By Ken Blaznek
I think it’s fair to say that I’ve developed the reputation as one of the more nervous graphic design seniors at CCS. I know that I am not alone, and that things are not all peachy for some of the rest of you as well, so I feel like it is my duty to take a look at things from this angle. Call it a sacrifice.
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I’d like to start a forum here for “collecting” lists of websites, books, designers, places, people, objects, etc, etc…anything and everything that you feel needs to be shared with your peers for discussion or inspiration. It’s be useful to right a quick blurb about what or why you’re posting, but do what you will. Annnnd go.
By Megan Deal
In our contemporary culture, advances in technology have granted everyone with something to say a means to be heard. This forward movement has given people of all ages, race, and sex a powerful voice, and an accessible means of expressing their ideas. I myself am only being heard, like it or not, thanks to this this blog, something that would have been impossible just a short time ago. We’re a generation unafraid to talk openly about things in a public forum, and we’ve established these weird kind of digital families with others who share our views. We exist in a society that’s granted us the opportunity to speak-up, be heard, and make a difference if we so choose. Right?
Many of you have probably noticed the blinding array of Type One studies, that currently grace our third floor walls. Seeing this vast display makes me think of two things: 1) I’m glad that we’ve all made it past the days of rubber cement coated black paper squares and 2) When so many different “voices” are displayed in such close conjunction, is it possible to recognize any particular voice above the rest? Each 8×8 square, now matter how unique it may be on it’s own, looses it’s prominence when placed among other squares communicating a similiar message. The individual designer’s voice is being lost among a sea of other screaming voices.
Compare this now to these advances in technology: when everyone is given an equal chance to speak, is anyone really heard?
Megs: so why do we question what design SHOULD look like
Aubrey Stalnaker: yes
Aubrey Stalnaker: why?
Megs: just thinking out loud now.
Megs: yes why?
Megs: who determines what GOOD design is.
Megs: ?
Megs: The question becomes…what should GOOD design look like?
Aubrey Stalnaker: right
Aubrey Stalnaker: what is good?
Aubrey Stalnaker: how do we define that?
Megs: right. and who determines it?
Aubrey Stalnaker: who saays great is better than good
Aubrey Stalnaker: ?
Megs: perhaps we shouldn’t use the word “good” when discussing design, but rather “appropriate.”
Megs: how do you save convos on this thing?
Aubrey Stalnaker: who made up these words? and why do we use them in design?
Megs: just save as
Aubrey Stalnaker: im going to post this convo
Aubrey Stalnaker: on the blog
Megs: okay good
Megs: i think posting an existing dialogue is awesome
Megs: DO IT
Aubrey Stalnaker: done and done
Megs: put ur name this time would ya
Aubrey Stalnaker: ha
Aubrey Stalnaker: no
Aubrey Stalnaker: i want to be this invisible contributor
Megs: aubs sometimes I like talking about design more then I do actually designing
Megs: ha not aloud
Megs: develop a voice. you have one that needs to be heard.
By: Megan Deal
So here it is, another friday night, and I’m left wondering how I’ve advanced this critical writing project over the past week, if at all. I’d attribute much of my uncertainty to a personal lack of confidence in what I’m doing, or perhaps due in part to a general feeling of invalidness. I often convince myself that my peers could care less about the issues that I’m addressing, and that by the end of the semester all that I’ll have to show for my hard work is a series of irrelevant “preachy” essays; a pitiful outcome from a fourth year student in a major studio course. My personal agenda seems to be morphing as well, as I immerse myself each week in more and more reading, writing, and research on various design issues. Perhaps this too lends itself to my frustration. The work that I’m doing does not manifest itself as a visual showpiece each week, and thus the time being devoted to this study goes unnoticed. (more…)
By: Megan Deal
There has been a lot of discussion lately surrounding the issue of critical writing, and whether design students should practice their writing in a formal, edited way or through casual means like blogging or “i-chatter.” Many views have surfaced just among our own peer network, but the issue is also being discussed on a more global level. Design critic Rick Poynor suggests that design educators must write in a way that “ordinary designers” can understand, avoiding the complex academic writing that requires a post-graduate degree in literary theory to comprehend. Contrarily, designer and educator Rob Giampietro argues that design criticism must “create it’s own language,” if it is to evolve, a language not concerned with the “lowest common denominator.” The debate then, seems to center around the issue of form. Does the format or style that we choose to convey our written thoughts say anything about the meaning of our words? Do the ways in which we communicate our written ideas add value to our thoughts? Does form in writing matter? (more…)
By: Aubrey Stalnaker
I have been thinking intensely for the past few days about what I could contribute to the blog that could be of relevance. I started writing about the idea that students are being rushed to think and design and that it is not just in school, but in the professional realm as well. It occurred to me that I could not make sense of any of this. I moved onto a second draft on the same topic. I found myself getting more and more mad at what I was writing, so I stopped. (more…)
By: Megan Deal
I’ve come to realize that this blog may be contradicting itself. If it’s ultimate goal is to examine the issues that are emerging from within the exchange of student dialogue, then perhaps this blog should allow an opportunity for more students to instigate conversation. Up until this point, a singe voice has dictated the topics of discussion. If more critical voices are to emerge, then this venue must give all students equal opportunity to test out their ideas and stimulate thoughtful debate. (more…)
A thought from Megan
It occurred to me today that design students can be quite entertaining to observe. We really do a lot of funny things. For an example, we tend to think that we can carry every single thing that we own all at once, sometimes while juggling a cup of coffee, and often while ascending three flights of stairs. We’re really quite ambitious, and adapt well out of necessity.
I’m interested in generating a list of the “observed.” A peer to peer collection of those ridiculous things that we as design students do. Allow this thread to start collecting observations as you observe them. Feel free to post as much as you’d like as often as you like. I’ll start with another recent thing that I’ve observed below:
By Megan Deal
I am sitting at “work” staring blankly at my screen. I periodically move a block of text here…then there…then change the color one more time. I pretend to look completely engaged by the task at hand. My long stares and occasional mouse clicks must be somewhat convincing as my productivity level, (or lack thereof) has gone unquestioned for at least 30 minutes. A new personal record. Wasting away the minutes I find myself wondering, how do design students working or interning in a professional environment develop a personal voice? How do young designers retain the solid level of integrity that we learn in the classroom, when shoved to the bottom of the heap in the “real world?” (more…)
