Pedagogy 2025
Abstract
In an age of accelerating technological change, design education holds unique potential to shape how we imagine and build digital tools that promote human wellbeing. This paper presents a case study of a graphic design course where students created AI-integrated applications aimed at supporting emotional, cognitive, and physical wellness. Rather than treating AI as a neutral tool, the course framed it as a medium of care—capable of facilitating empathetic, intuitive, and ethically responsible interactions. This pedagogical model encouraged critical reflection on human-machine relationships alongside active prototyping of solutions grounded in real-world needs. By centering care, ethics, and social relevance in the design process, the course aimed to transform students from visual problem-solvers into agents of change. Blending speculative methods and problem-based learning, the course enabled students to reimagine AI as a medium that supports wellbeing beyond utility.
Minjee Jeon is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Montana State University. Her research explores how evolving media paradigms and emerging technologies shape human behavior, perception, and interaction. Through motion-based audiovisual work, projection, and participatory systems, she develops speculative and biologically inspired designs that cultivate cognitive flexibility. Her creative practice and pedagogy center on socially responsive design, care, and community-based engagement. She also integrates UX/UI methods to promote inclusive, human-centered solutions in both teaching and
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Friday 21st November, 2025