The UW Design Challenge
The goal of the UW Design Challenge is to introduce UW students of all faculties and backgrounds to the concepts and approaches of user-centered design. The only requirement for participation in the Challenge is an interest in usability and interaction design.
The contestants are expected to be UW students with varying levels of knowledge in the field of usability. The Challenge will be open to local high school students, up to a maximum of two teams (or eight participants).
The judges for the Challenge are local industry and academic experts who have graciously volunteered their time. The judges are:
Prof. Carolyn MacGregor, Use-It Lab, Systems Design Engineering
Frank Tyneski, Director of Design Integration, Research In Motion
Bob Barlow-Busch, Interaction Design Team Leader, Quarry Integrated Communications
Alex Tam, Product Designer
The participants will be organized into teams of four, with each team member playing one of the following roles: project management, graphic/aesthetic design, usability design, and engineering (feasibility) design. The teams will then be given background infromation on the design problem and given a fifteen-minute period to find a solution. At the end of the fifteen minutes, each of the judges will state his or her expectations for a winning design. The teams will then be given a further thirty minutes to complete the design and prepare a presentation.
At the end of the competiiton, each team will be given five minutes in which to present the design and explain the team's choices and design decisions.
The judges will then select the winning design.
The Design Challenge will take place on Thursday, November 13th, 2003. The Institute for Computer Research have graciously allowed WatCHI the use of the ICR Corporate Sponsor Lounge (better known as the Fish Bowl), DC 1301.
The even start time is 4:30 PM. The expected end time is 7:00 PM. Refreshments and snacks will be provided, courtesy of the Systems Design Engineering dept. and the Graduate Student Association.
If you require additional information, you can contact the event organizers at
watchi-exec@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
For further information, you can also see our website.