4 Point – Forum for ITP Class Listings

Computational Text from A to Z +

Daniel Shiffman | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2536 | Tues 12:20pm to 2:50pm in 370 Jay Street, Room 426 Meetings:14
4 Point, alexa, All, api, awesome, bots, chromeextension, code, coding, codingtrain, computation, danshiffman, data, Elective, exploratory, Fall 2025, fun,, generativetext, Graduate, In-Person, javascript, machinelearning, markov, markovchains, Midday, ml, node, nodejs, p5, poetry, programming, shiffman, tensorflow, text, textanalysis, Tuesday, twitter, twitterbot, voice, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

This course is a survey of programming strategies and techniques for the procedural analysis and generation of text-based data. Topics include analyzing text based on its statistical properties, automated text production using probabilistic methods, and text visualization. Students will learn server-side and client-side JavaScript programming and build single-page web applications as well as bots for social media networks. Additionally, this course will critically investigate and explore open-source and commercial machine learning models for text and image generation. The course includes weekly homework coding exercises and an open-ended final project.

Alter Egos: Assuming New Identities Through Costume and Performance +

Ali Santana | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3024 | Mon 12:20pm to 2:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, Midday, Monday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

Throughout history, musicians have channeled their creativity into outrageous fashion statements and invented personas: think MF DOOM, Sun Ra, Ghostface Killah, Daft Punk, Leikeli47 and Rammellzee. By embracing their alter egos in extreme and outlandish ways, artists have found their authentic creative voices. This course will introduce participants to the art of masquerade using their resourcefulness to create costumes from found materials, and performance as an exploration in creative expression using new media and technology. Students will be introduced to ideas surrounding abstract storytelling, experimental audio + video production, and A/V performance using a combination of technical and hands-on approaches.

This course requires CL: Hypercinema or equivalent experience.

Prerequisite: CL: Hypercinema (ITPG-GT 2004)

The Code of Music +

Luisa Pereira | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2653 | Tues 12:20pm to 2:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, algorithms, All, and, art,, audio, awesome, build, code, coding, composition, creativecoding, creative_coding, demystified, design, Elective, experience, Fall 2025, generative, Graduate, helpful, In-Person, installation, interaction, interactive, interdisciplinary, javascript, markov, Midday, music, musictheory, New York, p5, p5js, production, projects, sound, tech, theory, tonejs, Tuesday, user, visual, web, webaudio, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

This course explores music through the lenses of computation and interactivity.

The first part of the semester consists of a structured exploration of rhythm, melody, timbre, and harmony, from the perspectives of code, design, and music theory. For each musical element, we will hold listening sessions, represent and manipulate the element in code, and create an interactive study around it.

During the second half of the semester we will cover algorithmic composition techniques such as Markov Chains, Neural Networks and L-systems. As students work toward their final projects, assignments will take a more self-directed approach. Professional practitioners will come in to share their work in the field and give students feedback on their projects.

In-class coding and assignments will be done in P5.js + Tone.js, but students will be free to use other languages and frameworks for their final projects. ICM or equivalent programming experience is required.

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
– Continuing to develop coding skills acquired in ICM

Prerequisites: Introduction to Computational Media (ICM) or equivalent programming experience is required.
About Luisa Hors: https://www.luisapereira.net/

Critical Objects +

Pedro Galvao Cesar de Oliveira | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2496 | Thur 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay Street Room 450 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, applications, art,, body, computing, concept, crafting, critical, criticalthinking, design, development, Elective, engineering, ethics, Fall 2025, Graduate, hard, interesting, maker, No Tags, objects, pcomp, physical, physicalcomputing, politics, problemsolving, raspberrypi, social, technology, thinkoutsidethebox, Thursday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

Art, design and experimental electronics can be great tools for inciting discussions of complex issues such as privacy, sexism, racism, economic inequality and climate change. This course aims to provoke thoughtful discussions of pressing issues through the combination of Art, Industrial Design and Embedded Electronics (sensors, actuators, Wi-Fi enabled microcontrollers – ESP32, raspberry pis). Topics will include technological disobedience, adversarial design and critical engineering.

In this 14-week class, students will combine technology, design, and critical theory to build Art Objects / Interactive Sculptures that are aesthetically intriguing while socially relevant.

This is a production heavy four-credit course, where students will learn about new-media critical theory, design and electronics. Prerequisites include an open mind, the drive to make, and physical computing.

Multisensory Storytelling in Virtual Reality and Original Flavor Reality +

Winslow Porter | ITPG-GT.3026 | Thur 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, Thursday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

In this course, we will explore how to create immersive narratives that leverage our full suite of senses like touch, taste and smell as well as lesser-known ones like space, time, balance and scale. We will dig into the history of experiential storytelling, starting from immersive theater and Smell-O-vision to cutting-edge haptics and mind-bending illusions of proprioception. To help center this back in practical applications, we will also explore how this evolving art is commonly used in exhibition design, experiential marketing and brick and mortar retail. The class will be a healthy mixture of game theory as well as experienced based learning (meaning there will be field trips and many multisensory VR projects to explore).

We will dig into the process of making the immersive experiences Forager (SXSW, NAB, SIGGRAPH) and Tree VR ( Sundance, Tribeca, WEF, TED), looking at both the project files as well as all of the work that went into ideation and pre-production. All of this will culminate with a show to exhibit all of your final projects.

A basic knowledge of Unreal Engine is extremely advantageous because it is our primary tool for both creating and experiencing projects during the class semester.

Creative Image Generation (Topics in ITP) +

Yuguang Zhang | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2378 | Fri 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Friday, Graduate, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

Recent years have seen unprecedented advancements in text-to-image / text-to-video AI models, sparking widespread attention, discussion, and mainstream adoption of these innovative co-creative tools. This has led to a mix of reactions, ranging from excitement and curiosity to concern, anger, and even offense. Alongside this, the growth of open-source models is democratizing access to these AI tools, extending their use beyond experts, tech giants, and professional technologists.

In this 14-week course, we will go over the landscape of text-to-image / text-to-video AIs and dive deep into some of the most well known ones (such as Stable Diffusion, Flux, CogVideoX, Hunyuan, etc.), to see what potential they have in terms of exploring new modes of content creation and helping us re-examine our language pattern. This will be a practice + technique course comprised of three modules: Text-to-Image AIs and Tools, Model Customization, and Text-to-Video AIs. In each module, there will be a hybrid of practice + technique sessions that focus on different topics such as building good prompting practices, image synthesizing, using Python to train models for customized visuals, building workflows with ComfyUI, and creating animations from text. We’ll also discuss how such tools could intervene in the workflows of artists and technologists, what they can provide for researchers, and what are the caveats and things we should look out for when we’re creating with these AIs.

Pre-requisites: Introduction to Computational Media (ICM) or the equivalent.

Future of Media and Technology +

Art Kleiner | Juliette Powell | ITPG-GT.2297 | Mon 12:20pm to 2:50pm in 370 Jay Street Room 450 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, discussion, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, history, Midday, Monday, reading, speculativedesign, technology, theory, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

This course covers the next several years of evolution in technology, culture, and other trends. It uses scenario planning, a technique for considering complex interrelationships that can’t be predicted, distinguishing predetermined elements from critical uncertainties, and exploring the underlying patterns that influence events. Students will conduct original research on significant trends, use those trends to develop compelling, sophisticated, plausible stories about possible futures, and present the futures – and the strategies they suggest – to a public audience. The course will take place at a pivotal moment of historical uncertainty: recovering from a global pandemic, with AI and other digital technologies crossing a threshold, and dramatic political and economic tensions. All of these, and more, affect media development – and are deeply affected by them. The goal of the course is to enable you to make more robust decisions now in the face of uncertainty — applicable to planning for technological change, starting a business, plotting a career or making major life decisions. This class has developed a longstanding following at ITP because it helps us make sense of complex issues without oversimplifying them. In a climate of candid, respectful discussion and debate, the class explores theories about system dynamics, long-wave organizational and societal change, and economic and technological development.

