In today’s data-driven world, from the designer’s perspective to the CEO’s strategic decisions, a keen understanding of how to align user needs with features and interactions that communicate insights is essential. This course will equip you with the skills to design informative data-driven experiences that are both functionally grounded and ethically sound.

This course will be a mix of lectures, hands-on exercises, and group projects. You will learn the fundamentals of human-centered design, data visualization, and ethical data use. We will explore how to empathize with users, collect and analyze data, and create engaging and interactive features that effectively communicate your insights.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Apply human-centered design principles to create data-driven features that meet the needs of users and practice in the class project.
• Collect and analyze data ethically and responsibly.
• Design and implement effective data-driven interactions and visualizations.
• Understand the ethical implications of data-driven design and ensure your creations are inclusive and unbiased.

This course will provide you with practical skills that can be applied in various fields, including business, journalism, and research. You will also develop a strong foundation in human-centered design and data-driven design, which can enhance your career prospects and help you stand out in a competitive job market and build interdisciplinary skills needed for confident communication.

The course is designed in an interdisciplinary fashion to benefit technologists and early to mid-career designers alike. While no prior experience with data visualization is required, a basic understanding of data analysis and statistics would be beneficial. Familiarity with data visualization tools (e.g., Excel, Tableau, Python) is helpful but not essential.

This course is suitable for beginners who want to learn the basics of data-driven design and human-centered design. We will start with fundamental concepts and gradually build upon your knowledge. However, if you have prior experience in these areas, you may find the pace of the course to be slower than desired.

Required Materials

• Please bring your own laptop to class.
• We will be using web-based tools that are free such as Google Sheets and other online resources in class.
• Please bring along a pen.
• We will provide workshopping supplies for design thinking such as sticky notes.