Adam Smith Headshot

Adam Smith

Associate Professor

School of Design
College of Art and Design
[email protected]
585-475-4552
Office Location
MSS-3164
Office Mailing Address
73 Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester NY 14623

Adam Smith

Associate Professor

School of Design
College of Art and Design

Education

BFA, MFA, Rochester Institute of Technology

Bio

Adam Smith is an Associate Professor and the undergraduate director of the New Media Design (NMD), BFA and graduate director of the Visual Communication Design, MFA programs in the School of Design at RIT. With 18 years of academic experience coupled with over 15 years of consulting and corporate work in multimedia, e-learning, interactive, web, mobile and UX design, Adam brings a unique and diverse educational and professional expertise to user experience and visual design across digital devices and displays. Adam has helped establish national recognition and award-winning work through integrating industry partnerships, research projects and collaborations with regional and national brands and students. As a member of the Personalized Healthcare Technology signature interdisciplinary research area within RIT, Adam engages undergraduate and graduate design students with biomedical and technology researchers from across campus. Through ongoing engagements and pedagogical investigation, the integration of design education across interdisciplinary environments is at the core of Adam's research and teaching.

[email protected]
585-475-4552
Personal Links
Personal Website
LinkedIn
Areas of Expertise
User Experience Design
Access/Healthcare Technology
Design Research
Visual Communication Design

Select Scholarship

Invited Keynote/Presentation
Smith, Adam and Tim Wood. "Interdisciplinary Program Design & User Experience at Rochester Institute of Technology." IxDA 16 Summit. IxDA. Helsinki, Finland. 28 Feb. 2106. Conference Presentation.
Formal Presentation
Smith, Adam. “Creating an Interactive Designer in 4 Years.” Adobe MAX Educational Conference. Adobe. Los Angeles, CA. 22 Oct. 2010. Presentation.
Published Article
Smith, Adam.“Collaborative Education for Designers and Developers at RIT.” Adobe Design and Film School Connection. Web.

Currently Teaching

VCDE-892
Continuation of Thesis Visual Communication Design
0 Credits
The MFA Visual Communication Design Continuation of Thesis course provides student additional semester(s) to complete their thesis research, project, and thesis document.
NMDE-498
New Media Design Internship
1 - 3 Credits
The New Media Design Internship will provide students with the option to work in the new media or visual communications field. Students may apply for internships to businesses based on the availability of positions and business job needs. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Internship Permission Form to enroll.
VCDE-887
Visual Communication Design Part-Time Co-op
0 Credits
Cooperative Education will provide Visual Communication Design students with hands-on experience in their field, directly related to a student’s major with an established studio or related business. Students will need to apply for co-ops, and interview as part of the selection process, based on available positions posted by the Co-op and Career Services Office, or found through the students’ own research. In programs where co-op is a degree requirement, students must obtain permission of their program or graduate director prior to enrollment. Co-ops are typically paid work experience, and can be part-time (150-479 total hours within the term), or full-time (480+ hours within the term). Co-ops may be one or two consecutive terms - fall, spring, or summer – with department permission.
NMDE-202
New Media Design 3D
3 Credits
A comprehensive course in visualization that extends previous experience and skills to include three-dimensional creation and design. The course will provide studies in 3D modeling, rendering and animation for use in virtual spaces, rich internet and mobile applications as well as motion graphic design. Digital 3D tools will be used for solving visual design and communication problems. Students will be expected to show evidence of growth in 3D asset creation and usage in the form of simple product renderings, interactive integration and story based animation.
VCDE-799
Visual Communication Design Independent Study
1 - 4 Credits
Visual Communication Design Independent Study will allow students to obtain instruction in specialized areas of interest to enhance their individual course of study. Working with a faculty adviser, students will propose a focused curriculum related to their academic and/or future career interests. Visual Communication Design Independent Study students must obtain permission of an instructor to enroll.**NOTE: Student must have a minimum 3.0 GPA **
NMDE-411
New Media Design Capstone II
3 Credits
This course will engage the New Media Design and related majors in a capstone production experience. The instructor will form collaborative student teams that will design, plan, prototype, and implement new media projects. Student teams will test their product with users and provide written feedback and analysis. Students will be evaluated on individual contributions and their team’s final capstone project.
VCDE-890
Thesis: Implementation and Evaluation
6 Credits
This course will focus on the physical thesis project. Students will continue with concept development concluding with the implementation and retrospective evaluation of their chosen design problem. Solution is presented in a public exhibition, complemented by a written articulation of how the theories and methods employed in the project impact the current and future state of design in society.
NMDE-599
New Media Design Independent Study
1 - 6 Credits
New Media Design Independent Study will provide students with the ability to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. Students, with the assistance of a faculty adviser, will propose a course of study. New Media Design Independent Study students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll.
VCDE-698
Visual Communication Design Internship
1 - 6 Credits
The Visual Communication Design Internship will provide students with the option to work in the visual communication design field. Students may apply for internships to businesses based on the availability of positions and business job needs. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Internship Permission Form to enroll.
VCDE-737
UX Design Strategies
3 Credits
This course explores design strategies related to researching, identifying and implementing a digital user experience for online web and app development. Students will apply design research methodologies to gather and evaluate source material to design and implement user interactive solutions. Projects will include defining client and user goals, user identification, user empathy, content organization, information architecture, wire-framing methods and validation through user testing across various platforms. At the conclusion of the course students will design and document several different interactive projects.
NMDE-404
New Media Design Interactive IV
3 Credits
Students will create innovative interactive product promotions and installations. The projects created in the class will embrace new technology and will focus on innovative solutions for real world design problems. An emphasis will be placed on researching new technology and using it in conjunction with solid interactive design skills to create innovative projects.

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