In Full Sail’s Graphic Design and User Experience degree programs, students are tasked with developing designs that communicate effectively while also providing accessible and intuitive user interfaces. In Interactive Media Design & Usability, students design and develop work for use in the Smart Lab to help them explore the importance of interactive, usable, and intuitive design.

In the four-week course, students are introduced to the tools and concepts of UI design and how to implement them into the production process. For instructor Milena Jackson, bringing students’ work into the Smart Lab enables them to apply the theory of UI that they’ve explored in the first half of the course into tangible, interactive design.

“I really enjoy getting the students to get their work on the different screens that we have available in the Smart Lab,” shares Milena. “From the HD monitors to the interactive conference table, they end up creating an interactive document as a final project in the class. It's really cool to get them to present on the interactive conference table and for them to get that first rush of touching a global navigation system that they made and then it clicking to the next screen.”

With nearly 20 years of experience in graphic design and experience in freelance as the owner and operator of Jackson Creative, Milena imparts lessons outside of the application of UI design and encourages students to explore how to sell their skillsets to potential clients. “As a business owner, I'm able to lead students through discussions and exercises that build their business acumen. So I'm able to answer questions that they have as far as the business aspect of their first freelance projects.”

But Milena’s course doesn’t just focus on developing designs that are intuitive for a user. The course also focuses on the importance of usability and accessibility. “It's super important for a graphic designer to at least be aware that this is a thing because it's just going to become more of a demand as far as, well, ‘How does a blind person experience a website?’ If I see [lack of accessibility] in a student's color combination, I'll say, ‘You should really check the contrast levels and see if they would pass a usability test.’”

As technology develops, so does the need for intuitive and usable design. From app interfaces to accessible websites, Milena’s course helps students define what creates an intuitive and user friendly design through theory, application, and implementation.

“I appreciate Full Sail and I enjoy my role here so much because it brings me out of myself,” says Milena. “It gets me out into the world and I'm able to give back every month with a new group of students. So it's just a really beautiful thing to be able to do that.“