Creative Coding Spring 2026
We are experiencing an outburst of the VR technologies across fields and industries. The increasing accessibility of headsets is attracting designers into VR to examine its potential beyond gaming. What is the future of design in the context of rapid advancement of technology? What happens when VR technologies instead of being a choice for designer became a required medium? Can we define theoretical, practical and empirical methods that can provide a better understanding of design communication possibilities in modern virtual-, augmented-, or mixed reality environments?
This course offers a rare and exciting opportunity for design students to work with the CAVE2, the most advanced virtual reality collaborative environment and high-resolution display technology available today. We will use advanced visualization technologies available in EVL such as SAGE3, Scalable Amplified Group Environment. SAGE3 is designed for data-intensive visualization and team collaboration. We will use large display powered by SAGE3 for our critiques, presentations and demonstrations of team projects.
Participants will develop new skills and produce interactive projects using 3D design, typography, VR and audiovisual media. This course will introduce the basics of coding and scripting and it designed for students with no prior programming experience. We will use Maya, Adobe CS, Unity3D game engine, C#, Audacity, and other software tools and languages to develop interactive applications and collaborative class exhibition. The coursework will be organized around the development of collaborative project which will be exhibited at the end fo the semester.
To contextualize these projects participants will read from seminal and contemporary writings on virtual reality, media design, interactive narrative, creative AI, immersive experiences, and information visualization from journals such as Leonardo, SIGGRAPH and the International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA).
Evaluation and Requirements Your final grade will be based on your performance on the class projects, assignments, attendance, discussions, and participation. In order to successfully pass the course, students will be expected to complete the activities listed below. Weights listed between parentheses indicate the contribution of the specific component to the final course grade. The course evaluation components listed below are mandatory. Students do not have the option of opting out of any of the activities required for the assessment of these components. For best in-class participation, you should complete required readings and tasks before class (will be specified in the study guide in each module). Be prepared for a lot of hard work: be prepared to design, research and code, often, and much outside of the class. This course will be difficult but also very much in-depth and useful to prepare your graduation portfolio. There is a lot of self-study required: there are many recommended resources on mobile design and programming, and our course time is limited. Each session will have required pre-reading and post-reading. Make sure to, at the very least, skim the references. Our lecture time is limited as well as our lab time, and the goal is to maximize that time. The instructors reserve the right to add online tutorials, lectures and video sessions to class lectures and homework. You must submit all assignments via Google drive unless otherwise instructed on the deadline specified for each assignment.
Collaboration ( ! ), Attendance and Participation (20%) : This component of the final grade is based on your contribution to the class in the form of attendance and active participation in the collaborative project. Active collaboration will help students achieve the best learning experience. Students are expected to attend and contribute to every team project meeting, communicate effectively, and actively participate in the development of the team project. Regular andpunctual attendance may be used, at the professor’s discretion, to make adjustments to the final grade in borderline cases. Completing the readings indicated in the class schedule before class, and being fully present during each class will help students actively engage during each class meeting. Active participation includes active engagement during in-class activities and contributions through asking questions or providing answers when material is unclear. The professor will assume that you are well prepared for each class meeting and will feel free to call upon you to provide an answer or comment. Each absence will be penalized by 1% in the case where permission was not granted by the professor ahead of time. More than two unexcused absences will result in a reduction of the final grade by one letter grade; with every additional unexcused absence, the final grade will drop by an additional grade. Be prepared for a lot of hard work: be prepared to design, research and code, often, and much outside of the class. This course will be difficult but also very much in-depth and useful to prepare your graduation portfolio.
Assignments, Discussions (30%) : Assignments will be due on Wednesdays by 12:00 pm unless otherwise specified. Project deliverables will have a different deadlines’ structure. Any number of unannounced quizzes may be given during the semester at the beginning or end of class. There are no make-ups for assignments or quizzes.
Projects (50%) : Students will propose their own individual projects as well as the collaborative project concepts and go through an ideation phase. Ideas will have to be approved by the instructor. Each student will have to submit various deliverables including a project proposal, skethces, and final design. Stuents are expected to submit all the deliverables in order to receive a final grade on the group project. Team members are expected to contribute to every deliverable and be present in all class presentations.
Late submissions will be penalized by 5% grade reduction for each overdue day. Assignments must be professionally prepared and presented. Projects more than 5 days late will not be accepted. Be sure to submit the work well ahead of due time. Excuses like website or computer error will not be accepted after the due date. ‘Incompletes’ will only be granted according to University policy. No incompletes are granted for not-health related reasons unsupported by medical documentation. A (90-100%) Consistent growth in the above listed as well as excellent work. Excellent work consistently goes above and beyond what is required. B (80-89.99%) Above average growth in the above listed as well as above average work. C (70-79.99%) Average growth in the above listed as well as average work. D (60-69.99%) Dissatisfactory growth in the above listed and incomplete work. F (59.99% or below) Dissatisfactory growth in the above listed, incomplete work and poor attendance. Special Needs Any individuals with learning disabilities or special needs must make the instructor aware of them prior to the due date of the first major assignment. Those who require accommodations for access and participation in this course must be registered with the Disability Resource Center. Please contact DRC at 312/413-2183 (voice) or 773-649-4535 (VP/Relay) and consult the following: http://drc.uic.edu/. You are responsible for understanding what constitutes academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is an extremely serious offense. All cases of academic dishonesty will be dealt within accordance with the policies of the University as published in the Undergraduate Catalogue and the University of Illinois at Chicago policy on Academic Honesty at: https://dos. uic.edu/docs/Guidelines%20for%20Academic%20Integrity.pdf Class and Lab Policies No cell phone usage in the lab. You are responsible to turn your cell phone off prior to the class. No non-class materials loaded into the computers. No food or drink in the computer labs. No surfing the Internet during lectures. Reconfiguring the system on Cyber-Commons / CAVE2 unusable for other courses and may result in dismissal from the course. No talking to neighbors during class. No falling asleep. Your repeated disruption will reduce your final grade. In extreme cases, you can be asked to leave the class and even excluded from the course. Grievance Procedures UIC is committed to the most fundamental principles of academic freedom, equality of opportunity, and human dignity involving students and employees. Freedom from discrimination is a foundation for all decision making at UIC. Students are encouraged to study the University’s “Nondiscrimination Statement.” Information on grievance policies and procedures is available on the University web pages of the Office of Access and Equity: www. uic.edu/depts/oae.