Maryland Institute College of Art

Spring 2010

Faculty: Ellen Lupton
Tuesday, 9:00-3:00
GD MFA Studio elective

NEA Artworks project:
> the RFP
> NEA Logo
> AIGA Position on Spec Work
> The AIGA Letter to NEA
> The NEA Response to the Letter

This course puts into practice the idea of “designer as author,” engaging students in hands-on work creating content for real-world publications as well as their own speculative personal projects and prototypes. This course combines intellectual study with down-and-dirty production. All students are expected to have a make-it-happen attitude—be prepared to use all your skills, including writing, photography, design, and production. This semester, we will create content for the book Graphic Design Thinking: Tools for Defining Problems, Getting Ideas, and Inventing Form.

During the course of the semester, we will work in small teams developing visual content for the book as well as designing the book’s format and cover design. “Armies of One” will be considered where appropriate.

How are we going to write this thing? If you don’t like writing at all, just jot down the basic content (as needed) and we’ll work from there. If you do like writing, go for it and strut your stuff! But here’s the deal: I’m the editor. Any and all text gets filtered through my ruthless (and experienced) editorial eye. I make changes based on grammar, style, readability, relevance, and a relentless search for the most compact and efficient way to get an idea across. For the most part, I will be making editorial changes directly to your text without much personal discussion (save that for a writing class). It may sometimes seem like a brutal process. If your favorite adjective gets slaughtered by the side of the road and you’re longing to bring it back, by all means let me know.

You are expected to be available and working on the project during the entire class period each week (9:00-3:00pm). We will have full meetings with the group (I’ll try to keep these short), with an emphasis on smaller team meetings.
Design Development Team
This team will begin the semester by creating diverse design strategies for the book, using existing written content and visual examples. The content has been collected over the past year from both graduate and undergraduate courses at MICA. Your brief is to create an exciting and readable format that embodies a distinctive approach to typography, layout, presentation of images, and, if appropriate, original illustrations or diagrams of the creative process. Out of the diverse strategies created by the group, ONE will be developed for final implementation. The final format may or may not incorporate aspects of multiple proposals. Critiques/discussions will focus on the appropriateness and originality of the work presented, and not on who-did-what. If you choose to be on this team, be sure you are comfortable with that approach.

Content Development Teams
These small teams (2-3 people) will create new content for the book, working with “thinking tools” that come out of the established discourse of design processes or that represent new ideas of your own. You will receive author credit for working on these content sections, as well as receiving design credit for any example of visual work that is included in the book. If you finish one chapter, you can move on to another one.

Possible “problem” to solve for one of the content sections: Dollar ReDesign Project

Forced Connections (Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall/Universal Traveler) In the book Universal Traveler, the authors combine a table and fireplace and imagine different outcomes (a table that you can cook on or a hearth that’s a coffee table). Below are three possible branding exercises using this principle. Test the idea by trying one or more of these exercises. We’ll do a test-run of this idea during the first class period.
- Combine two services: Make a list of services (nail salon, tax returns, fast food, car wash, dog grooming, photo printing, hotel, ski resort). Create a new service that combines two existing ones (Tax-n-Burger, Spa Latte, Photel). Name your service and create branding elements that demonstrate your idea. Let the service concept drive the visual brand.
- Combine two visual languages: Make a list of visual codes (airport signage, Mexican street graphics, graffiti, Victorian letterheads, Swiss modern, Korean candy wrappers, fast food, old west, manga). Create a hybrid language that combines elements of two disparate codes (Victorian fast food, Swiss manga). Study each style to find its attributes. Use the attributes to create a branding language (logo, patterns, colors, and/or a set of icons).
- Combine a service and a visual language: Make a list of services and a list of visual languages. Use a surprising combination to create a new brand (Alchemy Doughnuts, Constructivist Coffee Shop, Victorian Car Wash).

Action Verbs (Alex F. Osborn) This concept was created by Alex F. Osborn, who invented “brainstorming” in the 1950s. Known as “Manipulative Verbs,” this exercise is a tool for focusing on a core idea and creating variations on it. Here’s how: starting with an initial concept, modify your idea by applying different verbs to it, such as magnify, minify, rearrange, alter, adapt, modify, substitute, reverse, and combine. We’ll try this during the first class period.