Addendum from former student:

As I wake up to the serious news of Ukraine, I am reminded of the prediction that I and my classmates Jerllin Cheng and Susanne Forchheimer made while taking a class at NYU-ITP called “Future of New Media,” taught by the great Art Kleiner , which is easily one of the most important classes I’ve ever taken in my life. In this class, Art taught us the craft of prediction in order to make tech art/products that speak to the near future.
It was 2014, and using his strategic workflow, he asked our class to predict what would 2020 be like. Although no one predicted a pandemic, some did predict things likes smart homes etc. But our group was bold enough to predict a “Cyber Cold War,” given Russia’s annexation of Crimea and other developments in China going on during the time of the class. Our presentation went into interesting detail that speculated the end of an open internet, and a further lockdown of borders and increase in video chats for that reason (which did happen in 2020 but for the pandemic), but let’s hope that is not the case now!
Certainly no fear-mongering happening here- just wanted to share that we made a pretty good prediction and that Art Kleiner’s method is incredible (buy his books). Our hearts are with Ukraine and the world.

Fabricating Mechanical Automatons (Batteries Not Included) +

Josh Corn | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3034 | Thur 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, Morning, Thursday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

How do we make things move, produce sounds, or maybe even emit light without batteries? Through this course, each student will design their own purely mechanical automaton. We will learn how to use simple materials and tools to hand prototype mechanisms in their early stages. CAD software will be used to refine the designs and then a series of traditional and digital fabrication tools (various wood shop tools, laser cutter, CNC, 3D printers, etc.) will be used to produce the final pieces. We will learn how to work iteratively in the shop through weekly exercises, and a midterm and final project.

Game Design and the Psychology of Choice +

Melissa Parker | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3028 | Wed 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Fall 2025, Graduate, Wednesday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

As game and interaction designers we create systems and choices that can either prey upon our psychological foibles or help us avoid decision pitfalls. It is our responsibility to understand how we decide, to consider the ethics of the systems we create and to practice designing systems in a purposeful manner.

Game Design & The Psychology of Choice will provide interaction and game designers with an understanding of the factors that influence behavior and decision-making by looking at the intertwining of cognitive psychology and economics through the development of behavioral economics. These disciplines study behavior on the individual and group level, often revealing some of the why behind the rules of thumb and folk wisdom that game designers come to intuitively. But understanding the why—why we fall into decision traps; why certain tradeoffs tax our brain more than others; why we are overconfident about our abilities; why certain decisions make us uncomfortable—allows us to more purposefully apply our design craft, both in and out of games. Finally, as a class, we will take what we learn about how we think and create series of game experiences based around key cognitive science concepts.

Assignments may include:
•Mod a cognitive science experiment into a game or experience
•Analyze and present a game through the lens of cognitive science and behavioral economics
•Create game or experience based around a particular insight from cognitive science or behavioral economics

Hedonomic VR Design: Principles and Practices +

Michelle Cortese | ITPG-GT.3025 | Thur 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, Morning, Thursday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

To be a VR creator, it’s not enough to learn the hard skills—it’s also our responsibility to prime ourselves for the human impact of our work. As a means to design VR that is both enjoyable and accountable, this class proposes we borrow design principles from Hedonomics, a branch of ergonomic science that facilitates pleasurable human-technology interaction. Through the Hedonomic Pyramid, we’re able to section our thinking off into regions (Safety, Function, Usability, Pleasure and Individuation) and map out industry-tested VR design guidance for each. The result is a hierarchical checklist of proven principles, specifications and practices—that promote a culture of inclusive and holistic design—built to serve as a quickstart guide to designing accountable VR interfaces and systems. This class, divided into units that represent each level of the Hedonomic pyramid, will unpack both technical and conceptual strategies for creating VR, from visual interface fidelity to avoiding locomotion cybersickness to designing safer social VR spaces.

Visual Journalism +

Yuliya Parshina-Kottas | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2071 | Fri 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, data, Elective, Fall 2025, Friday, Graduate, guestspeakers, journalism, Morning, visualization, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

This course is designed to provide an overview of multimedia storytelling in the service of journalism, with a focus on visual narratives. We will explore a variety of digital and physical story formats, deep-dive into information design principles, create visual explainers and data visualizations based on original reporting, touch on the best practices and ethics of journalism and work on collaborative exercises and assignments. The goal of this class is to help you leverage your current skills to report, develop, design and build a fully-realized news story.

Shared Minds +

Dan O'Sullivan | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3033 | Wed 12:20pm to 2:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, Midday, Wednesday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

This class asks students to think about thinking. Based on first person introspection, meditation and readings in psychology, students will examine the experience of their minds. Then we look at how computation works as a medium to capture and share that experience. Class time is evenly divided between conceptual discussions around the psychology of media, looking at student work, and learning coding skills for the following week. The goal is for students to improve web based social media.

On the technical side, the class gently picks up from any introductory javascript coding class moving away from the P5 to create 2D interfaces with vanilla javascript in an environment of Visual Studio Code, Github and Copilot. Using APIs, we explore the hyper dimensional space of popular machine learning models. Using Firebase databases we then introduce the ability to make media social by sharing our creations across time and with other people. We then pop the hood a bit using google colab notebooks to go beyond the functionality of the ML API’s. Finally the class looks to expose the vast connections from these hyperdimensional models back into 2D or 3D (three.js library) interfaces to reach your body using UMAP dimensions reduction and embodied interfaces like VR, ML5 or P5LiveMedia. The class uses web technologies in the hope of improving the web media ecosystem and so game engines will not work for this class. Each week students are expected to produce a quick sketch playing with the tech and imagine its application as a tool of improved communication.

In tandem with this technical journey each week there are conceptual readings and prompts asking students about how the technology aligns with the way they think. In a short blog post students are asked to take a critical look for the shortcomings of existing computational media and for ways we can make better media for connecting people with a better understanding of the mind. At the end of the semester students work on a final project using some or all of the concepts and technologies from the class.

Time +

Jeffrey Feddersen | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2040 | Thur 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, Morning, Thursday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

“A computer is a clock with benefits” writes Paul Ford in Bloomberg’s issue dedicated to code. Time, at once fundamental and mysterious, is of course a basic part of any time-based media, but uniquely more so for programmed media that can evolve as it runs. In this course, we’ll reflect on the deep mysteries of time while also building hands-on skills that will improve our command of temporal media and technologies.

Specific topics will range from the marvelous engineering of historical clocks and orreries through modern computer architecture. We’ll draw inspiration from a technological tradition stretching back at least 2000 years to the Antikythera Mechanism that includes humanity’s earliest efforts to understand temporal patterns in nature. Practically, we’ll build mechanical and software clocks; experiment with time-series data and time protocols; and survey techniques for digital signal processing and software state transitions.

Students will improve their skills in:

– Extracting meaning from data in time-series sets, like sequential sensor readings in a physical computing project or a public API;
– Creating experiences with a beginning, middle and end; a narrative arc;
– Getting to the “metal” in microcontrollers and CPUs;
– Integrating real-time clock modules and network time protocols with projects;
– Using programmatic timelines and variable ‘tweening’ to add grace and sophistication to our creations

Students will execute production assignments throughout the semester. Students should have taken or be taking physical computing, a programming course, or have equivalent experience.

Prerequisite: ICM / ICM: Media (ITPG-GT 2233 / ITPG-GT 2048) & Intro to Phys. Comp. (ITPG-GT 2301)

New Interfaces for Musical Expression +

David Rios | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2227 | Mon 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, Monday, physical, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

In this course students create digital musical instruments and do a live performance using them. Over the semester, we look at examples of current work by creators of musical interfaces, and discuss a wide range of issues facing technology-enabled performance – such as novice versus virtuoso performers, discrete versus continuous data control, and the relationship between musical performance and visual display. Readings and case studies provide background for class discussions on the theory and practice of designing controllers for musical performance. Students design and prototype a musical instrument – a complete system encompassing musical controller, algorithm for mapping input to sound, and the sound output itself. A technical framework for prototyping performance controllers is made available. Students focus on musical composition and improvisation techniques as they prepare their prototypes for live performance. The class culminates in a musical performance where students (or invited musicians) will demonstrate their instruments. Prerequisites: ITPG-GT.2233 (Introduction to Computational Media) and ITPG-GT.2301 (Physical Computing)

Prerequisite: ICM / ICM: Media (ITPG-GT 2233 / ITPG-GT 2048) & Intro to Phys. Comp. (ITPG-GT 2301)

Prototyping Electronic Devices +

Deqing Sun | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2845 | Fri 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Friday, Graduate, Morning, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

The most difficult part of prototyping is not the building process, but the process of deciding how to build. If we choose proper technology for prototypes, we can improve their robustness and simplicity.

