Prototyping Interactive Spaces

Brett Renfer

This class is a hands-on primer focused on quickly concepting and prototyping
interactive environments. Through a series of one-week sprint projects, students will
learn how to rapidly sketch interactions using a variety of tools and methodologies,
ranging from paper prototypes of mechanisms to projection masking. The class will
conclude with a 3-week final project that applies the prototyping process to a real-
world design challenge.
Each class will include a short lecture and an in-class workshop. Throughout these
classes, students will learn how to: role-play/bodystorm spatial interaction; use
keyboard hacks to sketch tangible interfaces; build lo-fi mock-ups to test kinetic
mechanisms; and use a range of out-of-the-box technical tools such as Spacebrew and
TSPS to quickly build proof-of-concept technical prototypes.