“Hearing that girl cry as if her heart was breaking near about broke Royall’s own heart, he’d come to think was a plastic heart. Cheap and easily cracked yet its materials indestructible.” Joyce Carol Oates, The Falls

Sprinting (Krissi Xenakis) Do you want a chance to loosen up your typographic language? Try a “design sprint” using the process Krissi developed last semester. The goal of this process is to create a lot of ideas in a short amount of time. The sprint is a self-imposed deadline that can vary based on the project, but for the Twittering Type series Krissi set her limit at 30 minutes. The process is similar to an actual sprint because it helps to warm-up (after each sprint you’ll be exhausted.)
1. Warm-up – I did about 5 minutes of speed reading or sketching to
get inspired, before looking at a computer. This was not included in
the 30 minutes.
2. Designing – I rotated my schedule so I never had to design the same
words back-to-back, because I pulled content from five different
twitter feeds.
3. Final Decision – I printed out 5×5 samples of each poster to
preview how they would look next to each other. Removing the 75
designs I was not going to use turned into an easy exercise, since I
had the help of 12 designers.

Reconstruction (Christopher Clark) Chris developed this thinking tool for his Brand Bible project. Here’s the gist:
1. Collect source material: Paintings, photos, drawings, music, poems.
2. Replicate these images visually. It helps you notice things you
wouldn’t otherwise.
3. Pull simple shapes from the images, and use them to create line,
form, texture, etc.
This chapter will use introduce the idea with Chris’s work, and will test it out with some other examples. Intrigued by this working method? Give this team a try!

Interviewing/Cultural Anthropology (Ann Liu?) Talking with users can inform the design process. You’ll discover surprising things about your product by talking to people in their native environments or even (gasp) in a focus group.

Semiotics Basic semiotic theory identifies three kinds of sign: icon, symbol, and index.
1. An icon (such as drawing of a tree) bears a physical resemblance to the idea it represents.
2. A symbol is abstract (such as the written or spoken word “tree”); its form bears no resemblance to its meaning.
3. An index points to its referent or is a trace or direct impression of its referent—the shadow of a tree or a leaf that has fallen to the ground. Indexical signs tend to record or represent a physical action or process rather than an object or idea.
For this chapter, we will demonstrate this principle by creating variations of a logo or icon system employing the different kinds of sign. If you want to be on this team, we will have a little “semiotics workshop” to learn more.

Rhetorical Figures For centuries, poets have used figures of speech to express ideas through the surprising use of language. Rhetorical figures can also be used to express ideas visually. Use these poetic devices as prompts for visual invention.
1. Metaphor: making an implied comparison between two objects. heart of glass
2. Personification: assigning human characteristics to an inanimate thing. She had a kind heart.
3. Synechdoche: using a part to represent a whole. Her heart wasn’t in it.
4. Metonymy: representing one term with something that is close to it in time, space, or causation.
5. Antithesis: combining opposing ideas. Love conquers all.
6. Amplification: exaggerating or embellishing an image/concept. Her heart soared.
7. Ellipsis: omitting elements from a statement.
Apply these different figures of speech to a logo design, a book cover, a theater poster, or something else of your choosing.

Visual Research (Georgie Stout) The renowned international design firm 2×4 uses visual research as a means to generate ideas, discover patterns, and communicate to clients. Approaching research as a qualitative endeavor, 2×4 looks at the brand space occupied by a client or product from various angles. For a feature in Wired magazine, the firm studied the different colors used by technology companies, revealing a surprising preponderance of blue. “There’s a lot of growth possible,” says 2×4 partner Georgie Stout, “in the color pink.” 2×4 has also compared the different logo styles used by museums or the language used by sports equipment companies in order to identify dominant themes or ideologies and to uncover what makes one company stand out from the rest. These graphic analyses become fascinating documents in themselves and can clear the ground for creating fresh visual solutions. In this chapter, we will show examples of research by 2×4 as well as some examples of what you did in the workshop. Join this team if you are interested in refining your brand diagram.

