it leverages the p5.js creative computing environment which is oriented towards visual displays on desktops, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The course is designed for students with a foundation level understanding of programming in JavaScript with the p5.js library. The Code! course (or equivalent) is a prerequisite.

AI for Creatives (Topics in Media Art)

Tyler Peppel | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Mon 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Wed 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-First Half
2 Point, All, Computation and Data (Old Structure), Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Monday, Wednesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

A survey and hands-on workshop on AI augmentation of creative communication.

We will get hands-on with AI tools for photography, design, art, writing, UX, illustration, and video.
We will produce, critique, and exhibit creative work that tests the creative capabilities of these new AI tools.

Questions we will consider:
How does AI influence the creative process?
How does this new human/machine collaboration challenge my role as a creator?
Who is creating these new tools and how do they work?
What is the longer-term impact of AI technologies on the creative professions?
Our goals are to understand AI technology, use it to produce creative work, and use what we learn to influence the larger conversation about creativity and AI.

Will AI diminish or enhance human creativity? It’s up to us.

Capstone

Theo Ellin Ballew | IMNY-UT 400 | Mon 10:40am to 12:10pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407> Wed 10:40am to 12:10pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Foundation, Monday, Morning, Wednesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

The Capstone Studio course asks students to produce an interactive project (with documentation), a research paper, and a personal portfolio.

The interactive project will illustrate students’ unique interests as well as evidence of competency within the field of interactive media production. Students are encouraged to develop their project around a theme previously explored in their work. Projects will be presented and critiqued repeatedly throughout the capstone process to peers, faculty, and industry professionals. A final presentation of the interactive project will be delivered late in the semester.

The research paper (4000-5000 words) will focus on at least one aspect of the interactive project: e.g. culture, theory, philosophy, or history, the project context, and/or production methods. For example, students may write about their project’s reception by a set of specific users, or by users who are part of a larger culture, society, or market. It is important that students think beyond the project itself and situate it in a broader context accessible through research. The research paper will include an annotated bibliography of the books and other resources they used for their research.

Students will also be guided in the production of an online portfolio to showcase their work and accomplishments to the outside world. Graduates will be evaluated by their portfolio when applying for jobs, graduate school, artist residencies, grants, and the like. Portfolios will be tailored to the demands of each student’s future goals and target audience.

Prerequisites: Only available to graduating students!

Code!

Dave Stein | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 1 | TBD Meetings:7-First Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This online course focuses on the fundamentals of computer programming (variables, conditionals, iteration, functions & objects) using JavaScript. In particular it leverages the p5.js creative computing environment which is oriented towards visual displays on desktops, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The course is designed for computer programming novices. What can computation add to human communication? You will gain a deeper understanding of the possibilities of computation–– possibilities that will augment and enhance the perspectives, abilities and knowledge you bring from your field of study (e.g. art, design, humanities, sciences, engineering). Each week you will complete a coding exercise and reflect on your process in a short forum post along with a wrap-up assignment at the end. At first it may feel foreign, as foreign as learning a new language or way of thinking. But soon, once you get some basic skills under your belt, you’ll be able to make projects that reflect your own interests and passions.

Creating With Cardboard (Topics in Fabrication)

si23 | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 251 | Thur 09:00am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-First Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, In-Person, Morning, New York, No Tags, Thursday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Ubiquitous, inexpensive, and often overlooked, cardboard can serve a wide variety of purposes. This two-credit studio class will familiarize students with this sustainable material while exploring its unique virtues and challenges. We will utilize techniques borrowed from disciplines such as sewing, woodworking, sculpture, packaging, origami, and papercraft. Projects will range from temporary, three-dimensional prototypes to sturdy, scalable finished products.

Physical Computing

Yeseul Song | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 245 | Tues 3:40pm to 6:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 411 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Physical Computing (New Structure), Physical Computing and Experimental Interfaces (Old Structure), Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This course expands the students’ palette for physical interaction design with computational media. We look away from the limitations of the mouse, keyboard and monitor interface of today’s computers, and start instead with the expressive capabilities of the human body. We consider uses of the computer for more than just information retrieval and processing, and at locations other than the home or the office. The platform for the class is a microcontroller, a single-chip computer that can fit in your hand. The core technical concepts include digital, analog and serial input and output. Core interaction design concepts include user observation, affordances, and converting physical action into digital information. Students have weekly lab exercises to build skills with the microcontroller and related tools, and longer assignments in which they apply the principles from weekly labs in creative applications. Both individual work and group work is required.

Prerequisite: Creative Computing or equivalent programming and physical computing experience.

