B.A. in Interactive Design

UI Design Classroom

Interactive Design at Lasell

The B.A. in Interactive Design program prepares students to work in the rapidly evolving digital content production field. The program brings together design skills, interactive principles, new media literacy, branding, and product development into a single major.

Students will be career-ready for roles in interactive media including UX/UI design, digital content production, web and mobile development, and media management.

Program Features

Emphasizing interactive design and media production skills, the major focuses on User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design.
Students will also learn the fundamental creative, media, and branding principles needed to prototype and create user-friendly workable designs.
The major covers the top skills needed for UX/UI Design: user interface design, design, UX wire frames, and interaction design and information architecture. Courses cover coding languages such as HTML. CSS, and JavaScript, as well as software such as Adobe XD, Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Illustrator.
The program culminates with students completing at least one required internship and a capstone experience in which they develop a digital portfolio to showcase their undergraduate projects and skills.

4-Year Plan

View our 4 Year Plan for a year-by-year breakdown of potential courses you can take to complete your Interactive Design major in four years.

Sample Courses

GRAP107 - Digital Aesthetics (KP)
This course explores the fundamentals of visual communications that are both produced and experienced digitally. Messaging by means of text and visuals has largely shifted from analog formats to screens. Multimedia, motion and interactivity are now common means of conveyance. What new visual strategies, methods and design principles have emerged in response to this shift? Has a new language of aesthetics evolved along with the rise of mobile-media, interactivity and the emphasis on human-centered design? In this class, students will engage these questions while learning techniques in the production and presentation of pixel-based typography and imagery with an emphasis on information design, typography and motion.

GRAP308 - Interactive & UX Design
This course offers a deeper exploration of designing and authoring interactive content on a variety of platforms with an emphasis on user experience (UX), building upon skills and strategies acquired in basic web design and graphic design courses. Students will use designer tools such as Adobe Animate and Adobe XD, which offer designers the opportunity to create code-based interactions with minimal knowledge of programming languages, such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and proprietary app building languages and workflows. Prerequisite: GRAP207 Web Design and Development and GRAP105 Digital Design Essentials or equivalent.

BUSS407 - Digital Branding
The art of good branding requires a meaningful promise, strong values and a consistent experience. As business is driven from traditional to digitally-driven models, brands must adapt and consider how they best respond without abandoning core principles. Students in Digital Branding will learn best practices on how companies translate brand tenets to a digitally-driven world, focusing on the online experience, social media and mobile platforms. In a team, project-based approach, students will also have the opportunity to apply best practices to develop digital branding strategies for those companies who may be falling behind. Prerequisite: BUSS220, COM221 or FASH310

School of Communication & the Arts Faculty

	Deborah Baldizar, M.F.A. Associate Professor of Art and Graphic Design Area of Expertise: intersection of art and education; sculpture; drawing
	Janice Barrett, Ed.D. Professor of Communication Area of Expertise: conflict resolution strategies; political communication; journalism
	Kenneth Calhoun, M.F.A. Interim Dean of the School of Communication & the Arts; Professor of Graphic Design, Program Chair of Graphic Design Area of Expertise: creative writing; design; creative direction; digital storytelling
	Stephen Fischer, M.F.I.A. Associate Professor of Graphic Design Area of Expertise: fine art; photography; illustration; publications design; art direction
	Margo Lemieux, M.F.A., M.Ed. Professor Emerita Area of Expertise: painting; drawing; printmaking; new media; graphic design
	Meryl Perlson, M.F.A. Professor of Communication, Program Chair of Communication Area of Expertise: documentary, digital storytelling, video production & community-based media
	Luis Lopez-Preciado, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Communication Area of Expertise: marketing; management; advertising
	Javonte Santos, M.A. Assistant Professor of Communication Area of Expertise: professional communication, organizational conflict, business negotiations
	Brian J. Wardyga, Ed.D. Professor of Communication; General Manager, 109.2FM, WLAS, & LCTV Area of Expertise: radio production; video production; video games; computer graphics; effective speaking
	Kurt Wirth, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Communication Area of Expertise: digital strategies; publicity
	Vladimir Zimakov, M.A. Diane Heath Beever '49 Associate Professor of Art, Director of the Wedeman Gallery Area of Expertise: design; illustration; package design; website development; branding corporate identity; exhibition curation

Learning Outcomes

Use creativity and design thinking skills to be able to frame a problem, perform user research, create prototypes, and test results that results in a working solution.
Be able to critically evaluate and determine which visual media solution is the most effective for a target audience.
Effectively use interactive design tools, images, and writing to reach diverse audiences across different platforms with engaging messages and usable features.
Understand the influence and impact of media and how to use it ethically in a diverse and global society.

For a complete list of courses and learning outcomes, view the Academic Catalog >>