Cynthia Putnam is an associate professor at the College of Computing and
Digital Media at DePaul University. She is interested in human-centered
approaches to design. Her framework for this field is informed by over ten
years of working in industry as a visual and interaction designer,
illustrator and animator prior to earning her PhD. Cynthia received her
PhD in Human Centered Design & Engineering from the University of
Washington.
Research Area
Human Computer Interaction, Graphics / Animation
Specific Research Area
Human-centered methods to support design for diverse users:
(1) Gameful approaches to rehabilitation: - Creation of a Web-centric knowledgebase of commercial game use in brain injury (BI) therapy. Knowledgebase used as the foundation for:
- Information and decision tools that help therapists learn about and choose commercial games for their patients who have had a BI
- Therapy-centered game design patterns and tools that support game designers who want to create games aimed at BI recovery
(2)User Experience (UX) Professionals and Pedagogy- Bridging the design/research gap by exploring UX methods that (a) investigate and (b) communicate about end-users
- How accessibility is taught, practiced and considered
Professional Associations
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Interaction Design Association, The Usability Professionals Association