IMA Cohort: Community is a Practice

Blair Simmons | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 99 | Tues 10:40am to 11:40am in No Room Required (Brooklyn) Meetings:14
All, Elective, Fall 2025, Foundation, Foundation, Morning, online, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

IMA Cohort: Community is a Practice provides incoming IMA students with an opportunity to consider the IMA program, and their role within it. This zero-credit course is based around in-class activities, discussions, viewings, texts, and lectures that begin from the students’ varying perspectives and ultimately provide a grounding within the tenets of the IMA program.
IMA is an interdisciplinary program that draws students from across the United States and around the world. This course functions as an opportunity for students to consider the knowledge that they already have, the contexts in which that knowledge is situated, and how students can relate to and work with classmates who come from their own diverse contexts and backgrounds.
Students will be guided through discussions, viewings, and visits from other members of the university. Because this is a zero-credit course and there are no assignments outside of class, student participation and engagement in these activities is especially important.

Collective Narrative

Lily Crandall | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 286 | Mon 3:40pm to 6:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, Fall 2025, In-Person, Monday, New York, No Tags
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This two-point workshop is centered on the examination and creation of collective storytelling environments. We will examine a wide-range of storytelling spaces including participatory and user-generated environments, site-specific works, community based arts practices, and transmedia storytelling. Coursework consists of weekly multimedia assignments to reflect on storytelling in our own lives and the lives of others, field trips, and student presentations. By the end of this course, students will have experienced and experimented with alternative, collaborative, and site-specific storytelling methods.

Creative Computing

Dan O'Sullivan | Jack B. Du | Ellen Nickles | David Rios | Carrie Sijia Wang | Daniel Shiffman | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 101 | Fri 3:40pm to 6:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Friday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This course combines two powerful areas of technology, Physical Computing and Programming, and asks students to consider their implications.  It will enable you to leap from being just a user of technology to becoming a mindful creator with it.

The course begins with Physical Computing, which allows you to break free from both the limitations of mouse, keyboard and monitor interfaces and stationary locations at home or the office. We begin by exploring the expressive capabilities of the human body and how we experience our physical environment. The platform for the class is a microcontroller (Arduino brand), a very small inexpensive single-chip computer that can be embedded anywhere and sense and make things happen in the physical world. The core technical concepts include digital, analog and serial input and output.

The second portion of the course focuses on fundamentals of computer programming (variables, conditionals, iteration, functions & objects) as well as more advanced techniques such as data parsing, image processing, networking, and machine learning. The Javascript ‘p5’ programming environment is the primary vehicle. P5 is more oriented towards visual displays on desktops, laptops, tablets or smartphones but can also connect back to the physical sensor & actuators from the first part of the class.

What can computation add to human communication? The ultimate question of this class is not “how” to program but “why” to program. You will gain a deeper understanding of the possibilities of computation in order to see how it applies to your interests (e.g. art, design, humanities, sciences, engineering). In addition to weekly technical assignments there are blogging assignments, usually reacting to short readings, allowing you to reflect in writing about the nature of computation and how it fits into your life and into human society. 

There is an even workload each week of a technical production assignment and a writing assignment but none of them are big.  The course is designed for computer programming novices but the project-centered pedagogy will allow more experienced programmers the opportunity to go further with their project ideas and collaborate with other students.

eTextiles & Physical Computing (Topics in Media Art)

Nicole Yi Messier | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Thur 09:00am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, Morning, Thursday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

The eTextiles and Physical Computing course will focus on the practical application of electronics in textiles. Students will learn by doing, spending their time building circuits, soldering, programming, learning various textile construction techniques, and integrating sensors and controls into fabrics. The course aims to teach how both physical computing and textile technical skills to create interactive textile projects.

Prerequisite: Creative Computing (IMNY-UT 101)

Communications Lab

Patrick Warren | Sharon De La Cruz | Rosalie Yu | Akmyrat Tuyliyev | Sarah Rothberg | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 102 | Mon 09:00am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Foundation, Monday, Morning
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

No prerequisites.

An introductory course designed to provide students with hands-on experience using various technologies including time based media, video production, digital imaging, audio, video and animation. The forms and uses of new communications technologies are explored in a laboratory context of experimentation and discussion. The technologies are examined as tools that can be employed in a variety of situations and experiences. Principles of interpersonal communications, media theory, and human factors are introduced. Weekly assignments, team and independent projects, and project reports are required

Information Design (Topics in Design)

Katherine Dillon | IMNY-UT 270 | Wed 3:40pm to 6:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, Fall 2025, New, No Tags, Wednesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Information Design Introduces students to the art and science of transforming complex data into clear, compelling visual narratives. Students explore fundamental principles of information design while developing practical skills in data analysis and visual representation. Through hands-on projects, students learn to craft effective charts, diagrams, and maps that communicate complex information with clarity and purpose. The course emphasizes both technical proficiency and storytelling, teaching students to select appropriate visualization methods and combine them into cohesive narratives that engage and inform their audience. By the end of the course, students will have developed a robust toolkit for turning raw data into meaningful visual experiences.

