Dennis Cheatham
- Experience Design.
- Futures Thinking.
- Learning Sciences.
Whether a person is drinking coffee, plowing a field, or telling their sister they love them, what people use to do these is not the point—their experience while using them is what matters. As much as designers like to celebrate their beautifully crafted or technologically advanced work, if the design gets in the way, it fails.
I examine the interplay between contexts, people, and design to better understand these experiences—why they fail or flourish, their inner workings, and how to design for better experiences.
Coding with AI and AI Literacy
Speaking
Publication
Featured Research
Field Notes
Regular thoughts on ways design impacts experiences in real time.
Active Research Areas
My work pusues three goals that all connect with experiences.
Experience Design
Investigating what aspects of human psychology, emotion, reasoning, and environmental context guide the design of products, services, and systems that facilitate memorable experiences.
Futures Thinking
Examining how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping human experiences, and how systems thinking must adapt to address complex social challenges and the intended and unintended consequences that result from rapid technological advances.
Learning Sciences
Developing effective pedagogies and curricular structures that prepare experience-centered designers to be effective partners and lead as community and client needs evolve.
Design Workbench Project Sites
Project websites showcase work by transdisciplinary teams exploring ways design research and co-creation can shape experiences.
Dennis Cheatham
Design isn't about design. It's about a person's experience.
Horizon Points
Intergenerational social connections research
Experience Design Projects
Digital health interventions for older adults
Latest Stories
Updates and stories on this site.
Recent Scholarship & Speaking
