User Experience

The User Experience (UX) concentration teaches students how to design usable, useful, and desirable digital interfaces (e.g., websites, mobile/tablet apps, etc.) from a user-centered perspective. While UX is a field in its own right, UX skills are becoming increasingly important within the LIS profession as libraries, museums, archives, and information organizations expand their digital offerings. Drawing from the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) discipline, students in the UX concentration will be trained in the methods used to understand users and their contexts and apply that knowledge to the design and evaluation of interactive technologies.

Students who complete this concentration will be able to:

1. Understand the principles of UX;
2. Apply appropriate design and evaluation methods to understand or enhance the experience of interacting with digital interfaces; and
3. Create high-quality reports and design documents, using professional tools, to effectively communicate with stakeholders.

By the end of the concentration, students will have a well-developed portfolio of UX deliverables that demonstrates their ability to do UX work or enter the UX profession as information architects, interaction/UX designers, usability specialists, etc. in libraries, information organizations, design firms, or other relevant industries.

While not required for the concentration, students are strongly encouraged to join the Pratt User Experience (Pratt-UX) Group where they will have opportunities to meet UX professionals, attend local UX events, contribute to and/or lead independent UX projects, and network with fellow SILS students and alumni who share an interest in and passion for UX.

To join or learn more about the Pratt-UX Group, please contact SILS professor Craig M. MacDonald (cmacdona@pratt.edu).

Program of Study

The concentration consists of 12 credits (four 3-credit courses): two required core courses and two electives, at least one of which must be an Advanced Topics course (see below).

Required Core Courses (6 credits)

The required core courses provide foundational knowledge of the UX profession by exposing students to a variety of contemporary design and evaluation methods. There is no required or recommended order for taking the core courses but it is recommended that students take them as early as possible to maximize opportunities to build on the skills obtained (e.g., through projects in other courses, internships, external projects, etc.).

LIS 643 Information Architecture and Interaction Design
LIS 644 Usability Theory and Practice [formerly Usability of Digital Information]

Electives (6 credits)

Students must select two courses as electives. The first elective must be an Advanced Topics course:

Advanced Topics

LIS 682 Topics in User Experience [formerly People-Centered Methods & Design]
LIS 608 Human Information Behavior
LIS 630 Information Science Research [formerly Research Methods]
LIS 658 Information Visualization

The second elective may be an Advanced Topics course (see above) or a Contexts/Technologies course (see below). When taking project-based courses, students are strongly encouraged to select projects that have a UX focus (e.g., designing or evaluating a new tool/interface).

Contexts

LIS 657 Digital Humanities
LIS 664 Projects in Digital Archives
LIS 670 Cultural Heritage: Description and Access
LIS 693 Digital Libraries
LIS 6XX Museums and Digital Media

Technologies

LIS 637 Web Design Production
LIS 645 Management of Digital Content
LIS 681 Social Media
LIS 6XX Programming for Cultural Heritage
LIS 6XX Databases & Web Applications

NOTE: Other special topics courses (LIS 697) may fulfill the elective requirements. Please contact the program coordinator with any questions.

Contact

Professor Craig M. MacDonald, Ph.D.
Coordinator, User Experience
http://www.craigmacdonald.com
cmacdona@pratt.edu