At the completion of this course, the students will:

– Think critically about information design problems and have a framework for defining, assessing, and solving them

– Develop confidence with the vocabulary of information design and the appropriate application of the visual models

– Be familiar with best-in-class examples of information design

– Understand the power of information design as a tool of communication and persuasion

Projection Mapping (Topics in Media Art)

CHIKA | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 260 | Tues 12:20pm to 3:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Midday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

We, humans, have been fascinated by beautiful light for centuries. How can we transform light into Art and Technology? Are we able to discover and express ourselves through the process of making? 

“Projection Mapping 101” is a unique hands-on class building skills to create a projection mapping project and learn the evolution of Light Art and Technology. 

The students will identify their concepts and audience engagement through project exercises: Origami Mapping, Graffiti Mapping, International Projection Mapping Contest, etc. We will discuss a conceptual process, creating a prototype to complete their project. The goal is to develop students’ unique voices through this artistic process. They are encouraged to expand a larger project and incorporate new techniques they learn from other classes.

The Code of Music

Luisa Pereira | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 222 | Mon 12:20pm to 3:20pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Computation and Data (Old Structure), Elective, Fall 2025, In-Person, Midday, Monday, Programming and Data (New Structure)
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

In this course, students learn how to create musical systems –pieces that incorporate randomness, interact with their listeners, or evolve over time, in the browser.

We will start by creating audiovisual instruments and sample-based interactive songs, as students review their p5.js skills and are introduced to the Tone.js music library. Then, we will turn to a structured exploration of the elements of music, focusing on rhythm, melody, timbre, and harmony. For each, we will hold listening sessions, represent and manipulate the element in code, and interact with it via a range of existing interfaces. Students will explore the possibilities that computation and interactivity open up by designing and implementing a series of interactive studies.

The last few weeks of the semester will be dedicated to introducing algorithmic composition techniques such as Markov Chains and Neural Networks. During this time, students will also develop their final project: an interactive/generative musical piece that builds on their previous classwork.

Throughout the course, students are encouraged to bring in their musical tastes and interests into the classroom. This class is a good fit for students who are interested in:
– Creating interactive music pieces and digital instruments.
– Deepening their understanding of how music works. All musically-curious students are welcome: previous experience with music and audio will be useful, but is not required.
– Continuing to develop coding skills. Creative Coding or equivalent programming experience is required.

About Luisa Hors: www.luisapereira.net/

Prerequisite: Creative Computing (IMNY-UT 101)

Generative Filmmaking in the Age of Hypercinema (Topics in Media Art)

Gabe Barcia-Colombo | IMNY-UT 260 | Wed 3:40pm to 5:10pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, Fall 2025, New, No Tags, Wednesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

The history of generative art dates back to the 20th century, with Dada and Fluxus artists using chance games and techniques to create spontaneous works of art. Today, generative art and entertainment continues to evolve with advances in artificial intelligence, but how do these advancements impact media making and the film and television industry? Video diffusion models, artificially intelligent avatars and generative soundtracks are among the emergent AI tools that can be used to create a film. This IMA and Film course will allow students to explore new tools in the creation of hypercinema. From RunwayML and Stable Diffusion to real time avatar puppeteering and virtual production, this course will provide a hands-on survey of generative media in the film industry.  How does generative AI change the way we tell stories? How do we deal with the ethical issues surrounding the use of generative media in film production? How will generative AI lead to dramatic changes in production and postproduction, distribution, and intellectual property ownership in the film industry? Class time will be split between lectures surveying the field of generative media and hands-on production using brand new tools and platforms.

Animation: Methods of Motion

Patrick Warren | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 288 | Tues 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408> Thur 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Media and Entertainment (Old Structure), Media Arts (New Structure), Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

This course explores the fundamentals of storytelling through animation and takes students from traditional animation techniques to contemporary forms. In the first part of the course, students will focus on traditional animation, from script to storyboard through stop-motion and character-based animation. The course then examines effective communication and storytelling through various animation and motion design techniques. Drawing skills are not necessary for this course, however, students will keep a personal sketchbook.

