Module aims and objectives:
To develop understanding of: the form, use and qualities of user interfaces; the design decisions raised by different interface technologies in different application domains; the design principles and exemplars that produce effective user interactions; the findings from contemporary HCI research.

Module description:
This module provides an in depth understanding of emerging user interfaces and technologies. It examines research findings and recent thinking about user interfaces and gives students the opportunity to consider how these might be applied in design and evaluation. It examines the contributions of creative and engineering design to user interfaces. It considers the user interfaces that we may expect to see in the future, as well as relating them to some of the most influential interfaces of the past.

With its substantive focus on the user interface as a designed object, the module complements the learning (about design practices and evaluation methods) gained in other modules in the postgraduate programme in HCI.

Module learning outcomes:

Knowledge and understanding of: the form, context, use and qualities of near future user interfaces and technologies; the design decisions raised by different interface technologies in different application domains; the design principles and exemplars that produce effective user interactions; the evolution of user interface designs.
	Intellectual (thinking skills) – able to: reason about the design issues presented by user interfaces in different settings and the application of principles and exemplars to those issues.
	Practical skills – able to: recognise the design qualities of particular user interfaces, to advise on user interface projects in relation to the needs arising from the user’s interactions and the capabilities of the interactive technologies involved.
	Transferable skills – ability to: reason about successful user interfaces and present such reasoning.

The module addresses contemporary theorising and research in social psychology. Some but not all of the lectures will have an emphasis on neuroscience...