Samsung: Mobile Tools for Global Ties—introducing a new class, blog and project.

It is with great pleasure that I introduce a new class starting in the Fall, Samsung: Mobile Tools for Global Ties. With the generous support of Samsung, this class will be diving into the world of mobile devices, software interaction and mobile applications. While the class does not require any coding/programming background, we will be heavily focused in understanding how software and hardware work together as tools for people through a thoroughly user-centered research and design approach.

There will be many more details to come as the class starts, August 31st, 2011, but I wanted to inform you that these developments will be documented in a blog hosted on my site at georgeaye.com. There is a few reasons for this change (previously hosted as a separate Tumblr blog).

• GeorgeAye.com is now a single point for all my teaching/classes and independent design work
• Paid services bring tech support
• Hosting of images was being done through a goofy Dropbox workaround
• Free services like Tumblr have been unreachable at times
• My students have reported that sign up and basic posting was flaky 
• It’s very easy to stumble upon some very-NSFW blogs in the Tumblr world

What this means is that my site will be bifurcating into two blogs (the main georgeaye.com blog AND a Samsung class blog). 

The whole class will be given access to post freely to this new class blog (just like before) and updates from the world of User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), interface design, interaction design as well as new mobile devices will be appearing on this blog. As well as recordings of weekly in-class critiques and development (baring any non-disclosure agreements). 

As you know, I like to experiement with new tools and processes for my classes so I truly hope this works! 

Without further ado, may I present to you the new class blog, Samsung: Mobile Tools for Global Ties. 

Lastly, yes, I know that I owe everyone a proper wrap up of my last class, Living in a Smart City. I will have a post up in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for your patience.

Responses to the mid-term presentation of "Living in a Smart City" class

Response to the mid-term presentation from my class, Living in a Smart City, has been fantastic. The work is being revised based on the insightful feedback during the critique and the class is feverishly preparing for their final class, May 11th. Stay tuned.

Below are some tweets about the class so far!

ldoody Beautifully careful approach to design in/of a smart city by @georgeaye. We need more like this! http://t.co/JSn6gY1 /via @urbnscl 4/5/11 3:47 PM

stevevance Thanks for posting this class update @georgeaye. I didn't want to do it all myself (based on the meager notes I took). Love the graphics. 4/5/11 12:51 AM

juddm Inspired afternoon as guest critic for @georgeaye SmartCity class! Reminded that designers challenge & change the world http://t.co/U9qOc6h 3/30/11 10:48 PM

urbnscl Gorgeous stuff from George Aye's "Living In a Smart City" class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago: http://bit.ly/gV5C3w [AG] 4/5/11 12:23 PM

Immerito Mind well and truly blown by the quality of student work in @georgeaye's Living in a Smart City first design critique. So very impressed. 3/30/11 3:14 PM

New class: redesign a Chicago Public School cafeteria, Spring + Summer 2012

It is with great pleasure that I annouce my new class in Spring + Summer 2012: to redesign a Chicago Public School cafeteria. Through a generous donation by the Motorola Foundation, this project will hit at the intersection between design and public policy, and will make tangible and concrete the impact research and design can have on today's problems.

Download a PDF of the info session poster here.