SIGCHI Design Jam Showcases the Fruits of Mixing Computing with Creativity
The annual SIGCHI (Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction) Design Jam happened during an inspired nine-hour designathon beginning on Saturday, March 8 at 9 a.m. and finishing at 1 p.m. the following day. The event invites students studying human-computer interaction, digital design, web and information systems and cyberpsychology to form teams of four to create an interactive prototype (Figma, front-end code, paper prototype, etc.) that will solve a real user problem.
The beginner-friendly UX hackathon-style happening is a collaboration between Ying Wu College of Computing (YWCC) and NJIT’s ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) and WiCS (Women in Computing Society) chapters and is one of many university competitions that combine fun with valuable experiential learning. Participants gain design experience that helps build a portfolio, have opportunities to network with industry professionals and strengthen problem-solving skills to collaborate on meaningful solutions.
Introductory workshops during February preceded the Jam for those with no prior experience or who wanted to level-up and practice in areas of UX design and prototyping + Figma. A final session in early March prepped participants on how to deliver value while forging new partnerships, learning from industry speakers, trying their luck in several raffles and enjoying a lot of great food!
Now in its second year, this spring’s SIGHI Design Jam saw an increase of 35% more project submissions from a total of 12 competing teams, according to SIGCHI president Jhanvi Pai.
Reflecting on the importance of such events, she stated, “Designathons like ours are essential because they foster rapid prototyping and innovation by bringing together diverse teams to tackle real-world problems within a short timeframe.
They also present learning opportunities for the event organizers as well. “All of us loved discovering novel ways that technology can support slow living, sustainability and mindful interaction,” Pai added.
Highlights this year were the addition of keynote speaker Izaac Crayton, a senior product designer at M&T Bank, and a workshop titled “Impact 2 Design,” presented by Alexis Davis, an experience designer at Johnson & Johnson and a contributor for the World Cup Design Organization. Her presentation centered on how to deliver value when pitching your product to tell a story.
Both Crayton and Davis participated in an Early UX Career Panel and were joined by Usman Khan, associate UX designer at Intapp; Stacey Dana Cajita, UX designer; Sarah Ryu, product designer at Sam’s Club; and Ryan Monaghan, junior product designer at AREA 23.
The design jam team wishes to thank the panel for sharing their time and keen industry insight with the students.
Associate Professor Yvette Wohn, who acts as SIGCHI advisor, was quick to note that the event was wholly organized by the students and its success largely due to their commitment and leadership. She also observed that participation has steadily grown, reflecting an increasing interest and understanding of human-computer interaction as a viable career field.
“These days, getting good grades is not enough. Companies want students who have had experience collaborating and working on projects that have relevance to society. This event facilitates collaborative work and creative thinking in the context of building a prototype that meets a specific need. I was very pleased that many of the groups were able to incorporate things that they learned across multiple classes into their design process,” she said.
Gift card prizes were awarded to the top three winning teams:
1st Place – WasteLess: Eric Huang & Jillian Andrea Juat
2nd Place – Beaver Coded: Katelyn Reyes, Justin Tonalezzi, Rain Nutt and Benjamin Shuster
3rd Place – COVO: Isabel Lopez, Aliyah Panjon, Matthew Reyes and Mahati Yerramilli
Most Creative Solution was awarded to Quillet, led by Kapila Mane
Congratulations to all the winners!