Authored By chloe.morrison

After a couple of years of quiet work, two leaders in the field of design have gotten approval to open a unique school in Chattanooga that will offer an integrated curriculum to prepare user experience designers.

User experience design is a relatively new field that’s been popularized by companies such as Apple. It involves creating the experience for a customer who is interacting with a company, product or service both online and in-person.

Click here to read more about the field from Smashing Magazine and here to read about it from Nielsen Norman Group.

Pioneers in the design field Dr. Leslie Jensen-Inman-who used to teach at UTC-and Jared Spool have now gotten approval from officials at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to bring the school to Chattanooga.

Officials said the school will likely draw aspiring designers from across the country and give them the opportunity to combine popular disciplines that are highly sought after by a large range of companies.

“We think it’s going to be huge in terms of bringing talented, creative people to Chattanooga,” J. Ed. Marston, vice president of marketing and communications for the chamber, said. “And it’s a great opportunity for locals.”

The median pay for professionals in user experience design is $95,600 a year, with top pay peaking at $150,000 a year, according to CNN Money.

The 10-year job growth for the profession is 22 percent, and more than 3 million jobs in that field are expected over the next decade, also according to CNN Money.

Until now, the project has been kept quiet and referred to by the code name “Unicorn Institute.”

But officials announced that the school will be known as the Center Centre, and it has been approved to become an official diploma-granting institution.

Jensen-Inman and Spool recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for curriculum development, and within days, they had more than 700 backers from around the world.

Residents in Malaysia, Brazil, Norway, Prague and the United Kingdom signaled their support by committing more than $70,000 to the project, chamber officials said.

Now, the duo needs help from Chattanooga residents. They are hoping to raise local awareness about the new school and hope to get 1,500 local backers at any level for their Kickstarter campaign.

Click here to read more about or donate to the Kickstarter campaign.