The Communication Leadership graduate program (Comm Lead) is seeking a graduate student to serve as paid grading/feedback support for COMMLD 511: Introduction to User Centered Design in Autumn 2020. It is expected that this position will work approximately 14 hours per week during the term of this quarterly appointment (including class time), not to exceed 177 hours total. Position will be paid $24.00 per hour. There will be a limited number of hours of prep work during Summer 2020 (primarily in September), so the appointment will begin then with a flexible exact start date in early September.
Note: No in-person work is required for this role, given public health and safety recommendations. All work and meetings will be conducted virtually.
In this role, the successful candidate will work closely with instructor David Holmberg, attending the virtual class sessions (10 sessions, 6:00-9:50 PM on Mondays October 5-December 7), helping to monitor the discussion threads, and providing written feedback on a host of assignments.
- Grades weekly discussion board entries
- Grades weekly assignments
- Short practice assignments applying UX skills learned in class. These will include foundational UX artifacts such as user interviews, journey maps, sketching, wireframing, taxonomies, and usability reports. All of the assignments will cumulatively build on each other toward the final project.
- Grades 1-2 larger assignments
- The final project involves 1) creating a working prototype of an app based on real user problems identified at the beginning of the quarter (and which will be the basis for all of the weekly assignments), 2) a case study which details out the steps involved to create the app.
Qualifications:
- Current UW graduate student through Autumn 2020
- Experience with UX or design thinking is a must. Candidates should display knowledge or coursework on UX
Comm Lead is a professional graduate program, offering Master of Communication Degrees in Digital Media as well as Communities & Networks. Students range in age from 22-40+ and many work full time, coming to school after hours. This course is an elective option that also meets the program’s Research Methods core requirement.
COMMLD 511: Introduction to User Centered Design
This course focuses on the fundamentals of user experience (UX) design, focusing on the skills and concepts needed to successfully design products and services for humans (otherwise known as the human-centered design process). We will learn the principles of design thinking, so that students come away from the class with a framework for understanding how to identify real user problems, design solutions for how to solve those problems, and then test those solutions with real people.
Over the course of the quarter, students will learn the foundations of user experience design, covering the entire cycle from ideation to implementation, and all of the design phases in between. We will cover a wide range of UX skills, including user research, user journeys, sketching, wireframing, principles of information architecture, prototyping, and usability studies. Additionally, we will consider the larger ethical questions raised by designing products in the digital age.
To apply, please submit an unofficial transcript, CV/resume, and cover letter explaining your qualifications for the position through Handshake (Job Posting 3878443) by noon on July 31, 2020. Questions can be directed to commlead@uw.edu.