This course will cover available and affordable technologies for ITP students to build prototypes. The course will start with soldering, wiring and LED basics. Then students will design an Arduino compatible board in Eagle, get it fabricated, assembled. And then using the debugger to dig deeper to understand how a microcontroller works.

The class will also cover multitasking, signal processing, communication, document writing and advanced skills beyond the Intro to Physical Computing class.

Each session will have lectures followed by in-class practices with guidance. The 14-week long assignment is called Do It Once – Do It Again. Bringing an idea or ongoing projects is highly encouraged.

This course requires Physical Computing or equivalent experience.

Prerequisite: Intro to Phys. Comp. (ITPG-GT 2301)

Project Development Studio +

Pedro Galvao Cesar de Oliveira | ITPG-GT.2564 | Tues 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, Tuesday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

This is an environment for students to work on their existing project ideas that may fall outside the topic areas of existing classes. It is basically like an independent study with more structure and the opportunity for peer learning. This particular studio is appropriate for projects in the area of interactive art, programing, physical computing and digital fabrication. There are required weekly meetings to share project development and exchange critique. Students must devise and then complete their own weekly assignments updating the class wiki regularly. They also must present to the class every few weeks. When topics of general interest emerge, a member of the class or the instructor takes class time to cover them in depth. The rest of the meeting time is spent in breakout sessions with students working individually or in groups of students working on related projects.

Socially Engaged Art and Digital Practice +

Clarinda Mac Low | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2156 | Wed 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, analysis, art, capitalism, community, computers, critical, criticalthinking, dialogue, digital, digitalart, digitalpractice, discussions, Elective, engaged, Evening, Fall 2025, Graduate, interestingreadings, internet, itp, life, materials, network, networks, online, participatory, performance, practice, presentations, projects, reading, readings, research, social, socialjustice, sociallyengaged, sociallyengagedart, socialpractice, technology, Wednesday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

Artificial intelligence, basic communication, data processing, image manipulation, and even financial systems have transformed our social and political worlds and our artistic practice. This course will examine the material, ethical, and esthetic implications of a digital and networked world through the lens of socially engaged art, where art and creative work intersect directly with people and civic life. This includes discussion of how digital and networked tools both increase and complicate physical, economic, and cultural accessibility, and the ethical and social implications of the newest technologies. We will focus especially on the impact that new technologies have on the environment.

We will concentrate on creating projects that examine and critique the inner workings of digital practice through socially engaged work. Students will be asked to propose several projects as thought experiments, and fully realize one online/digital socially engaged project. We will review and discuss the different definitions of “socially engaged art” and address the ethics of developing new technologies, including discussions about “best practices,” and investigate how we approach the physical and digital social spaces around us.

We will look at artists like Stephanie Dinkins, Kyle McDonald, Ari Melenciano, and the group Forensic Architecture. We will have some meetings and activities in public spaces, field trips to organizations such as Eyebeam and Genspace, and guest lecturers.

Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have questions about taking the course, or the course content.

Designing for Digital Fabrication +

Daniel Rozin | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2890 | Wed 12:10pm to 2:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
3d_printing, 4 Point, All, art,, cad, cam, cnc, design, Elective, fab, fabrication, Fall 2025, generative, Graduate, installation, laser, lasercut, Midday, modeling, processing, project_development, vectorworks, Wednesday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

The ability to digitally fabricate parts and whole pieces directly from our computers or design files used to be an exotic and expensive option not really suitable for student or designer projects, but changes in this field in the past 5 years have brought these capabilities much closer to our means, especially as ITP students. ITP and NYU now offer us access to laser cutting, CNC routing, and 3D stereolithography. In this class, we will learn how to design for and operate these machines. Emphasis will be put on designing functional parts that can fit into a larger project or support other components as well as being successful on a conceptual and aesthetic level. In this class, we will discover methods to design projects on CAD applications for total control of the result, and we will develop algorithmic ways to create designs from software (Processing) to take advantage of the ability to make parts and projects that are unique, customizable, dependent on external data or random. The class will include 3 assignments to create projects using the three machines (laser, router, 3D) and the opportunity to work on a final project.

Understanding Networks +

Tom Igoe | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2808 | Tues 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 412 Meetings:14
4 Point, All, Elective, Fall 2025, Graduate, Morning, networks, Tuesday, Yes

Last updated: March 24, 2025

Interactive technologies seldom stand alone. They exist in networks, and they facilitate networked connections between people. Designing technologies for communications requires an understanding of networks. This course is a foundation in how networks work. Through weekly readings and class discussions and a series of short hands-on projects, students gain an understanding of network topologies, how the elements of a network are connected and addressed, what protocols hold them together, and what dynamics arise in networked environments. This class is intended to supplement the many network-centric classes at ITP. It is broad survey, both of contemporary thinking about networks, and of current technologies and methods used in creating them.

Prerequisites: Students should have an understanding of basic programming. This class can be taken at the same time as, or after, Intro to Computational Media or an equivalent intro to programming. Some, though not all, production work in the class requires basic programming. There is a significant reading component to this class as well.

Learning Objectives

In this class, you will learn about how communications networks are structured, and you will learn how to examine those structures using software tools. By the end of this class, you should have a working knowledge of the following concepts:

* The basics of network theory, some history of the internet and the organizations and stakeholders involved in its creation and maintenance
* The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model and standard internet protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) , Universal Datagram Protocol (UDP), and Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP).
* Network addressing, private and public IP addresses
* What hosts, servers, and clients are and a few ways in which they communicate
* What a command line interface (CLI) is and how to use the tools available in one
* The basics of internet security
* How telecommunications networks are similar to other infrastructural networks, like power and transportation, and how they are different.

Synthetic Architectures +

Jonathan Turner | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2177 | Thur 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
3d, 4 Point, architecture, art,, challenging, design, design, Elective, engine, experience, fun,, futurism, Graduate, imagination, immersive, In-Person, interaction, interactive, maya, media, modeling, philosophy, psychology, reality, social, space, speculativedesign, Spring 2025, technical, theory, thoughtful, ue4, unreal, unrealengine, virtual, virtualreality, vr, xr, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

For better or worse humanity is heading down the virtual rabbit hole. We’re trading an increasingly hostile natural environment for a socially networked and commercially driven artificial one. Whether it’s the bedrooms of YouTube streaming stars, the augmented Pokestops of Pokemon Go, the breakout rooms of a Zoom meeting, or even the “airspace” of Airbnb; we are witnessing a dramatic transformation of what occupying space means. The socially distanced measures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have only accelerated this societal embrace of the virtual.

So where are these dramatic spatial paradigm shifts occurring? Who owns and occupies these spaces? Who are the architects and what historical and ethical foundations are they working from? What world do they want to build for humanity and where does the creative individual fit into it? Will it be a walled garden, a role-playing adventure or a tool for creating more worlds?

The course will ask students to embrace the role of virtual architect, not in the traditional brick-and-mortar sense of constructing shelter, but in terms of the engagement with the raw concept of space. However this virtual space must be considered and evaluated as a “site,” that is activated and occupied by real people and all the limitations of physical space that they bring with them from the real world. This is the foundation of synthetic architecture; simulated space met with biological perception.

This conceptual architecture is free from the confines of physics but host to a whole new set of questions: How do we embrace the human factors of a dimensionless environment? How do we make or encourage meaningful interactions within the limits of current technology? New models of interaction must inform and shape the architecture of virtual space – what does that look like? How can architecture and aesthetics inform the creation of virtual environments and immersive narratives? How do we acutely consider the psychological and social impacts of the worlds we design and what is the metaphorical ground plane to make sense of this virtual world, unbound by physics?

