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Debra Satterfield
Associate Professor, Graphic Design
Graphic Design, Design Administration
Program Director, Graphic Design

Education
BS, Morningside College, 1986 MFA, Iowa State University, 1991

Research Interests
Experience Design for Health Care, Design for Behavioral Change, Information Design, Design for Social Inclusion, the Design of Learning Experiences for Children with Developmental Disabilities, Multicultural Communication, Human Interaction Design, Design for Autism, Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy, Virtual Product Design

Current Projects

Play IT: Educational Play Experiences for Children with Cognitive and Physical Disabilities

Debra Satterfield (PI), Sunghyun Kang(co-PI), Anson Call (co-PI) and Steve Herrnstadt (co-PI) (Graphic Design) of the In•Site Research Group will undertake research to design and evaluate a socially mediating educational experience for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This play experience, called Play•IT, seeks to create a collaborative learning environment that allows a child with ASD and a typical child to play together in ways that are socially, emotionally, behaviorally and motivationally appropriate for both children, thereby enhancing their social experiences.  

Design is usually done primarily from the perspective of visual communication and audience analysis. However, this team will conduct ethnographic research with children, caregivers, and other collaborators who have expertise in autism, design, disabilities, physical therapy, occupational therapy, neurology, computer science, game design, and education so as to incorporate the knowledge from these domains into the design process. By considering these additional domains in the design process, the Play•IT experience will be able to address the specific needs of this complex target audience from an evidence-based framework. 

The long-term goal of this research is to develop a new approach for the design and evaluation of the learning experiences. By incorporating evaluation into the design process, this study is expected to employ evidence-based strategies that can be used to design a wide range of products and services for children with autism. This research will be made available to designers, educators, parents, and other people involved in the care and service of persons with autism so that products and services can be designed for children with autism that better meet their unique needs and enhance their quality of life.

 Bailey Research Career Development Award, This research examines the critical role of information in the medical decision-making process. Our Project specifically examines how design impacts the patient-doctor relationship and can empower patients in the medical decision-making process. This research is currently designing a medical decision aid to assist young women in making decisions about their reproductive health.

Contact Information
Phone: (515) 294-1667
Email: debra815@iastate.edu
Office: 277 Design

Mailing Address
Art and Design Department
146 College of Design
Ames, IA, 50011

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