CNC and More (Topics in Fabrication)

Phil Caridi | IMNY-UT 250 | TBD Meetings:
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Friday, Morning, New, No Tags
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

Take your digital fabrication skills to the next level. This class will focus on 3-axis CNC, 4-axis CNC, the Shaper Origin, the Bantam Desktop Mill, Metal Laser Cutting, advanced handheld router techniques, and the wood lathe. This course will also focus on exploring design considerations for digital fabrication.

 Three.js for Makers (Topics in Media Art)

Staff | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Tues 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Thur 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

In this increasingly online world, the internet has proven to be a powerful tool that can connect us with one another, host meaningful experiences, and provoke critical thinking. In this class, students will have an opportunity to learn about breaking out of the 2D web page and the fundamentals of working with 3D on the web. This course hopes to introduce new avenues for creative expression and experimentation via the web and promote learning practical web development skills through experiential learning. Students will use Three.js to create dynamic and immersive web-based experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible online. Creative Computing or equivalent familiarity with programming is a plus, but not required for this course.

 Three.js for Makers (Topics in Media Art)

Staff | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Tues 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Thur 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

In this increasingly online world, the internet has proven to be a powerful tool that can connect us with one another, host meaningful experiences, and provoke critical thinking. In this class, students will have an opportunity to learn about breaking out of the 2D web page and the fundamentals of working with 3D on the web. This course hopes to introduce new avenues for creative expression and experimentation via the web and promote learning practical web development skills through experiential learning. Students will use Three.js to create dynamic and immersive web-based experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible online. Creative Computing or equivalent familiarity with programming is a plus, but not required for this course.

 Three.js for Makers (Topics in Media Art)

Staff | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Tues 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Thur 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

In this increasingly online world, the internet has proven to be a powerful tool that can connect us with one another, host meaningful experiences, and provoke critical thinking. In this class, students will have an opportunity to learn about breaking out of the 2D web page and the fundamentals of working with 3D on the web. This course hopes to introduce new avenues for creative expression and experimentation via the web and promote learning practical web development skills through experiential learning. Students will use Three.js to create dynamic and immersive web-based experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible online. Creative Computing or equivalent familiarity with programming is a plus, but not required for this course.

 Three.js for Makers (Topics in Media Art)

Staff | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Tues 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Thur 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

In this increasingly online world, the internet has proven to be a powerful tool that can connect us with one another, host meaningful experiences, and provoke critical thinking. In this class, students will have an opportunity to learn about breaking out of the 2D web page and the fundamentals of working with 3D on the web. This course hopes to introduce new avenues for creative expression and experimentation via the web and promote learning practical web development skills through experiential learning. Students will use Three.js to create dynamic and immersive web-based experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible online. Creative Computing or equivalent familiarity with programming is a plus, but not required for this course.

 Three.js for Makers (Topics in Media Art)

Brian Ho | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Tues 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Thur 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

In this increasingly online world, the internet has proven to be a powerful tool that can connect us with one another, host meaningful experiences, and provoke critical thinking. In this class, students will have an opportunity to learn about breaking out of the 2D web page and the fundamentals of working with 3D on the web. This course hopes to introduce new avenues for creative expression and experimentation via the web and promote learning practical web development skills through experiential learning. Students will use Three.js to create dynamic and immersive web-based experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible online. Creative Computing or equivalent familiarity with programming is a plus, but not required for this course.

 Three.js for Makers (Topics in Media Art)

Brian Ho | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Tues 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Thur 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

In this increasingly online world, the internet has proven to be a powerful tool that can connect us with one another, host meaningful experiences, and provoke critical thinking. In this class, students will have an opportunity to learn about breaking out of the 2D web page and the fundamentals of working with 3D on the web. This course hopes to introduce new avenues for creative expression and experimentation via the web and promote learning practical web development skills through experiential learning. Students will use Three.js to create dynamic and immersive web-based experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible online. Creative Computing or equivalent familiarity with programming is a plus, but not required for this course.

 Three.js for Makers (Topics in Media Art)

Brian Ho | Syllabus | IMNY-UT 281 | Tues 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410> Thur 7:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:7-Second Half
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Thursday, Tuesday
Last updated: July 3, 2025
Show Course Description

In this increasingly online world, the internet has proven to be a powerful tool that can connect us with one another, host meaningful experiences, and provoke critical thinking. In this class, students will have an opportunity to learn about breaking out of the 2D web page and the fundamentals of working with 3D on the web. This course hopes to introduce new avenues for creative expression and experimentation via the web and promote learning practical web development skills through experiential learning. Students will use Three.js to create dynamic and immersive web-based experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible online. Creative Computing or equivalent familiarity with programming is a plus, but not required for this course.