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Electronics as Material

Design Fundamental, NUS DID 
In this 6-week design fundamental module, first year undergraduate students explored physical computing by building their own sensors and electronic circuits—as opposed to using off the shelf components. Their explorations were anchored in the task of making a controller for the classic game “Snake”.

︎︎︎ Class materials github repository
Students made three controllers in total:

Controller I had to be built in a week and focused on “making it work”. Students were challenged to connect the DIY sensors they constructed to control the game.

Controller II had to be built in two weeks and focused on “making it clear”. Students were introduced to concepts on usability and interaction affordances. This controller challenged students to design a usable interface for players.

Controller III had to be built in three weeks and focused on “making it fun”. Students had to pick a quality described succintly with a word or short phrase—and build a controller that facilitates a playing experience that highlights that quality. Actual examples include: “a confusing controller”, “an effortful controller”, “a milking controller”.





Student Projects




A Juicy Controller
Jonathan Low Kai Yi

A Bass Guitar Controller
Serene Tan

A Milking Controller
Wina Nashita


A Precise Controller
Travis Ong
A Cooperative Controller
Joseph Liew






Empowering Designers with DIY Electronics in STEM
Plenary presentation at Design Education Summit 2023, organized by Design Singapore Council ︎︎︎




Copyright 2024 Clement Zheng