This course develops an ecosystems approach to structures of interactive information. These structures are semantic and technical. They are artistic and cultural. We will explore interaction, programming, design, authoring, and theory. We will work conceptually, visually, and algorithmically, addressing:

• interactive information as a form of communication and medium of expression;
• visual and interaction design;
• visual and conceptual layering;
• the reference as a metadisciplinary structure;
• practices of collecting from Duchamp to Vanevar Bush to Borges to DJ Spooky
• the problem of how to represent large collections in ways that promote cognition and communication;
• ontologies, maps, navigation, and information visualiztion as functional semiotic means for structuring interactive information; and
• the design of dynamic navigation as an approach addressing the large collections problem.

In this course, you will learn to express yourself using computer science. Through this journey, you will learn to specify problems, as well as to solve them. You will develop a portfolio of personal creative works, using HTML5, the client-side technology of the World Wide Web. Since the web browser is most widely developed runtime environment in the history of computing, your can make your portfolio widely available. If you like this sort of thing, it could help you get interesting jobs.

Instructor: Professor Andruid Kerne
Lectures: CHEN 104 | Tues, Thurs 3:55-5:10
TA: Ajit Jain