About Jonathan Turner: http://www.jonathanwilliamturner.com/about/

Exploring Concepts From Soft Robotics +

Kari Love | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2125 | Fri 12:10pm to 2:40pm in 370 Jay Street Room 450 Meetings:14
4 Point, awesome, Elective, fabrication,, Graduate, In-Person, pcomp, robotics, soft, softrobotics, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Because the full potential of the emerging field of soft systems is unrealized, there are countless opportunities for curious innovators to discover or develop novel soft systems. Soft robotic skills and techniques also open up a world of possibilities for large scale or surprising artwork. This course teaches hands-on fabrication techniques for constructing simple pneumatic actuators from cast silicone and heat-sealed mylar, and challenges participants to design and build their own. Lectures and discussion center on concepts from soft innovation history, the current state-of-the-art, and sister disciplines of bio-inspired and hybrid (soft/hard) robotics. Consideration of both brand new soft materials, from a class visit to Material ConneXion library, and everyday overlooked soft mechanisms, found in average retail stores, will require participants to look at softness through a new lens. Final projects will be the development of an original soft/flexible/hybrid research or artistic concept presented with context, material swatches with justifications for choices, and physical or modeled proof-of-concept.

About Kari Love: http://www.karimakes.com

Mobile App Development Lab +

John Henry Thompson | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2372 | Tues 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, In-Person, iOS, iPhone, Spring 2025, Swift, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

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.

Prereq: Some programming experience (such as ICM) and willingness to learn Apple’s Swift programming language.

About John Henry Thompson: http://johnhenrythompson.com/

Energy +

Jeffrey Feddersen | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2466 | Thur 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, energy, Graduate, In-Person, physical, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

From the most ephemeral thought to the rise and fall of civilizations, every aspect of your life, and indeed the universe, involves energy. Energy has been called the “universal currency” by prolific science author Vaclav Smil, but also “a very subtle concept… very, very difficult to get right” by Noble physicist Richard Feynman. It is precisely this combination of importance and subtlety that motivates the Energy class. Maybe you fear the existential threat of anthropogenic climate change, or maybe you just want your physical computing projects to work better. Either way, the class will help you understand energy quantitatively and intuitively, and incorporate that knowledge in your projects (and perhaps your life).

How? Building on skills introduced in Creative Computing, we will generate and measure electricity in order to see and feel energy in its various forms. We will turn kinetic and solar energy into electrical energy, store that in batteries and capacitors, and use it to power projects. We will develop knowledge useful in a variety of areas, from citizen-science to art installations, and address topics such as climate change and infrastructure access through the lens of energy. Students will build a final project using skills learned in the class.

Prerequisites: Creative Computing

Instructor Jeffrey Feddersen Website: https://www.fddrsn.net/

Cabinets of Wonder +

Emily Conrad | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2470 | Wed 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, applications, design, Elective, exhibitdesign, exhibition, experience, Graduate, In-Person, museum, museums, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

If you were inventing a museum today, what would it look like? Who would be there? What would its main purpose be? What would the audience experience? The first museums were called Cabinets of Wonder. Usually, a viewer with a guide, often the collector, would open doors and drawers to see what was inside–amazing things from different parts of the world, different times. They were windows on the world to places the visitors would probably never be able to go; to see things they would never otherwise be able to see. And now there’s television, movies, the internet, and travel. Why do people go to museums now? Will they in the future? Today, most museums seek to educate and to include more and more diverse visitors than they used to. How do people learn in public spaces? How do we know that they do? How can they make use of the new interactive technologies to support the experience and not lose what’s special about them? The class is an exploration, observation, theory, and design class for you to imagine the future of museums and exhibits. Museum and exhibit visits are your primary assignments for the first half of the course—usually accompanied by a reading. You will also make some record of your visit (including a sketchbook, a diorama, reviews). There will be guest speakers from Museums and exhibit design firms, and several field trips. In the second half of the course, you begin to imagine how you might reinvent a museum and develop a full-scale presentation of your own Cabinet of Wonder.

About Emily Conrad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily/

Real Time Social Spaces: Building Video and Audio Interactions for the Web +

Aidan Nelson | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2327 | Mon 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:14
3d, 4 Point, coding, collaboration, cool, Elective, Graduate, In-Person, javascript, simplepeer, social, Spring 2025, technical, threejs, web, webrtc, websockets, Yes, zoom

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Over the past 3 years, we have seen many aspects of our lives thrust online. Increasingly, we are working, learning, socializing with family and friends, attending live performances and more through 2D grids of video feeds on platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet. These communication tools have become essential for remote communities to connect, yet fail to replicate many of the most engaging, messy and human aspects of our in-person experience. What happens when we break out of this grid and explore new forms of real-time social interactions online using webcam video and audio?

Recent explorations in this realm have shown the promise of spatial metaphors in creating engaging real-time social interactions online. In this course, students will create their own series of experimental social spaces that explore these questions: how does the shape and nature of our environment affect the way we communicate? What unique forms of real-time expression and sharing might be possible online (and only online)? How might we design experiences for the unique social dynamics we want to support?

Students will be exposed to principles of spatial design as well as a series of open source Javascript tools for arranging live webcam video and audio in 2D and 3D space in the browser. They will use WebGL (through the three.js library) to build 2D and 3D environments, and will be exposed to WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) and Node.js to add interactivity to those environments.

Telling Stories with Real-Time Engines (Topics in ITP) +

Victor Morales | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2378 | Tues 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 411 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, New, No Tags, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

This course explores the intersection of narrative storytelling and real-time game engines, focusing on the practical application of Unreal Engine to create immersive interactive and non-interactive narratives. Students will learn how to harness the power of this tool to blend traditional storytelling techniques with the unique capabilities of game engines. Through a combination of theoretical discussions, hands-on exercises, and a short final project, students will develop the basic skills required to begin to create immersive and dynamic interactive narratives.

Storytelling and media are deeply interconnected and complement each other. Understanding different kinds of narratives is crucial for the effective delivery of a rich and meaningful message. How can we use these new real-time technologies to compose a story? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using real-time media in storytelling? The students will review and experience different kinds of storytelling in video games, movies, and other interactive media in order to get a critical understanding of the power behind stories.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

At the completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Understand the different kinds of storytelling and how they can be delivered using real-time media

Being able to explore real-time media as an inspiration and vehicle for delivering a story.

Utilize the knowledge and skills presented in class to create a final project.

Have a critical point of view of how to use real-time media in the creation of contemporary storytelling.

Connected Devices and Networked Interaction +

Tom Igoe | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2565 | Tues 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay Street Room 450 Meetings:14
4 Point, arduino, bluetooth, communication, cybersecurity, Elective, express, Graduate, hardware, http, https, In-Person, internet, iot, linux, mkr1000, mqtt, network, networking, networks, node, pcomp, pi, projects, raspberry, raspberrypi, security, server, servers, Spring 2025, tom, tomigoe, web, wifi, wireless, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

The World Wide Web no longer stops at the edge of your screen. When it comes to products, if it powers up, it talks to another device. This class provides an overview of methods for connecting the physical world to web-based applications. We’ll consider what the emerging interaction patterns are, if any, and we’ll develop some of our own as needed. This class can be seen as a narrower and more interaction design-based complement to Understanding Networks. The latter class provides a broader overview of the dynamics of communications networks, while this class focuses specifically on the challenges of connecting embedded devices to web-based services. Neither class is a prerequisite for the other, however. This class will introduce network connection techniques for devices using networked microcontrollers and processors running an embedded operating system.

Prerequisites: Intro to Physical Computing and Intro to Computational Media, or equivalent experience with the topics covered in those classes.

Learning Objectives: Students will gain an understanding of the basics of network programming for devices with limited computing power. They will learn about current protocols for communication between devices and networked servers, and about the rudiments of security for that communication.

Reading: There will be an article or two to read each week, to foster discussion about the design of connected things.

Assignments: There will be several one-week software and hardware assignments to get familiar with different technologies and communications protocols, and one hardware and software final application project.

Investing in Futures: The Art of Worlding (Topics in ITP) +

Marina Zurkow | ITPG-GT.2378 | Mon 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, research, Spring 2025, worldbuilding, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

What would it mean to unhinge the present from its current conditions and wildly create a world you want to live in? Through world-building exercises, students in this course will develop detailed alternate worlds, reimagining everything from laws of physics to societal habits and customs.