Brand Bibles (Peter Buchanan-Smith) Join this team if you want to document aspects of your own “brand bible” (as well as others in the group) in relation to PBS’s thinking method. The examples should be those that function more literally as brands (such as Supisa, Ann, Virginia, Chris McC, Lauren…) Peter Buchanan-Smith reinvented his career in 2009 when he created a product line grounded in his deeply felt connection to certain images and objects from his past. During a period of economic downturn, he got working in his once-dormant wood shop and created a line of handcrafted axes. Buchanan-Smith explains that every designer “has these little itches that they need to scratch: maybe it was your first glimpse of the Bodoni “g” when you fell in love with type, maybe it was the smell of your grandfather’s pipe, maybe it was your first-grade teacher’s impeccable sense of style, maybe it was your first trip to New York, maybe it was your mom’s birthday cakes, maybe it was white polka-dots on a blue background, maybe it was all the above.” Buchanan-Smith turned his own itches into a successful independent product line. He thinks that other designers and creative people can do the same by searching their own personal archives for what inspires them and building from their.

Cover Design Team
Everyone will work on cover proposals later in the semester. These will be presented to our co-publisher, Princeton Architectural Press, for comment. We document the design process in the book, and we will show multiple cover directions if appropriate.

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MICA HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION

Learning Resource Center

Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss specific needs. Please contact the Learning Resource Center at 410-225-2416, in Bunting 458, to establish eligibility and coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information please refer to: http://www.mica.edu/LRC

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Health and Safety Compliance

The Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) works to provide EHS support for all members of the MICA community. The primary goal of the Office is to be proactive in establishing a culture of safety in which each member of the community shares ownership responsibility that allows each person to be involved in maintaining a healthy work and studying environment. EHS uses several methods to achieve this objective. First, the EHS office looks at the totality of the EHS requirements by combining campus needs with state and federal requirements and clearly communicating the shared policies and procedures. Second, EHS identifies training needs and develops guidelines for the use of equipment, material and procedures. Third, we ensure compliance with policies through evaluations, inspections, and committees.

It is the responsibility of faculty and students to understand health and safety policies relevant to their individual activities and to review MICA’s Emergency Action Plan, as well as to participate in training, drills, etc. It is also each faculty member’s responsibility to coordinate with the EHS Office to ensure that all risks associated with their class activities are identified and to assure that their respective classroom procedures mirror the EHS and Academic Department guidelines. Each of the Academic Department’s also publish EHS procedures and policies such as a dress code, the use of personal protective equipment, fire safety, training, and how to properly dispose of chemical waste. Each of these policies and procedures must be followed by all students and faculty. Most importantly, it is the responsibility of the faculty to review, test, and assess each student’s awareness of basic safety procedures, such as evacuation routes, use of chemicals, fire prevention, and all other guidelines posted by the Environmental Health and Safety Office, (e.g., smoking policy, independent studio policies, pet policy, disposing of hazardous and chemical waste, etc).

To become a member of the Faculty EHS Committee or for any questions relating to EHS, please contact Denelle Bowser, EHS Manager, at dbowser@mica.edu or by calling 410.462.7593. You can also visit the department online at www.mica.edu/ehs

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H1N1 Pandemic Information

What to do if I get sick?
If you are sick consider the following:
· Limit contact with other people as much as possible. DO NOT GO TO CLASS! Seek medical attention at Mount Royal Medial Assoc. (410) 225-8855 but please call ahead
· Students who are sick should self-isolate for at least 24 hours after any fever is gone.
· Make sure to get plenty of rest and drink clear fluids to keep from being dehydrated
· Avoid normal activities including work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings

Reporting Procedures
· Contact the Office of Student Affairs at 410-225-2422 who will assist with plans for self-isolation, arranging for meals, and any other necessary support
· Contact any faculty whose class you anticipate missing and inform them of your illness. Work with them to make arrangements for catching up on any missed work. If you have difficulty reaching your faculty or if your illness lingers to the point where you will miss two or more of any one class contact the Office of Student Affairs