The Designer

John Ryan's design practice incorporates creative coding, critical prototyping and inquiry-led making. He disputes that the role of interaction design is to increase efficiency and satisfy user needs. Instead, he leverages it to examine, critique, and challenge the particular ideological assumptions that are designed-in to the behavioural nuances and micro-affordances of our everyday interactions with technology.

John is a hybrid designer and technologist, who's knowledge and skills bridge the gap between creative, critical thinking and technical understanding. He graduated from Dublin City University's Bachelor of Science in Multimedia Program in 2005, and later went onto found a small creative studio based in Dublin, Ireland. With a hunger for a new challenge, he moved to California where he graduated from Art Center College of Design's Media Design Practices graduate program in 2013.

For more of John's work, visit johndryan.me→

Acknowledgements

These projects and paper were completed in fulfilment of 2013 MFA Thesis at Media Design Practices, Art Center College of Design. I would like to acknowledgement the input and support of:

Lead Advisor:
Tim Durfee
Writing Advisor:
Shannon Herbert
Thesis Committee:
Mike Milley, Samsung
Anne Burdick, Art Center
Department Chair:
Anne Burdick

Additional Thanks

I would also like to thank all the Faculty and Staff at Media Design Practices at Art Center College of Design: Anne Burdick, Tim Durfee, Ben Hooker, Phil van Allen, Elizabeth Chin, Chris Csikszentmihalyi, Sean Donahue, Casey Anderson, Helen Cahng, and Kevin Wingate.

Thanks to my peers in the 2013 Lab Track: Ji Su Choi, Jojo Chongjaroenjai, Sang In Chung, Jeremy Eichenbaum, Will Frohn, Geoffery Ka'alani, Jessica Lee, Katherine Miyake, Andrew Nagata, Annie Needham, and Tanner Teale. All other Media Design students, and alumni from the class of 2012.

Thanks to Anto Boghokian and MacKenzie Klein for their help installing the show.

Special thanks to my wonderful wife, Gemma Ryan, for all her help, support, and patience. I wouldn't have got there without you!