The term “world-building” originates primarily in science fiction and gaming. World-building and “futuring” models are often based on constraints—design limitations— that spark new imaginaries liberated from business-as- usual predictions. Future studies—also known as futurology—has been used since the 1970s by business and military interests as part of a strategic planning toolkit. This framework of speculating about the future in systemic ways has been adapted by many contemporary artist collectives and mission-driven organizations, in order to challenge present assumptions about future outcomes. In these artistic quests, the notion of the “future” has led to the development of productive utopias, foreboding dystopias, and queer heterotopias.

Similarly, in this course, students will engage in a combination of collaborative and individual creative work and research to imagine their desired future or alternate worlds. Students will complete three variously-scaled worldbuilding projects, in the forms of invented artifacts, writing, and storytelling, whose features will draw from Investing in Futures, a constraint-design platform, co-created by the instructor and Sarah Rothberg, which explores topics such as governance, living conditions, food, climate, and technology, and whose specific conditions range from the possible to the absurd.

The class will also draw on research and readings by neuroscientists, science fiction authors, anthropologists, artists, and worldbuilding experts, and touch upon future scenario design thinking and speculative design. In addition to a series of creative assignments and presentations, the class will culminate in co-producing a document of the worlds created, as well as reflections, backcasting, and commentary.

Creative Code Orchestra: Improvising with Computers (Topics in ITP) +

Daniel Fishkin | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2378 | Mon 12:10pm to 2:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 412 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, New, No Tags, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

In this class, students use computers to play music together, improvising and composing with code. Using the Max graphical language, students will learn to create their own software for musical improvisation, exploring sample manipulation, digital synthesis, and also principles of psychoacoustics and sound spatialization. Students are encouraged to bring in their own instruments in order to explore sound processing of acoustic instruments. In the beginning of the class, students will solder and assemble their own portable amplifiers to create a spatialized laptop sound system. As students develop code together, the class forms a laptop ensemble, moving from theory to practice by designing software instruments for live-computer improvisation in the classroom. The class explores large format ensemble pieces, as well as smaller groups such as trios and duets. Students will learn to improvise, play existing repertoire for laptop, and can compose their own pieces. The class also explores hardware hacking topics such as microphone design and pressure transducers, bringing the sounds of the acoustic world inside and outside of our computers. The class will culminate in a group concert that features a range of performances, involving acoustic instruments, some duets, and large ensemble pieces.

Reconstructing Lost Spaces (Topics in ITP) +

Yuliya Parshina-Kottas | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2378 | Fri 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, New, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Using Blender as our primary software, we will create digital reconstructions of physical spaces lost to violence, natural disasters, climate change, urban renewal and eminent domain. Students will explore techniques such as photogrammetry, machine learning and Blender’s modeling tools to turn archival and contemporary references into 3D models. We will analyze evidence from maps, photographs, newspapers, archival documents and social media with a special emphasis on source inclusivity, journalistic ethics and cultural sensitivity. Students will be challenged to create 3D models in the service of telling human stories. Pre-requisite: Hypercinema or equivalent experience.

Live Web +

Shawn Van Every | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2734 | Mon 12:10pm to 2:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 411 Meetings:14
4 Point, asynchronous, backend, coding, computation, development, Elective, engaging, full-stack, fun,, Graduate, hard, In-Person, internet, javascript, live, liveweb, media, networks, node, nodejs, online, participatory, peerjs, programming, rewarding, server, simplepeer, socket, sockets, Spring 2025, terminal, web, webdev, webdevelopment, webrtc, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

The web has become an amazing platform for live communication. Streaming media, audio and video conferencing, text chat and other real-time data transmission give us the ability to create a wide array of platforms that enable live cooperative and collaborative performance, real-time games, and novel real-time communications experiences.

In this course, we focus on the types of content and interaction that can be supported through these technologies as well as explore new concepts around live participation. We utilize browser based technologies such as WebSockets and WebRTC in combination with JavaScript and Node to build client/server based applications. Experience with HTML and JavaScript are helpful but not required.

Outdoor Video Art: Projection in DUMBO (Topics in ITP) +

Gabe Barcia-Colombo | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2378 | Tues 3:20pm to 5:50pm in Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, New, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Dumbo has a long, storied history of presenting projections / video art throughout the neighborhood. From mapping the Dumbo Archway during the Dumbo Arts Festival, to Light Year, a nine-year video art series that projected its 100th show on the Manhattan Bridge Anchorage in August 2023, the neighborhood has long been a canvas for light art. Additionally, the neighborhood is among the most iconic locations in New York City, photographed thousands of times a day by visitors from across the City and around the globe. This by application only course is a one time collaboration with the Dumbo Improvement District to create outdoor large scale video projections at several sites in DUMBO. The course will focus on content creation for outdoor video projection. How do we make time based media content that is mapped to specific outdoor spaces while retaining artistic context and meaning? Students will work in groups to produce video content which if selected will be featured outdoors in DUMBO through the month of May. This course will give students real world experience in pitching crafting and exhibiting public art. Please note that all students must apply in groups of 3 with a concept in order to be considered for this course. All final presentations will need to be vetted and approved by the Dumbo Improvement District before they will be projected.

Collective Play +

Mimi (Yue) Yin | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2176 | Wed 12:10pm to 2:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 411 Meetings:14
4 Point, abstract, analog, challenging, collective, collectiveplay, communications, computation, design, dynamics, Elective, game, gamedesign, Graduate, group, groups, humanbehavior, In-Person, interaction, interactiondesign, interactive, javascript, mind, node, nodejs, of, p5js, philosophy, play, playful, relationships, self, server, sockets, Spring 2025, systemdesign, theory, thoughtprovoking, websockets, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Rules of play shape competitive games from checkers to football. But how do rules of interaction, both stated and unstated, shape everyday life? What happens when there are no established conventions and the rules are being made up as we go along? And last but not least, can we invent and facilitate new social norms through unconventional uses of technology?

In this course, we will design, code and test strategies for playful, serious, and bizarre group interactions drawing inspiration from daily life. We will interrogate both what it means to play and how individual identities and group behaviors emerge. What motivates participation? What hinders it? When does participation become oppressive? What’s the difference between self-consciousness and self-awareness? Who has power? Who doesn’t? Are leaders necessary? What’s the difference between taking turns and engaging in conversation? What happens when the slowest person sets the pace? What happens when there are no explicit rules? And how do we set the stage for breaking social conventions?

Class time will be a mix of technical material, play-testing, improvisation and movement work adapted from acting and dance training. All projects will be done in groups of 2-4.

We will work with both mobile sensors and traditional keyboard/mouse interaction with p5.js, socket.io and node.js to enable real-time interaction. Our challenge is to design technology-enabled interactions that encourage participants to be even more present in the physical world with each other.

Light and Interactivity +

Tom Igoe | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2133 | Tues 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay Street Room 450 Meetings:14
4 Point, design, Elective, Graduate, In-Person, programming, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

We use light in all aspects of our lives, yet we seldom notice it. That is by design: lighting in everyday life, well-designed, doesn’t call attention to itself. Instead it places focus on the subjects and activities which it supports.

Solid state lighting technologies and digital control technologies have made major changes in the lighting industry. They support a wide range of color rendering and control than earlier lighting technologies, an ability to change light over a wider range of time, and they can communicate with all kinds of digital systems and devices.

On the design side, this class takes a “post-pixelist” approach: rather than making images with light, we’ll use it to illuminate people and the spaces and activities in which they engage. We won’t focus on pixels or projections, but rather on casting light on the subject at hand. We’ll consider the intersection of lighting design and interaction design. We’ll analyze lighting and describe its effects, in order to design and use it more effectively.

On the technical side, you’ll learn the basics of the physics of light, its transmission and perception. We’ll talk about how the materials which we cast light on or through affect how we perceive it. We’ll talk about sources of light, both current and historical. We’ll work with computerized control systems for lighting, and we’ll design a few lighting fixtures for different purposes. You’ll get practice planning and building electronic and microcontroller-driven circuits for lighting, and you’ll learn digital communications protocols used in the lighting industry.

Assignments will cover lighting observation and description; sensing and measurement of light; design of new lighting fixtures; and control of existing fixtures and lighting systems.

This class will be production-intensive throughout the course of the spring semester. Second-year students should consider that the assignments in this class must be done in addition to their thesis work, regardless of the topic of their thesis.

