Bachelor in Interaction Design

Interaction design is an exciting field at the leading edge of technology innovation. Interaction designers aim to create experiences with products, services, and environments that are not just useful and usable, but very often pleasurable, expressive, and desirable. Learning interaction design is a matter of building a repertoire of methods, skills and theoretical perspectives. Importantly, you also develop a sensitivity to the critical role of stakeholders in design, the implications of design in society and your sense of interaction aesthetics.

What is Interaction Design?

Interaction design is an exciting field at the cutting edge of technology innovation. Interaction designers aim to create experiences using products, services and environments that are not just useful and functional, but often expressive and desirable.

Learning interaction design is a matter of building a repertoire of methods, skills and theoretical perspectives. Importantly, you will also develop a sensitivity to the critical role of stakeholders in design, the implications of design in society, and your sense of interaction aesthetics.

The innovative, considered and well-executed design adds value to products and services. Interaction designers seek to understand the people and situations they are designing for, and, drawing on their mastery of interactive technology and forms of interactivity, design artefacts and experiences to improve situations.

During the programme, we will conduct extensive research, sketch, prototype and test — not just to get the right design, but to get the design right. Designers very often take the role of advocate for the user and are skilled in mediating complex issues and relationships with stakeholders involved in the design and production process.

Interaction design at Malmö University

Interaction design starts with new students every autumn semester. This programme at Malmö University is not like other digital-design-related education. We set ourselves apart in three main ways:

The design of interaction

We understand interaction design as part of the tradition of design, with a focus on the design of interactivity — not just how an artefact looks or what it does, but how it responds and how it feels to use. Exploring and expressing interactivity requires technical skills. As such, you will have to opportunity to acquire and develop basic programming skills throughout the programme. We teach programming in a way that is relevant to interaction design and that any motivated student can learn. You will prototype interactive experiences across a range of devices and platforms, including for web and mobile.

The products and services interaction designers create are not just software. We have a strong tradition and world-class facilities for working with physical formats, and you will learn techniques such as laser-cutting and 3-D printing. Together with basic electronic skills and a microprocessor, you will be able to develop concepts related to the Internet of Things, wearables and other forms of smart products.

You won’t just make good-looking mock-ups, you'll bring your ideas to life.

Responsible, sensitive design

To design is to make a change in the world; whether the designer intends to or not, their work has wider implications. Our education instils a responsible, sensitive design approach which takes issues of ethics and sustainability seriously and focuses on design with human values in mind. Moreover, at Malmö University we have a strong tradition in participatory design approaches, designing not just for users but with users and other stakeholders. Interaction design can be done not just for commercial purposes but also to serve and challenge the pressing societal issues of our time.

Research-based teaching

At Malmö University, you will not only pick up the applied skills of an interaction designer — conducting fieldwork, programming, making mock-ups, creating concept videos, and so on — but you will also engage with cutting-edge forms of interactivity and deep, theoretical perspectives on design and interaction. You will develop reflective, critical approaches, understanding not only how to create, but also when and why (or why not). This is particularly important in a technology-related field such as interaction design, where developments happen quickly and practitioners need to be able to make sense of new technologies and shifting practices.

Malmö University strives to be part of society at every level. Whether that is regional, nationally or globally, its focus is making the world a better and fairer place.

We have a mission to be an active hub for research, education and innovation. Our research is often multidisciplinary and pursued in collaboration with partners from outside of the university.

Why choose Malmö University?

Malmö University is...

Collaborative

Offers high-quality education where teachers and students work closely together, and undergraduates are seen as important contributors to the learning process.

Entrepreneurial

Promotes an entrepreneurial and innovative learning environment that influences and is influenced by the education and research at Malmö University.

Multidisciplinary

Boasts multidisciplinary programmes whereby students learn from different faculties, crucially important in an increasingly complex job market.

Diverse

Truly international classrooms where around a third of students have an international background – invaluable for students who are looking for a global career.

Big, but not too big!

The ninth largest higher educational institution in Sweden, with 24,000 students.

Global

Students have the opportunity to study abroad. We have agreements with approximately 250 universities around the world.

Convenient

Copenhagen international airport Kastrup (Denmark) is only 20 minutes away by train, and Copenhagen city 30 minutes away. Network links from here can take you by train throughout Europe and by plane, anywhere in the world!