Studying on BA (Hons) Design Interaction you will be at the forefront of future-focused design. You will experiment and develop emerging technology such as AR/VR (XR), AI, game engines, electronics, sensors, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and robotics. You will play a role in shaping the world around us with free thinking ideas and opportunities.

Interdisciplinary collaboration with students from e.g. Fine Art Technology, Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation and Photography allows you to exchange skills and to access technical support and subject expertise across disciplines.

You will be supported by yearly employability initiative Detour Ahead: Roadmaps for the Art and Design Industry, week-long inter-disciplinary guest talks offering you industry insights as well as guidance on subjects such as freelancing, copyright and tax.

Through learning by doing, problem solving and exploring, you will use practical training and theoretical knowledge to succeed in design interactions.

You’ll gain a critical understanding of the technical, historical, theoretical and political potential of the medium and an understanding of the collaborative nature of the medium and skills to identify, reflect and develop employability competencies and professional skills to enter the creative industries.

You will be in the forefront of future-focused design, experimenting and developing emerging technology such as AR/VR (XR), AI, game engines, electronics, sensors, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and robotics. You will play a role in shaping the world around us with free thinking ideas and opportunities

Studying design interactions will teach you confidence in visualising ideas and briefs, will enable you to create and maintain professional online portfolio/presence/ promotional skills and will set you up with life and work skills for Interpersonal, team working, collaborative and negotiations.

• Types of learning

Benefit from our progressive approach to learning through forward thinking and inclusive blended/ flipped learning and patchwork assessment, allowing you to make connections between modules, technical skills and research and your practice. This is a practical course, so you’ll spend plenty of time in our Docklands-based design studios.

• Expanding your learning

Thinking critically to undertake complex problem solving, to be able to succeed in 4iR (fourth industrial revolution) and beyond (we call this emotional intelligence). Gain insights in our yearly cluster employability initiative Detour Ahead: Roadmaps for the Art and Design Industry, a week-long inter-disciplinary guest talks as well as advice about copyright and licensing, freelancing and tax.

• Independent learning

You’ll be expected to carry out your own independent study to build on what you learn during lectures, seminars and workshops. To support you, we’ll provide digital materials, notes and handbooks and you’ll also receive individual supervision and feedback from our experienced lecturers.

• Helping you study

We are investing in key areas beyond your studies including our career services, library and well-being, to be available both face-to-face on campus and online with many of these available 24/7. We have new, modern library facilities on both campuses offering inspirational environments for study and research. Libraries contain resources in print and digital formats, a range of study spaces and dedicated librarian who can assist with your learning.

• Academic support

Students are supported with any academic or subject related queries by an Academic Advisor, module leaders, former and current UEL students.
If you need a bit of extra help with certain skills such as academic writing, maths or IT, our Skillzone and English for Academic Purposes we offer workshops, drop-in sessions and one-to-one appointments to help our students achieve their potential. You can receive advice and guidance on all aspects of the IT systems provided by the university from our IT Service Desks located on all three campuses.

Our Student Support hubs in Docklands and Stratford feature centralised help-desks to cater for your every need. UEL provides also support and advice for disabled students and those with specific learning difficulties (SPDs).

• Workload

Each year you will spend around 300 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.

The approximate percentages for this course are:

Year 1: scheduled teaching – 300 hours; guided independent study – 900 hours.
Year 2: scheduled teaching – 300 hours; guided independent study – 900 hours.
Year 3: scheduled teaching – 300 hours; guided independent study – 900 hours.

The size of classes can vary depending on the nature of the course, module and activity. This can range from large groups in a lecture theatre setting, to smaller groups taking part in seminars and collaborative work. You will receive your personalised timetable at the beginning of the academic year dependent on your course.

The future needs technically focused flexible creatives who can adapt to the ever-changing market.

In 2018 the UK’s creative sector broke the £100 billion mark. Within this economy there are a great variety of roles that utilise the skillsets we develop.

Our alumni may work in-house for a large company, in a specialist design studio, run their own business or be self-employed across a variety of industries. Spending three years tracking multiple projects, solving the logistics of production and negotiating within teams of creatives will prepare you for work beyond the subject area. The University’s e-Factor competition offers students resources to develop their own business and the Career Coaching team are always on hand to help students fine tune their CVs and interview techniques.

Industry links

Blind Pig - A multidisciplinary creative studio. Creative director and founder Ric Combline has helped shape the course through his feedback and encouragement for art and design based courses at UEL.
Career destinations for our students include: Design interaction; interaction designer; information architect; User Experience (UX) designer; User Interface (UI) designer; web designer; app designer; designer/ developer; content strategist; AR/VR designer; exhibition designer; artist.

The course maintains a strong network of alumni and we regularly invite former students to return as guest speakers and lecturers.