Intangible Interaction +

Yeseul Song | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2055 | Wed 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 412 Meetings:14
4 Point, arduino, art, artist, artistic, coding, crafting, Elective, engineering, environment, fabrication,, fun,, Graduate, ideation, In-Person, inspiration, installation, intangible, interaction, interactiondesign, interactive, kinect, performance, physical, physicalcomputing, playful, poetic, projectionmapping, research, sensor, sensors, Spring 2025, tangible, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

This course will focus on researching, designing, and defining Intangible Interactions together, and unveiling artistic potential in it. Intangible interactions are those that we engage in without involving direct physical contact. Some examples would be automatic toilets, shopping carts that stop rolling outside the shop, contactless thermometers, gesture-based interactions, theremin, artwork activated by your presence, and mid-air haptic experiences. Intangible interfaces don’t have a tangible form that explicitly instructs us how to interact with them, and these interactions utilize other forms of feedback than those we feel through touch. Hence, Intangible Interactions tend to be more nuanced rather than direct, and the system is intricately designed to read your intentions using sensors. While technologies used for intangible interaction–such as computer vision and sensors are now more available and accessible, knowledge around the design and implementation of effective intangible interactions is a much less explored subject.

We will explore practical, artistic, and whimsical applications of intangible interaction and look at the ways it can enhance human-computer interactions in our everyday lives. For example, it can allow new ways to interact with educational exhibits, artifacts, and artworks. We will explore intangibility as a poetic medium that can open up possibilities for creating work that challenges human senses and perception. We will discuss what are cultural and social implications that we need to consider in designing intangible interactions—what does it mean for an interaction to be “intuitive” and what are some of the assumptions that are embedded into designs that we need to challenge? You will also be introduced to working with sound frequencies that are outside the hearable spectrum to create mid-air haptic feedback.

Technical topics that will be discussed in the class include: non touch-based sensors including optical sensors; proximity sensing; presence detection; optimizing sensor readings on Arduino; extending capability of sensors with light pipes and lenses; body tracking with cameras; signals outside visible spectrums; environmental sensing; mid-air haptic.

Assignments will include relatively small-scale production assignments, labs, thinking, ideating, and reading. For the final project, you will be prompted to conceptualize a project that is larger than a classroom scope. You will respond to a call-for-projects with a proposal along with a solid prototype for the project so you have fully fleshed materials to apply to resources such as grants and other opportunities in the near future. I want you to think big and equip yourself with practical and essential skills to build a sustainable art or design practice! A proposal writing workshop and structured peer reviews will be provided to support this process.

Tags: intangible, interaction, artistic, poetic, physical, sensors, physicalcomputing, haptic, hci, research, art, design, environment, playful, fun, proposalwriting

Seeing Machines +

Elie Zananiri | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3031 | Mon 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

A programming course where we’ll explore various techniques and solutions for tracking and sensing people or objects in space. Students will get familiar with the terminology and algorithms behind many sensing topics such as computer vision, depth cameras, positional tracking, and coordinate mapping. As these subjects are explored, we will also dig into communication, and how this information can be transmitted from one tool to another, for example using OSC, Spout/Syphon, MIDI, DMX/ArtNet. The goal being to use the right tool for the job and not limit ourselves to a particular piece of software.

Playful Experiences +

Gregory Trefry | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2467 | Thur 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, behavior, biggames, collaborative, creative, design, Elective, engaging, experiencedesign, fun,, game, gamedesign, games, game_design, gaming, Graduate, handson, immersive, In-Person, interaction, joy, passion, play, playful, relaxing, space, Spring 2025, theory, time, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

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.

About Greg Trefry: https://www.giganticmechanic.com/our-team/#trefry

Computational Approaches to Narrative +

Allison Parrish | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2198 | Tues 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, coding, computation, Elective, enjoyable, game_design, Graduate, In-Person, informative, interactivefiction, narrative, nonlinearstorytelling, practical, programming, python, reading, Spring 2025, stories, theory, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Beginning with the release of Crowther and Woods’ “Colossal Cave Adventure” in 1977, the potential and unique affordances of computation as a means of storytelling have become more and more apparent. Combining approaches from literary theory, anthropology, computational creativity and game design, this class considers how narrative structure can be represented as data and enacted through computation, and invites students to implement practical prototypes of their own interactive and procedurally-generated narratives using a variety of technologies.

Topics include (but are not limited to) hypertext fiction, “choose your own adventure”-style branching narratives, text adventures, visual novels, story generation from grammars and agent-based simulations. Students will complete a series of bite-size weekly assignments to present for in-class critique. Each session will also feature lectures, class discussion, and technical tutorials.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Computational Media or equivalent programming experience.

Future Mapper +

CHIKA | ITPG-GT.2362 | Wed 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, In-Person, madmapper, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

As you know, projection mapping and Light Art are becoming popular again because of large-scale pop-up installations worldwide: ARTECHOUSE, SuperReal, Meow Wolf, and TeamLab.
Technology has advanced over the years, but how people enjoy light art have not changed so much.

How do your ideas and artwork fit into these site-specific installations? This class is for anyone interested in creating a site-specific installation using mapping technologies to create new experiences for the public audience.

This class guides students through conceptual and technical processes of project and artist development. It consists of three parts: Project & Artist Development, Projection Mapping, and LED Mapping.

We will research and discuss the history of visual artwork, public engagement, and technical exercises using real international contests and festival sites. The student will learn the latest Projection and LED Mapping techniques using Madmapper.

And we will also focus on advanced techniques like multi-projector projection, projector calculation, Interactive Mapping, and software & hardware to culminate in a final project.

The class will also invite guest speakers to discuss the nuts and bolts of their art and business.

About Chika Iijima: www.mappathon.com, www.imagima.com

Machine Learning for Creative Coders (Topics in ITP) +

Daniel Shiffman | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2378 | Fri 12:10pm to 2:40pm in Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, New, No Tags, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

This introductory course provides students with practical experience in developing creative coding projects using machine learning. The class begins with a focus on p5.js and ml5.js, then progresses to other open-source frameworks like TensorFlow.js and Transformers.js. Students will learn how to work with pre-trained models, apply transfer learning and fine-tuning to those models, as well as train their own models from the ground up. The course also covers writing server-side applications with node.js to connect to cloud-based APIs, often necessary for working with cloud-hosted models for generative text and images. Alongside technical demonstrations and weekly practical exercises, the course includes readings and discussions on ethics, bias in machine learning, data collection best practices, and responsible model training. Students will build a final project incorporating machine learning over four weeks.

Intro to Programming in Unity (Topics in ITP) +

Matt Parker | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2378 | Mon 12:10pm to 2:40pm in Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, New, No Tags, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Unity is one of the premiere Game Engines, used not just for developing games, but also interactives and installations. It boasts a powerful GUI (Graphical User Interface) that allows for easy configuration and setup of projects and an asset store that provides thousands of resources for creative development. However, the heart of Unity is programming custom behaviors in the entity component model, which centers around adding gameObjects with components scripts to scene graphs. Using the C# programming language, we will explore how to use code to create original and diverse projects. There will be an emphasis on programming fundamentals; they will be motivated through the lens of design. We will discuss how platforms, libraries, frameworks, and engines impact design, in both empowering and limiting ways. This class will have weekly homework assignments, in class work, as well as midterm and final projects. ICM or equivalent programming knowledge is a prerequisite.

Kinetic Sculpture Workshop (Topics in ITP) +

Daniel Rozin | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2378 | Wed 12:10pm to 2:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 410 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, New, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

This class is a workshop, this means students will be working on a single project throughout the semester. The goal of the workshop is to develop skills and implement them in the creation of a kinetic sculpture. Topics that will be explored are – computer vision and sensing, on screen simulation, CAD, mechanics and fabrication. Topics will be explored individually, in groups and with demos by the instructor.

• Develop on-screen interactive experience using computer vision and sensors.

• Imagine the on-screen interactive experience as a physical object and simulate it.

• Develop the mechanics necessary for the sculpture.

• Design the kinetic sculpture.

• Fabricate the kinetic sculpture.

Code Your Way +

Ellen Nickles | ITPG-GT.3007 | Mon 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

This course provides students an opportunity to sharpen their coding skills in several ways: by reviewing fundamental programming concepts, acquiring techniques to systematically develop code-driven projects, and then implementing those to develop an independent project with the structure and support of a classroom learning community.

