Irwin Chen

Teaching

More than fifteen years teaching design and interaction at Parsons, Eugene Lang College, the Journalism + Design program, and Cornell Tech.

Courses, 2006 to 2024

  1. Parsons School of Design

    2006–14

    Publication Design; Interaction: Core Studio (BFA); Topics: Editorial Experience

  2. Journalism + Design, The New School

    2014–24

    Interaction Design for News Apps; HTML for Journalists; Design for Storytelling; Journalism Design Toolkit; Design for Journalists: From Typography to Interaction

  3. Faculty advisor, The New School Free Press

    2015–19

  4. Eugene Lang College

    2014–23

    Ashbery Digital Mapping Project; Tech, Media, and Democracy

  5. Cornell Tech

    2021–22

    Aesthetics, Design, and Interaction

Bars show the years taught at each school. Courses are listed under the bar; their individual dates are on the syllabi.

I’ve taught undergraduate and graduate students since 2006. I’ve also been a guest critic at the Yale School of Art, the NYU Game Center, and NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

In 2014 I became Design Lead of the Journalism + Design program at The New School, created by Heather Chaplin. I helped build its design curriculum and created and taught many of its courses. The idea was simple: journalists who understand design, systems, and interaction can tell stories and build tools that plain text can’t.

Courses

Journalism + Design, The New School, 2014–24 Interaction Design for News Apps; HTML for Journalists; Design for Storytelling; Journalism Design Toolkit; Design for Journalists: From Typography to Interaction. Faculty advisor to The New School Free Press, 2015–19.

Parsons School of Design, 2006–14 Publication Design; Interaction: Core Studio (BFA); Topics: Editorial Experience.

Eugene Lang College, 2014–23 Ashbery Digital Mapping Project, a graduate seminar in the Writing department. Tech, Media, and Democracy, a joint graduate seminar with Columbia, Cornell Tech, Queens College, and The New School.

Cornell Tech, 2021–22 Aesthetics, Design, and Interaction, for the Milstein Program in Technology and Humanity.

What I’d teach next

How to design and build your own tools with AI coding agents, without handing over your judgment. Investigative visualization for journalists and legal teams. Reading, orality, and AI, as a seminar.