From UCD to HCD and Beyond. Conciliating the Human Aims Between Philosophy and Design Education

Abstract

User-Centered Design (UCD) is defined as both design philosophy and process. Current education in UCD and Human-Centered Design (HCD) mainly focuses on teaching the process and set of specific UCD methods. Although HCD emphasizes on human factors, both forget the philosophical approach of the human being and how they interact with the environment. This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a university-level course that broadens the traditional educational perspective of UCD and HCD. The course has been carried out during 5 semesters in a university-level Digital Design degree where 500 students have participated. During this period, the course design proposal has been evaluated and improvements were made, iteratively. The academic satisfaction surveys show significant results in relation to the course design. Learners find contents interesting and useful. One of the most interesting findings is that students explicitly highlight a change of mindset about design and its values.