The first part of the semester consists of weekly exercises to practice strategies for learning new algorithms, writing pseudocode, pair programming, debugging, refactoring, version control, and more. Screen-based code examples for the activities and assignments draw inspiration from the history of creative coding. The second part of the semester shifts to a project development studio format for students to apply these strategies to a self-directed project. This could be an existing idea or one devised during the course.

Ultimately this course aims to empower students to reflect on their process and teach themselves how to program with greater efficiency and independence. It is a direct follow-up to Introduction to Computational Media (ICM) or for anyone interested in advancing their coding practice.

Examples and exercises will be provided in JavaScript using the p5.js library. However, students are welcome to consult the instructor about working with another programming library, framework, or language with which they have interest or prior experience.

Prerequisite: ICM or equivalent experience

Designing for Messy Humans +

Aleks Krotoski | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3047 | Tues 3:20pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Graduate, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

“How can we create services – digital or otherwise – that scratch psychological itches in ways that take into consideration the uncontrollable nature of users? In this course, we marry the art of design with the science of psychology. The offspring of this match is complicated, unexpected and never predictable – but indelibly informed by both its binary and analogue parentage.

Leaning on a variety of international case studies that tickle our human passion for enquiry, for storytelling, for sensation, and for sense-making, plus short philosophical readings about the nature of the indefinable, each class will dissect what we know about something inherently human (from beauty to joy to elegance), and how technologists and machine-makers have tried to predict it. We will spend time in this course reverse engineering black boxes and imagining how they could have been designed otherwise. The final project will be an “”engine”” or machine – mock-up, paper design or working prototype – that proposes to produce the solution to a messy human question every single time.

The course will be divided into three thematic sections of three classes each: a theory week, an analysis week, and a prototyping week. Each thematic section will examine single-topic human “needs” frequently designed for in apps and tech. Students will be expected to take part in group discussions, and brainstorming sessions that will imagine systems that could achieve that topic. Latterly, the last session will be workshops, in which students will work together or alone on their own projects based on one topic of their choice.”

Playful Communication of Serious Research +

Brett Peterson | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2974 | Thur 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 411 Meetings:14
4 Point, architecture, collaboration, design, Elective, exhibitdesign, exhibition, exhibitiondesign, experiential, fun,, Graduate, great, groupproject, immersive, In-Person, information, installation, installations, interaction, interactive, interactivity, interdisciplinary, museum, museums, production, project-based, projectdevelopment, prototyping, public, research, Spring 2025, teamwork, technology, theory, ui, ux, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Exhibition design is the art of marrying experience and information. The best does so seamlessly; the very best surprise and delight you along the way. In this class, you will explore the craft of interactive exhibition design through practice. Working in small groups, you will select an NYU researcher whose work is of interest to you and create an interactive experience that presents this research to a broader, public audience. In the process, you will learn to interrogate content and form, audience and environment, medium and message to create a meaningful and playful exhibit experience.

Bioart as Biopolitics–Genomics and Identity +

Heather Dewey-Hagborg | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3048 | Fri 12:10pm to 5:10pm in 370 Jay Street, Room 426 Meetings:7-First Half
4 Point, dna, Elective, Graduate, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

What does biology have to do with art? Bioart is a discipline in which artists use life itself as a medium for creative experimentation and reflection on the social implications of cutting edge biological science. Biopolitics describes the ways in which DNA and other forms of biological knowledge combine with the accumulation of data to segment, categorize, and predict our behavior. In this course we will take a tour of the materials and techniques utilized by artists in the emerging field of biological art, with a focus on genomics and its political and social implications. This hybrid art and science class will introduce concepts in personal genomics, genetic engineering, speculative design, bioart, biopolitics, critical engineering, and bioethics as sites for activism and artistic exploration. Students will extract and analyze their own DNA while discussing human evolution and the social construction of identity. They will learn how DNA extraction and sequencing works, how to analyze real genomic data, and will incorporate this in creative and critical projects. Regular readings and in-class discussions will supplement artistic projects.

Modern Artifacts: Interactive Public Art for the People +

Ali Santana | ITPG-GT.3005 | Wed 09:30am to 12:00pm in 370 Jay St, Room 411 Meetings:14
4 Point, community, Elective, Graduate, immersive, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

In an era of remote everything, how can we create artwork that brings us back together IRL? This course explores our connection to physical objects within the context of community. How can sculpture, installation, immersive, and public art nurture our neighborhoods via collaboration, play, ritual, self-expression, and awe?

Students will work collaboratively to radically imagine bold, sculptural, immersive works using innovative and lo-fi techniques integrated with technology. Hands-on workshops include experiments creating found sculptures, AR prototypes, projection mapping, real-time interactive multimedia content, and more. We’ll reference ancient monuments, sacred objects, NYC relics, street art and contemporary works to envision new artifacts that create awareness by reflecting the needs of our communities.

Prerequisite: Comm Lab: Hypercinema
About Ali Santana: http://www.alisantana.com/bio

Electronics for Inventors +

Pedro Galvao Cesar de Oliveira | ITPG-GT.2036 | Thur 2:50pm to 5:50pm in 370 Jay Street Room 450 Meetings:12
4 Point, circuitry, circuits, Elective, electronics, engineering, Graduate, hardware, In-Person, physical_computing, skills, Spring 2025, tangible, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Today we are no longer solely connected to the digital world through computers. The result of this push to connect the digital and the analog world is the increasing necessity for low cost, low power, and self-contained electronics.

This course is an applications-driven intro to electronics for inventors. Through a hands-on approach, students will learn basic concepts about analog circuits, Boolean logic, digital devices interfaces, and low-cost code-free electronics.

Topics will include basic principles of electricity, as well as an understanding of electronics components such as resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, audio amplifiers, and timers. Students will also learn what it takes to build an arduino-like microcontroller.

This class will use as a backbone the book “Practical Electronics for Inventors – 4th Edition” by Paul Scherz and Simon Monk.

Format: Lectures + In-class LABs + Readings

Web Art as Site +

Theo Ellin Ballew | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2094 | Fri 12:10pm to 2:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 407 Meetings:14
4 Point, art,, css, Elective, github, Graduate, html, In-Person, internet, jquery, readings, Spring 2025, unity, webart, web_design, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

WEB ART AS SITE addresses the history and practice of art made for and inseparable from the web, while teaching basic coding for the web. We explore key examples of web art from the early days of the internet through today, asking questions about this idiosyncratic artistic medium like: How do different forms of interaction characterize the viewer and/or the artist? What happens to our reading practice when text is animated or animates? How is an internet-native work encountered, and how does the path we take to reach it affect our reading? Who is able to see a work of web art, and what does access/privilege look like in this landscape? How are differently-abled people considered in a web artwork? What feels difficult or aggressive in web art, and when is that useful? How do artists obscure or reveal the duration of a work, and how does that affect our reading? What are the many different forms of instruction or guidance online? As we ask these questions, we exploit the internet pedagogically, collaborating online, playing with anonymity, and breaking the internet spaces we know.

Students learn web coding through specialized online tutorials; most of class time is reserved for discussion (of web art and supplementary readings) and critique. Throughout the semester, students will produce two major works of web art. Students need only a standard laptop, and will not be expected to purchase any software or text (cost of materials: $0).

Computational Letterforms and Layout +

Allison Parrish | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2051 | Thur 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, art, artistic, blended, communication, conceptual, Elective, font, generative, Graduate, graphics, language, machine_learning, manipulation, poetry, programming, python, readings, Spring 2025, text, theory, writing, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Language is more than just words and meanings. Language is material: it’s paper and ink, pixels and screens, fingertips on keyboards. In this course, students will gain an understanding of how language’s material manifestations are represented digitally, and learn computational techniques in order to create new work and new systems that challenge conventions in type design and page layout. Topics include asemic writing, concrete poetry, markup languages, character encodings, generative typography, and printing technologies (including pen plotters). Readings and lectures in the class draw from the fields of computation, critical theory, literary studies, art history, mathematics and graphic design. A series of production-oriented assignments lead up to a final project. In addition to critique, sessions will feature class discussions and technical tutorials.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Computational Media or equivalent programming experience.

