Situating Youth as Interaction Co-Designers of an Interactive Mural

This paper introduces a project in which diverse youth served as interaction co-designers of an interactive mural–a very-large-scale wall-based artwork. We describe an intensive workshop in which a group of youth collaborated with a professional artist and HCI researchers to design and construct a 45 x 9 ft (14 x 3 meter) mural. The project provided a context for youth to learn about interaction design by serving as co-designers of the installation. This paper discusses the activities we designed, the workshop process, and students’ experiences. We argue that by serving as interaction designers youth learn valuable high-level design skills that are distinct from skills they learn in activities that focus on programming and electronics. We believe that large-scale projects that engage students as interaction designers provide unique benefits and should receive more attention in both STEAM education and HCI research communities.