Nicholas Hubbard

Experiences that lead to meaningful growth (for individuals, in relationships, in
communities) nearly always involve discomfort. It can be inherent to the process–even
a key aspect–of reaching a desired outcome for participants. Discomfort with good
reason. This is the starting point for this course.
In The Art of Interactive Design, Chris Crawford makes an analogy between creating
interactive media and holding a conversation. A standard design process often looks to
set up “conversations” that are comfortable and pleasurable, with a low barrier to entry
for users. But in pursuit of meaningful growth, we need to engineer what Douglas
Stone at Harvard Law has termed “Difficult Conversations”. As designers, artists, and
creative-technologists, we can find unique insights and devise innovative solutions for
leading people through them.
Weekly lectures and assignments will focus on identifying and prototyping creative
experiences that involve one of four forms of discomfort (visceral, cultural, controlrelated, and intimacy-related). Examples will be considered from fields including visual
art, performance, memorials, product design, and speculative design. Students will
benefit from some prior familiarity with one or more of the following: psychology,
conflict resolution, design-thinking, art-practice, or user-experience. All technical
methodologies welcome.