The Nature of Code +

Daniel Shiffman | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2480 | Thur 12:10pm to 2:40pm in 370 Jay St, Room 409 Meetings:14
4 Point, ai, algorithm, algorithms, code, coding, codingtrain, computation, creative, creativecode, creative_coding, danshiffman, ecosystems, Elective, generative, geneticalgorithms, Graduate, In-Person, java, javascript, learning, machine, machinelearning, math, nature, natureofcode, of, p5, p5js, physics, physicsengine, physicssimulation, processing, programming, shiffman, simulation, Spring 2025, survey, system, systems, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

Can we capture the unpredictable evolutionary and emergent properties of nature in software? Can understanding the mathematical principles behind our physical world help us to create digital worlds? This class focuses on the programming strategies and techniques behind computer simulations of natural systems. We explore topics ranging from basic mathematics and physics concepts to more advanced simulations of complex systems. Subjects covered include physics simulation, trigonometry, self-organization, genetic algorithms, and neural networks. Examples are demonstrated in JavaScript using p5.js.

https://natureofcode.com/

The New Arcade +

Mark Kleback | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2063 | Thur 6:00pm to 8:30pm in 370 Jay St, Room 408 Meetings:14
4 Point, creative, design, Elective, fun,, fusion360, game, Graduate, In-Person, pcomp, Spring 2025, unity, Yes

Last updated: November 11, 2024

With platforms like Steam and Itch.io making independent games more accessible to the public, we’re starting to see a movement toward physical installations of indie games as well. The New Arcade pays tribute to arcade cabinet designs of the 80’s and 90’s, but infuses them with new interfaces and digitally fabricated components.

In this class, students will learn how to use the Unity game engine to design a simple arcade game. They’ll learn about aspects that separate an arcade game from other types of games, and interface their game with different kinds of hardware using microcontrollers.

In the second half of the class, students will use Fusion360 to construct a new arcade experience using digital fabrication tools like laser cutters, and CNC machines. The class will culminate in a physical installation that showcases their game in a public gallery.

Prerequisites: Physical Computing

About Mark Kleback: https://wonderville.nyc

BioDesigning the Future of Food +

Nikita Huggins | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3030 | Fri 3:20pm to 5:50pm in Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Fall 2024, Graduate, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: March 7, 2024

For centuries, food production practices such as permaculture fostered ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self-sufficient, while producing nutrient-dense food. Modern farming has introduced harmful monoculture practices proven to cause collateral destruction of biodiversity and seasonal harvesting, distancing us from our food ecosystems. The future of food can be regenerative or continue to contribute to massive health and environmental issues. How can we challenge ourselves to regain connection to our food system? How might we use innovation, personal prowess, design, and biotechnology to reimagine healthier ecosystems? This course examines the historical context of the food ecosystems and encourages students to identify with these systems that we (in urban settings) are disconnected with. Students will build a project around exploring innovative approaches to the future of food and our relationships with it. These projects will incorporate design, technology, science, and research elements.

Text-to-Image AIs +

Yuguang Zhang | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3020 | Fri 3:20pm to 5:50pm in Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Fall 2024, Graduate, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: March 7, 2024

Over the past few years, the unprecedented advancement in text-to-image artificial intelligence models has sparked widespread attention, discussion, and mainstream adoption of these innovative co-creative interfaces, which has resulted in novelty, excitement, and curiosity, as well as concern, anger, and insult. Alongside this, the booming open-sourced text-to-image model development contributes to expanding access to working with AI tools beyond experts, tech giants, and professional technologists.

In this 14-week course, we will go over the landscape of text-to-image AIs and dive deep into some of the most well known ones (such as Stable Diffusion and its variants), to see what potential they have in terms of exploring new modes of content creation and helping us re-examine our language pattern. This will be a practice + technique course – in the first half, we’ll focus on building good prompting practices, and in the second half, we’ll explore different image synthesis skills related to text-to-image AIs, use Python to train our own models to create customized visuals, and create animations from text. We’ll also discuss how such tools could intervene in the workflows of artists and technologists, what they can provide for researchers, and what are the caveats and things we should look out for when we’re creating with these AIs.

Pre-requisites: Introduction to Computational Media (ICM) or the equivalent.

Prerequisite: ICM / ICM: Media (ITPG-GT 2233 / ITPG-GT 2048)

Programming with Data +

Allison Parrish | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.3049 | Mon 6:00pm to 8:30pm in Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Fall 2024, Graduate, New, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: March 7, 2024

Data is the means by which we turn experience into something that can be published, compared, and analyzed. Data can facilitate the production of new knowledge about the world—but it can also be used as a method of control and exploitation. As such, the ability to understand and work with data is indispensable both for those who want to uncover truth, and those who want to hold power to account. This intensive course serves as an introduction to essential computational tools and techniques for working with data. The course is designed for artists, designers, and researchers in the humanities who have no previous programming experience. Covered topics include: the Python programming language, Jupyter Notebook, data formats, regular expressions, Pandas, web scraping, relational database concepts, simple data visualization and data-driven text generation. Weekly technical tutorials and short readings culminate in a self-directed final project.

Prerequisite: ICM / ICM: Media (ITPG-GT 2233 / ITPG-GT 2048)

Topics in ITP: Real World Client Centered Design Studio +

Phil Caridi | Noah Pivnick | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2378 | Fri 12:10pm to 2:40pm in Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Fall 2024, Graduate, New, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: March 7, 2024

At its most wondrous, ITP is a lavish imaginarium rich with abundant opportunity for individual creative expression. But outside the walls of 370 Jay, reality awaits. Post graduation most creative engagements will be work for hire compounded by the unique wants, needs, and desires of multiple parties, not least of which: the client.

This is a production-focused class predicated on satisfying a brief from a real-world client. The brief will likely come with its own set of specific, prescriptive requirements. As a collective, we will be tasked with the design and fabrication of an experiential interactive the scale and depth of which warrants a life of its own beyond the confines of ITP. Together, we will engage in a semester-long exercise in project planning, resource allocation, project management, and client relations born of concrete expectations and deliverables. We’re putting the Professional back into Master of Professional Studies.

This class is open to 2nd year graduate students only. To be considered you must submit an application. Students will interview and submit a portfolio for review. Ideal candidates are multidisciplinary; the sum of their contribution to the class will be a function of more than one kind of work. Resource scheduling and allocation are a significant part of this exercise, ensuring the load is distributed equitably across all class members. We’re targeting 2nd year students and running the class in the fall so as to give students an opportunity to develop skills and practices that hold them in good stead once thesis transitions to production in the spring.

Programming from A to Z +

Daniel Shiffman | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2536 | Wed 12:10pm to 2:40pm in Meetings:14
4 Point, alexa, api, awesome, bots, chromeextension, code, coding, codingtrain, danshiffman, data, Elective, exploratory, Fall 2024, fun,, generativetext, Graduate, In-Person, javascript, machinelearning, markov, markovchains, ml, node, nodejs, p5, poetry, programming, shiffman, Spring 2025, tensorflow, text, textanalysis, twitter, twitterbot, voice, Yes

Last updated: March 7, 2024

This course is a survey of programming strategies and techniques for the procedural analysis and generation of text-based data. Topics include analyzing text based on its statistical properties, automated text production using probabilistic methods, and text visualization. Students will learn server-side and client-side JavaScript programming and build single-page web applications as well as bots for social media networks. Additionally, this course will also include examples on how to interface with the latest open-source and commercial machine learning models for text and image generation. The writing of this course description may or may not have been assisted by one of these so-called “AI” models The course will include weekly homework coding exercises and an open-ended final project.

Designing the Absurd +

Pedro Galvao Cesar de Oliveira | Syllabus | ITPG-GT.2052 | Thur 3:20pm to 5:50pm in Meetings:14
4 Point, Elective, Fall 2024, Graduate, Spring 2025, Yes

Last updated: March 7, 2024

Inspired by the Japanese art of Chindōgu, this class will introduce a playful and whimsical approach to learn industrial design.

In this 14-week studio format class, students will develop gadgets, inventions, and electronic devices that present absurd solutions to problems, while learning concepts and techniques of design ideation, prototyping, model making, CMF (color, material, and finishes), and manufacturing.

This is a production heavy four-credit course, where students will learn about industrial design and tangible interactions.

Prerequisite: Intro to Phys. Comp. (ITPG-GT 2301)