TANGIBLE MEDIA

UCLA Design Media Arts
Course Schedule: Tuesday & Thursday 9:00AM - 11:50AM
Location: FabLab (Broad 2250)

COURSE STAFF

Instructor: Douglas Goodwin
Email: dgoodwin@gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesday 1:00-2:00PM, FabLab or by appointment

Teaching Assistant: Aurora Mititelu
Email: am@ucla.edu
Office Hours: TBD

COURSE OVERVIEW

This course explores the intersection of the virtual and physical worlds through interactive media. Working with electronics opens new pathways to connect the virtual and physical—from ephemeral representations on screens and networks to tangible interactions in space and time. Through a combination of workshops, readings, lectures, critiques, and discussions, we will evaluate the role of traditional desktop computers in shaping our understanding of what is technically possible, sensible, logical, foolish, magical, and intuitive.

Students will use basic electronics and the open-source Arduino platform to create three interactive projects of increasing difficulty. By the end of the course, students will have gained practical experience in designing and building tangible media systems that bridge the virtual and physical worlds.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Critically evaluate the relationships between hardware, software, and interface
  • Confidently prototype electronics projects
  • Effectively work in a mixed physical-digital environment and laboratory setting
  • Utilize standard hardware and software tools proficiently
  • Develop strong project planning and research skills
  • Apply techniques and methodologies for debugging projects
  • Use digital fabrication tools to create and realize their projects

CORE COMPETENCIES

  • Circuit Design and Electronics
  • Sensors and Actuators
  • Micro-controller Programming
  • Custom Interface Design
  • Software and Electronics Integration

COURSE PROJECTS

Project 1: Sinister Controllers

Final Demonstration: Thursday, 10/31

This project challenges students to rethink conventional computer interfaces by creating a series of "sinister" controllers. Drawing inspiration from Fischli's and Weiss's installation "The Way Things Go," students will build a chain of devices that transmit a one-bit signal inefficiently. Each student's project will connect to a collective chain, utilizing creative mechanics to receive and send signals with intentional complexity and inefficiency.

Project 2: Encode/Decode

Final Demonstration: Tuesday, 11/26

Students will engage with communication theory principles by pairing up to encode and decode messages through various media. Using a randomly assigned message and medium via a "White Elephant" exchange, teams will translate information across an arbitrary medium. Each duo must employ innovative techniques to successfully reconstruct the original information after transmission.

Project 3

Final Demonstration: Thursday, 12/5

GRADING AND ASSESSMENT

  • Projects: 75%
  • Engagement: 25% (active participation and substantive contribution to weekly critiques and discussions)

Note: All projects must be thoroughly documented before receiving a grade. Documentation must include photos and video where necessary, a title, and a description of the work.

Rubric for Creative Projects

Based on Kristin Hughes' "Learning and Grading Rubric"

Percentage Calculation: Total points × 5 = Final percentage
(Example: 15 points = 75%)

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

Attendance Policy

  • One unexcused absence permitted without penalty
  • Each additional unexcused absence results in one full letter grade deduction
  • Three unexcused absences will result in course failure
  • Illness requires a doctor's note
  • Emergency absences must be communicated before class to instructor and TA

Tardiness Policy

  • Classes start at 9:00 AM
  • Arrival between 9:15-10:00 AM counts as tardy
  • Three tardies equal one unexcused absence
  • Arrival after 10:00 AM without prior approval counts as absent

WORKLOAD

This 5-unit studio class requires approximately 15 hours per week:

  • 6 hours in-class instruction
  • 9 hours outside work
    Weekly progress should reflect this time commitment.

RESOURCES

Electronics Kit

Each student receives an electronics kit containing:

  • Adafruit Feather microcontroller
  • Breadboard
  • Jumper wires
  • Sensors and actuators
  • Various components (LEDs, motors, etc.)

Fabrication and Electronics Lab ("FabLab")

Located in Broad Art Center 2250, featuring:

  • Woodworking equipment
  • Metalworking tools
  • Plastics fabrication
  • Computer-aided milling
  • Electronics lab with soldering stations and power supplies

ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION

Students with Special Needs

Students requiring accommodations should:

  1. Meet with instructor early in the quarter
  2. Visit UCLA Center for Accessible Education within first two weeks
  3. Provide necessary documentation for appropriate arrangements

All information and documentation remains confidential.

Commitment to Equity and Diversity

The classroom is a space for practicing freedom where students may:

  • Challenge psychic, social, and cultural borders
  • Create meaningful artistic expressions
  • Use preferred pronouns
  • Respect self-identifications
  • Address special needs
  • Engage in constructive disagreement
  • Approach challenging discussions as learning opportunities

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The University of California, Los Angeles occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Tongva, Kizh Kit'c, Gabrieleño, and Chumash peoples. We acknowledge this history of dispossession and colonization, and commit to supporting decolonial and indigenous movements for sovereignty and self-determination.