Unfolding an Industrial Design Approach to Physical Computing

Abstract

Industrial designers working to develop tangible interactive systems require new skills to integrate technology into their prototypes. My research investigates how to facilitate physical computing for industrial design students in a manner that is in line with the practices and values of the profession. Different toolkits have been developed through this research to scaffold industrial designers as they make tangible interactive artifacts. Through investigating this toolkits in the wild, I aim to develop an approach to inform educators as they structure industrial design programs to support students in design tangible interactive systems.