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1999 Winner
Dan is a pioneer in the field we now call Interaction
Design, in which the computer provides a digital medium to explore
motion, time and emotion in expressive as well as useful designs.
Educated in the concepts and methods of typography
through advanced study in Switzerland, Dan has also had a strong
personal interest in animation and experimental film. He has accomplished
the synthesis of classic typography with time and motion, applying
his considerable talent and insight. His featured presentation at
the conference, entitled “Designing With Time,” outlined
his work and examples of students’ work to illustrate his theories.
“We are in the midst of several transitions, one of which is
a transition from book culture to digital culture. We are just beginning
to explore what digital media affords us, with some intriguing results.
With communication as a constant goal, I have challenged my students
over the past decade to include time as a design element, in addition
to type and images.”
Richard Buchanan, Ph.D., Professor and Head
of the Carnegie Mellon School of Design described Dan’s career
at Carnegie Mellon. “Dan played an important role in the creation
of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, serving as the Design
representative in an environment where, at the time, designers were
little understood or appreciated. But his personal style of collaboration
and his keen insight clearly opened a pathway for individuals from
Computer Science and the Behavioral Sciences to understand the importance
of design thinking in the new digital environments. Dan’s method
was interdisciplinary in the best sense. He encouraged collaborative
work among students with exceptionally diverse academic backgrounds.”
Dan is one in a rare group of individuals who
has also found in teaching a way to expand and develop design beyond
the limits of conventional professional practice. Dan is recognized
by his peers as “teaching what is emerging, as only a pioneer
can do…in design and new media and applauded as a teacher, writer,
speaker, researcher and consultant who "instructs us not only in
a subject, but in ourselves.”
Dan has 26 years of experience in design education
and professional practice. He teaches courses at the graduate and
undergraduate levels in typography, information design, and human-computer
interaction design. As director of graduate studies for the School
of Design, he coordinates two master-level programs, one in interaction
design, the other in communication planning and design, jointly
offered with the English Department. He serves on the steering committee
of the Human Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) at Carnegie Mellon.
Besides teaching, Dan’s professional practice and consulting
is with clients including Sony, Alcoa, Westinghouse, Mitsubishi,
Apple, Herman Miller, NCR, and Samsung. He is a frequent speaker
at national and international conferences and symposia, including
CHI (human-computer interaction), DIS (Designing Interactive Systems),
Living Surfaces (design and technology), and DMI (Design Management
Institute).
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