What do the language-learning app Duolingo and Heinz’s inverted plastic ketchup bottle have in common? While a sophisticated computer program and a condiment container seem, on the surface, to be at opposite ends of the complexity spectrum, they’re actually closely linked: Both were designed to resolve a unique dilemma faced by everyday people. Through human centered design, researchers and strategists seek to alleviate the commonplace problems of living—from learning a new language to applying the right amount of sauce to a burger. 

In September 2026, COM will launch its first dedicated human centered design (HCD) program within its Department of Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations. The nine-course, two-semester program teaches a broad swath of fundamentals, such as product design and management, user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) research methods, and prototyping, that apply across a range of job fields and positions.

The program recognizes that the field now requires not only capable practitioners, but leaders prepared to anticipate, shape and guide the next phase of evolution in communication.

Hong Ko

“Organizing a program explicitly around human-centered design represents a timely and strategic opportunity for COM,” says Hong Ko, an associate professor of the practice of strategic communication and advertising. “Globally and institutionally, the program recognizes that the field now requires not only capable practitioners, but leaders prepared to anticipate, shape and guide the next phase of evolution in communication.”

The goal is for students from any background—technology, education, liberal arts, graphic design, healthcare, business—to leverage HCD to solve the problems faced by their disciplines. “Expanded access to technologies, tools and platforms has narrowed the gap between industry professionals and audiences, challenging long-standing assumptions about authorship, authority and expertise,” says Ko. “What is at stake, therefore, is not simply media production, but the human role within complex and adaptive systems in the realm of communication.”

The HCD program is one of several new offerings that COM is launching over the next three semesters, all of which are designed to respond to evolving trends in communication-related fields. As artificial intelligence looms over the job market, human centered design principles put technology in service of human needs—and can often use AI tools to do so. Think of your Spotify recommendation algorithm, and how it remembers the specific times of day you tend to listen to your favorite band. Or consider how TurboTax’s data analysis capability can help find the deductions you may have missed on your tax return. Even Google’s revamped search function—which aggregates relevant information and presents it as the answer to a question—is modeled after simple human interaction.

“What’s going to be great about this program is that it will be intentionally interdisciplinary to mirror how work actually happens in the real world,” says Jen Choi, an associate professor of the practice of design strategy and communication. “Ultimately, it’s going to give students the knowledge to actually earn a seat at the table where the big strategy and innovation happen.”

The ability to understand people, navigate ambiguity and the ability to explain your rationale behind decisions is a skill that will never expire.

Jen Choi

Under the banner of COM’s mission to drive meaningful understanding through communication, core faculty members—with expertise ranging from product design and research to strategic communication to software development to emerging media studies—will instruct courses that cover product vision and creation, digital and physical design, and the integration of theory and practice. Students will get the opportunity to work with clients and learn industry tools in real-world contexts, and they’ll also come away with an understanding of the essential human-centered design skill: designing for real human needs. 

“At its heart, human centered design is about putting people first,” Choi says. “While tools and terminology will inevitably change, the ability to understand people, navigate ambiguity and the ability to explain your rationale behind decisions is a skill that will never expire. In a world that’s constantly evolving, we are focusing on the things that make us more human.”