Abstract
Knowledge and skills in the “digital” design field are becoming increasingly strategic in an evolving society shaped by information technologies, digital devices, social media, online learning and remote working. Basic competencies and understandings in interaction and communication design become crucial for decoding and interfacing with communication ecosystems that represent the platforms to create one’s presence, consciously access information and create social experiences and relationships.
Regardless of the chosen sector in which one decides to work, digital skills are transversal competencies concerning the T-shaped education model necessary to interact with the complexity of present-day, and probably also in the near future when new graduates are confronted with professions that are not yet emerging or have not yet been intercepted in the educational environment.
According to these premises, the paper presents an experience of teaching digital interaction and communication in an Art Curriculum inside an Italian Design and Art Bachelor’s degree. Based on the “Draw how to make a toast” approach and methodology developed by Tom Wujec back in 2002, the class proposes to the art students – not explicitly trained in the use of graphic design software nor in the digital interaction field – the opportunity to explore the area acquiring transversal skills. Based on human-centered research and design methods, the course offered students the opportunity to bring their creative and conceptualising skills to creating an online platform, app or website. Directed towards specific groups of people – based on (proto) personas – basic instruction, procedures and cultural information about everyday activities such as making a coffee (Cuccumella is the Napoletana coffee machine), translate the Wujec’s model into a more European/Italian experience.
The purpose of the experience conducted, in addition to forming new knowledge and skills in the students, was a moment of educational and critical reflection on the essential principles of digital design – i.e. experience, interaction, communication, and interface design – to be conveyed to non-designer students. The paper also compares the current experience with similar one held in Computer Science, Communication Science, Design and Art Bachelor and Master Degrees in Italian and International Universities to understand similarities and specificities.