Assistant Professor
User Experience & Interaction Design for AR/VR/MR/XR
What You'll Learn
- Critique new and existing XR experiences from an ethical standpoint.
- Create storyboards and physical prototypes of new XR experiences.
- Create XR prototypes with digital and immersive authoring tools.
- Infer technical requirements for implementing your XR prototypes.
4 Modules
28 Hours
7 hrs per module (approx.)
Rating
About User Experience & Interaction Design for AR/VR/MR/XR
This second course in the XR for Everybody specialization looks at how to design new user experiences for XR technologies. The course provides learners with a design thinking mindset and equips them with a fundamental toolbox for creating XR applications using rapid prototyping. It starts with a broad overview of the complete XR design process, discussing different paths to becoming an XR creator, what is generally involved in making XR experiences, and how to best get started. The course then emphasizes design thinking, critiques, and ethics while introducing guidelines and user-centered techniques like design jams. The second half of the course introduces a variety of methods and tools for prototyping both physically and digitally including on the XR devices themselves through immersive authoring.
The course has an honors track that guides learners through creating their own storyboard, physical prototype, and digital prototype of an XR experience. You will work on exercises that allow you to practice your design skills and also build XR technologies into your workflow by working with specific templates and new digital tools that allow you to preview physical prototypes on AR/VR devices.
Skills You'll Gain
- ARCore
- Augmented Reality
- Digital Prototyping
- Mixed Reality
- StarVR
- User Experience (UX)
- Virtual Reality
- WebXR
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
Welcome to User Experience & Interaction Design for AR/VR/MR/XR, the second course in the XR for Everybody specialization. This course focuses on designing augmented, virtual, and mixed reality experiences, with an emphasis on user experience, interaction design, prototyping, and evaluation rather than programming. You will explore design processes, ethical considerations, and hands-on methods to create and assess meaningful XR experiences.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Module 1: XR Design Process
- Reading: Welcome!
- Video: Meet Your Instructor
- Reading: About You
- Video: Course Overview
- Reading: Course Summary & Outlook
- Reading: Course Syllabus
- Reading: Accessibility Statement
- Discussion Prompt: Introduce Yourself
- Reading: Module 1 of 4: XR Design Process
- Reading: What Doing XR Involves
- Video: What Doing XR Involves (Part 1)
- Video: What Doing XR Involves (Part 2)
- Reading: Additional Material: Making of The Lion King (2019) Documentary
- Discussion Prompt: Comparing Filmmaking and XR
- Reading: Developing XR Experiences
- Video: Developing XR Experiences
- Reading: How to Get Started
- Video: How to Get Started for Everybody (Part 1)
- Video: How to Get Started for Everybody (Part 2)
- Reading: Additional Material: Key Barriers to Entry Research Paper
- Reading: Finding Your XR Process
- Video: Finding Your XR Process
- Discussion Prompt: What Is Your XR Process?
- Reading: Intro to XR Design
- Video: XR Design Primer
- Reading: Your First Quiz
Module 2: Design Thinking, Ethics, and Guidelines for XR
- Reading: Module 2 of 4: Design Thinking, Ethics, and Guidelines for XR
- Reading: Building Empathy With Your Users
- Video: XR Design Thinking
- Video: Scenarios & Personas
- Video: Competitive Analysis & Design Space Analysis
- Video: Guiding Principles
- Reading: Additional Material: Videos by Mike Alger
- Discussion Prompt: Design Principles and Methods for XR
- Reading: Ethical and Responsible Design
- Video: XR Design Ethics
- Video: XR Ethical Review
- Video: XR Design Impact
- Discussion Prompt: Ethical Design of XR Experiences
- Reading: Best Practices and Patterns of Design
- Video: XR Design Guidelines
- Video: Learning by Doing XR Design
- Video: The Do's and Don'ts of XR Design
- Video: Guideline-based Review of XR Experiences
- Discussion Prompt: Design Guidelines for XR Experiences
- Reading: Solving Design Challenges Collaboratively
- Video: XR Design Jams (Part 1)
- Video: XR Design Jams (Part 2)
- Reading: Learning from Existing Interfaces
- Video: XR Design Critiques (Part 1)
- Video: XR Design Critiques (Part 2)
- Reading: How to Use the Gallery Tool
- App Item: Discussion of Design Critiques
- Reading: About the Honors Track
- Video: Welcome to the Honors Track
- Video: Your XR Design Critique
- Reading: Assignment 1: Design Critique
- Reading: How to Submit to the Gallery Tool
Module 3: Storyboarding & Physical Prototyping for XR Experiences
- Reading: Module 3 of 4: Storyboarding & Physical Prototyping for XR Experiences
- Reading: Seven Techniques to Help You Innovate
- Video: Brainstorming & Problem Framing
- Video: Idea Hexagon
- Reading: Additional Material: Idea Hexagon TED Talk by Ramesh Raskar
- Video: Threshold & Ceiling in Tool Design
- Video: Good Ideas & Bad Ideas
- Discussion Prompt: Finding Good Problems for XR
- Reading: Organizing Sketches into Storyboards
- Video: Storyboarding & Wireframing (Part 1)
- Video: Storyboarding & Wireframing (Part 2)
- Reading: Additional Material: Videos of the Honors Track Exercises
- App Item: Discussion of Storyboards
- Reading: Prototyping with Physical Materials
- Video: Physical Prototyping I
- Video: Physical Prototyping II
- Reading: Additional Material: Videos of the Honors Track Exercises
- App Item: Discussion of Physical Prototypes
- Reading: Creating Your Storyboard
- Video: Your XR Storyboard
- Reading: Assignment 2: Storyboard
- Reading: Creating Your Physical Prototype
- Video: Your Physical XR Prototype
- Reading: Assignment 3: Physical Prototype
Module 4: Digital Prototyping & Evaluation of XR Experiences
- Reading: Module 4 of 4: Digital Prototyping & Evaluation of XR Experiences
- Reading: Digital and Immersive Authoring
- Video: Digital Prototyping I
- Video: Digital Prototyping II
- Reading: Additional Material: Videos of the Honors Track Exercises
- App Item: Discussion of Digital Prototypes
- Reading: Testing Physical and Digital Prototypes
- Video: Evaluating XR Experiences
- Video: Usability Evaluation
- Video: Designing a User Study
- Discussion Prompt: Good Evaluation Techniques and Strategies
- Reading: Design Portfolios and Presentations
- Video: Creating Your XR Design Portfolio (Part 1)
- Video: Creating Your XR Design Portfolio (Part 2)
- Video: Interview with Katy Lewis
- Video: Course Conclusion
- Reading: Thanks!
- Reading: Creating Your Digital Prototype
- Video: Your Digital XR Prototype
- Reading: Assignment 4: Digital Prototype
- Video: Your XR Prototype Peer Review
- Discussion Prompt: Your Takeaways from the Course
- Reading: Exit Survey
Grading Policy
Learners are assessed primarily through quizzes that evaluate understanding of XR design processes, prototyping, and evaluation. The course grade is based on four quizzes worth 25% each. Honors assignments are optional and may be completed to earn honors distinction but do not change the overall grading weights.
Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.
Intermediate Level
Some related experience required
