This course explores design issues for computational and physical interfaces. Participants will solve a series of progressively more challenging design exercises. Each exercise requires that a computational interface for some technology in a "home of the future" be developed. Interface usability is evaluated for each exercise by course participants and an outside panel of users. Topics to be covered in class include basic graphical interface design criteria, methods for evaluating usability of physical and virtual devices, and design of interfaces that use sensor input.

In this course we will design interfaces for future homes and communities. Participants should leave this course with a thorough set of principles to use when designing and evaluating computational interfaces that might be deployed in the homes of the present and the future. Students are expected to gain new insight into user interface design by iteratively developing interfaces that are evaluated by their peers.