Today, many design disciplines are incorporating elements of digital interaction in their work, and this is all to the good. As different electronic and computing technologies increasingly pervade our lives, there is a growing need for products and systems that are approachable and enjoyable, as well as useful. Such concerns informed the initial development of the Design Interactions Department, and we continue to focus on the expressive and communicative possibilities of digital technologies.

At the same time however, we are broadening our horizons, and beginning to apply our methods and tactics to a wider range of issues. For instance, we are keen to explore the design potential of biotechnology and nanotechnology, both of which are now moving out of the research laboratory and into everyday life. We also aim to design interactions (or to frame debates) of a different kind – between people and possible futures, and between design and other fields of art and science.

In Design Interactions, then, we are not simply concerned with acquiring or refining a specific set of skills. Essentially, we are interested in the social, cultural and ethical consequences of emerging technologies, and this means asking probing questions through design. To this end, we encourage students to consider the implications, as well as the applications, of new technologies, and thus to seek fresh approaches to interaction design – approaches that are meaningful and relevant today. In short, we see this field of design as a fertile way of thinking about the life around us, within us, and in the future beyond us.

Download a PDF version of the Design Interactions Department Handbook.

A copy of the full RCA Handbook and Regulations 2009 is available here.

Open Days for 2011/12 applicants will be held in autumn 2010 and spring 2011. Please check back in early autumn for full details.

+44 (0)20 7590 4293
interaction@rca.ac.uk

Design Interactions microsite