Interaction Design and Technologies, MSc

Interaction design and technologies​ master's programme at Chalmers

Interaction design is the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems and services. It focuses on behaviour – how users act and how products respond to user behaviour.

As such, it is a necessary discipline in any design project aiming to create something complex and computer-augmented that is to be used by humans: compu​ter software, games, interactive products such as smartphones or MP3-players, “intelligent” homes, cars, clothes and so on.

Given the increased focus on interaction design in general, and on social media, entertainment and new physical products, in particular, the master's programme aims to provide interaction designers with the knowledge and skills needed to meet the ever-shifting demands of this emerging job market segment.

The master's programme allows the following specialisations:

• Interaction designer focused on user interface design and information visualisation
• Interaction designer focused on tangible interaction
• Interaction designer focused on entertainment, games and social media
• Game developer with some experience of gameplay design and interaction design
• Interaction between humans and digital artefacts

It is no longer enough to build a system, product or application that is only functional or efficient; there is an increasing demand for products that are not only efficient but also have other values, such as being pleasurable to handle and use or even fun or intriguing. As a result of the new demands, there is a whole new set of interaction design-oriented jobs on the market.

Interaction designers can now be found in any software company, as well as in the game industry, or in companies that combine hardware and software, e.g. mobile phone producers like Apple or Sony Ericsson. Other key areas include web design and web marketing, information visualisation and design of physical interactive products like toys, GPS etc.

The master's programme is intended for anyone with a keen interest in the interaction between humans and digital artefacts. This means that the programme attracts students from different educational backgrounds – from psychology and cognitive science to computer science and information technology, including those with different design backgrounds.

Topics covered

The subjects of computing design, human interaction and interactive simulations are fundamental areas in the Interaction design and technologies master’s programme. The courses included in the programme plan handle topics such as development factors, human centred design, interactive simulations, user visualization​ and game development.