MA Interaction Design

The MA Interaction Design at NCAD is a 12-month, studio-based taught course, which focuses on the design of digital applications, products, experiences, systems and services. Led by a human-centered approach, the course brings together candidates from a range of creative and technical fields and prepares graduates to play a leading role in the development of emerging technology in society.

At the core of the programme is a focus on the needs of people. Through a range of studio projects students learn to conduct people-centered research, extract meaningful insights, create and visualise concepts, and develop and evaluate prototypes in context. The studio environment is an essential component of the programme, fostering collaborative and peer-to-peer learning.

Students are exposed to a broad range of topics and real-world contexts through projects with industry and external stakeholders and through engagement with design practitioners and visiting academics. Through project work, students engage in fieldwork connecting with the local community, businesses and organisations. Covering the theoretical and practical aspects of the discipline, the course encourages students to design from both a pragmatic and speculative perspective, to imagine things as they might be and not necessarily as they are.

The MA Interaction Design exhibition showcases a selection of work from this year’s completed and ongoing projects, demonstrating what design can achieve across a range of project areas, scopes, and timeframes. This includes a one-week project embedded in the Mater Hospital and a four-week collaboration with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, as well as work-in-progress from students’ Major Projects. The work captures a sense of our practice, which is based on human-centered research and understanding, on testing and iteration, and on creativity tied to a sensitivity for the user, to cultivate novel experiences with lasting impact.