Art and Design faculty pursue research and creative practice that advance their disciplines and respond in meaningful ways to critical issues. Through artworks, products, and publications, our faculty explore new ways to make and interpret cultural artifacts, and improve and enhance the human condition.
Information Design and Visualization
Information Design and Visualization focuses on analysis and visual communication of data and information. Built on a core of graphic and interaction design, the practice emphasizes interdisciplinary collaborative work among researchers, professionals, and the communication of complex issues to general public.
Experience Design
Experience Design is a holistic and integrative approach to design that focuses on the quality of the human experience in specific contexts and situations. It employs investigation, analysis, creativity and technology as tools to understand human goals, needs, and desires and to mediate the human experience.
Inquiry-Based Creative Practice
Inquiry-based creative practice combines artistic activity with research to produce works with a distinctive standpoint on technology, society, and the natural world. Using methods drawn from both creative and scholarly disciplines, these artists combine aesthetic, poetic, and narrative elements in their projects. Inquiry-based creative practice often assumes nontraditional forms while remaining deeply engaged with aesthetic traditions, cultural histories, and the social implications of technology.
Game Design
Our faculty focus on the creation and analysis of game experiences. We develop innovative and meaningful games through the exploration of new game mechanics, technology, and application areas. Specifically, we explore the use of games for learning, activism, documentary, history, and behavioral science. We use mixed methods to evaluate player experiences and to study games and game culture at large in order to advance the field of game design.