Overview

Interactive Design: Foundations of Animation and Interaction Design is a project-based curriculum that teaches digital communication skills in the context of the professional animation and
interaction design process, using Adobe web tools. Interactive Design develops four key skill areas:

• Project management and collaboration
• Design
• Research and communication
• Professional interactive media authoring tools

Interactive Design addresses each of these areas, using a project-based approach. Each project has phases that follow a design and development process, from project planning to evaluation and launch. To simulate a professional work environment, students gradually migrate their design work from an individual process to a group process. Design and technical work by its very nature is iterative, so the projects contain activities that require students to evaluate and then redesign and rework their
communications. Specific attention has been paid to developing concepts and principles for thorough, effective design.

The content of this program prepares students for the Adobe Certified Associate Multiplatform Animations using Adobe Animate CC exam.

Expected Output

Interactive Design projects develop skills that lay the foundation for producing web and app-ready communications: design principles, design documents, storyboards, game development, shared project management skills such as interviewing and project scheduling, peer review, and redesign. Project activities focus on developing effective communications that can be deployed on the web or via app stores. Students create a simple animation, a variety of graphic content for animations, a client game, and a portfolio. A great deal of flexibility is implied in the curriculum.

The key skills emphasized in this program are:

• Soft” skills such as interviewing and responding to feedback
• Designing a game for clients
• Problem solving that helps support multiple perspectives
• Reflection about the design process and effective communication
• Peer teaching and evaluation in a collaborative environment
• Learning standard web practices and how to implement reusable design
• Technical game development

In the program, students use Adobe Animate, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator to develop static and interactive graphics.

Note: This is an official course overview and outline from Adobe Certified Associate training course, Visual Design: Foundations of Design and Print Production utilized by PCCI in developing its own activities, projects, and curriculums that are customized for its classroom.