Dennis Cheatham
- Experience Design.
- Futures Thinking.
- Learning Sciences.
Most of what shapes our lives is invisible: the products, services, and systems that quietly determine how we encounter the world. I make those forces visible. I help people design experiences that matter. And I mentor the next generation of designers learning to build futures worth living in.
Front of Mind
Coding with AI and AI Literacy
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.
Active Research Areas
My work pursues 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.
Featured Content
AI-Proof Learning: Assessing Process, Not Product
Design Portfolio
Field Notes
Regular thoughts on ways design impacts experiences in real time.
Latest Stories
Updates and stories on this site.
Recent Scholarship & Speaking
Recent presentations and publications.
Design Workbench Project Websites
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.
Learning Lab
Innovations in teaching and learning result when educators meld an iterative design process into creating teaching and learning experiences. On this site, learn about in-process projects and discoveries as they develop.
Horizon Points
This site explores teaching generative AI use and its effects on peoples’ experiences. As these technologies permeate every corner of society, knowing how to use them and their consequences is paramount for creators, their partners, and associated stakeholders.
Experience Design Projects
Project work in experience design.
Living Values
What if planning for the end of life was the start of living freely?
