Author: Design Incubation

CFP: 2024 Design Incubation Communication Design Educators Awards

Call for Nominations and Entries for the 2024 Design Incubation Educators Awards Competition. DEADLINE EXTENDED!

Design Incubation announces a call for nominations and entries for the 2024 awards for communication design educators in the areas of scholarship, teaching, service. The aim of the awards program is to discover and recognize new scholarship (creative work and publications), teaching, and service in our broad and varied discipline. We hope to expand the design record, promote excellence and share knowledge within the field.

Nominations and Entries

We ask colleagues and mentors to identify outstanding creative work, publications, teaching, and service being created by design educators in the field communication design and to nominate these individuals for an award. Nominations will be accepted until December 15, 2024 January 15, 2025.

Entry Guidelines

Entries will be accepted until (December 31, 2024) January 15, 2025. Nominations are not required to enter in this scholarly competition. Complete the online entry form (https://designincubation.com/design-incubation-awards-competition-entry-form/) with the following:

Title: Description of project and outcomes (not to exceed 500 words.)
Supporting Materials: (limited to 5-page medium resolution pdf of artwork; web links to websites, videos, other online resources; published documents or visual documents.)
Biography of applicant/s (150 words per applicant.)
Curriculum vitae of applicant/s.
Entry fee: $20.

2024 JURY

Steven McCarthy (Chair)
University of Minnesota

Douglas Kearney
University of Minnesota

Doug Barnett
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Basma Hamdy
Virginia Commonweath University—Qatar

Kali Nikitas
University of Southern California in Los Angeles

Douglas Kearney is an acclaimed poet, librettist, performer and book designer. His work is widely awarded and anthologized, and his book Sho was a finalist for the National Book Award in poetry. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities where he is a McKnight Presidential Fellow. Kearney earned a BA from Howard University and an MFA from CalArts. 

https://www.douglaskearney.com

Doug Barrett is a professor of graphic design at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who has over 20 years of professional graphic design experience. His practice combines client-oriented commercial work, community-focused “design for good,” and experimental design authorship. Barrett has received an Alabama State Arts Fellowship in Design and a Sappi: Ideas That Matter grant. He has an MFA from the University of Florida.

https://www.dougbarrett.com

Basma Hamdy is a professor of graphic design at Virginia Commonwealth University–Qatar campus where she teaches across the undergraduate and graduate curricula. Her scholarship ranges from visual documentation of socio-political activism in Egypt to exploring Arabic typography and calligraphy. Hamdy has an MFA from MICA and is currently a candidate for a PhD at Leiden University and The Royal Academy of Art in The Netherlands. 

https://qatar.vcu.edu/news/our-faculty/basma-hamdy/

Kali Nikitas serves as MFA Design Academic Program Manager at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She is a former Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Northeastern University and Otis College of Art and Design. Kali served as the Chair of the design departments at MCAD, NEU, and Otis making administration her main focus. Her designs and curatorial projects have been widely awarded and published. In addition to her academic role, she is a “Curator of Moments” designing happenings and events in the creative sector. Kali received an MFA in graphic design from CalArts and a BFA in graphic design from the University of Illinois, Chicago. 

https://www.tumblr.com/kali-nikitas

Steven McCarthy is a professor emeritus of graphic design at the University of Minnesota. His scholarship has led to lectures, exhibits, publications and grant-funded research on six continents. McCarthy has published in the field’s leading academic journals and he has been in over 135 juried and invitational exhibits. He has an MFA in design from Stanford University and a BFA in art from Bradley University. 

http://stevenmccarthy.design

New Director of Peer Reviews, Chair and Director at Large

Welcoming Cat Normoyle, incoming Director of Peer Reviews, and Camila Afanador Llach as Chair, Director-at-Large

This 2024 academic year has been busy and productive at Design Incubation. We have had many activities this fall, including the Design Educators Awards, currently accepting nominations and entries until December 31, 2024. In October, we had our first fully in-person colloquium since the onset of the pandemic and our largest one to date at Boston University with four sessions and more than 20 research presentations. This year, we celebrate our 10th year with new members and ongoing development. We continue to host the series, Design Your Research Agenda (DYRA), the latest one in November. We will be publishing this episode online shortly. 

Starting this September 2024, we welcomed Cat Normoyle, Associate Professor at East Carolina University as the incoming Director of Peer Review. In spring 2025 she will be taking over this role from Camila Afanador-Llach, Associate Professor at Florida Atlantic University, who has held the position since fall 2021. 

Normoyle is a designer, writer, and educator whose research and creative activities focus on community engagement, interactive and immersive experiences, and design pedagogy. She has a strong record of contributions to design scholarship and community engagement, evidenced by publications, presentations, and grants. Notably her writing appears in articles and book chapters published by AIGA Dialectic, Design Research Society, AIGA Design Educators Community, Routledge, and others. She is a recent grant recipient of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium for her work on the project, Our Story: The LGBTQ Stories of Eastern North Carolina, which is preparing for a fall 2025 exhibition of work. She is currently working on a book project, “Community-based Practices in Action.” We are excited to welcome her as the new Director of Peer Reviews at DI. 

Afanador-Llach has made tremendous contributions to the peer review process at DI over the last 3 years. She has further developed the peer review process, ensuring the double-blind process is objective, anonymous, rigorous, and fair and that it offers the benefits of the peer review to our members by offering feedback to all who have participated in our colloquium submission process. 

Afanador-Llach will be staying on as a Chair and Director-at-Large as she segues into other DI initiatives. We would like to thank her for her three years of service as Director of Peer Review and we are excited to be working with her in new capacities.

Afanador-Llach was promoted to tenured Associate Professor at Florida Atlantic University, and is currently researching and writing about the history of graphic design in her home country Colombia. She recently completed a three-year NEH-funded project cataloging and translating metadata, developing an online resource. With her experience with metadata and from her role as DI Director of Peer Review, we hope to further the development of keyword analysis and implementation at DI.

Designing Your Research Agenda (DYRA) 4.1

Design scholars and researchers discuss various aspects of their research agendas

Friday, November 8, 2024
1:00pPM Eastern / 12:00PM Central
Virtual Event

Designing Your Research Agenda is a panel discussion and open forum for design scholars and researchers to discuss various aspects of their research agendas. We aim to open a dialog regarding multiple challenges of discovering one’s design research inquiry. Designing Your Research Agenda is an ongoing design research event series.

Register on Eventbrite

Some of the questions we will discuss with panelists include:

  • How did you determine your research agenda (high-level timeline of your career/trajectory)
  • How do you define research and why do you think it matters/for society, the field, and yourself?
  • How do your department and institution define and support the work you do?
  • How would you describe/categorize your department and institution?
  • If you were going to position your work within a category, would you say your research addresses: design theory, design history, design practice, design research (traditional graphic design, speculative design, UXUI, typography, AR, VR, creative computing, design solutions, etc.), design pedagogy, or something else?
  • What barriers (if any) exist at your institution or in the field for creating and disseminating your research?

Moderators

Jessica Barness
Kent State University

Heather Snyder Quinn
DePaul University

Biographies

Jason Alejandro

Jason Alejandro is a Puerto Rican graphic designer and Associate Professor of Graphic Design at The College of New Jersey. His academic research explores intersections of cultural identity, design history, and critical pedagogy, with a focus on how these topics shape visual communication. Alejandro is particularly interested in using graphic design to address social and cultural narratives, including underrepresented communities in design education. His work spans writing, publishing, and visual projects, including contributions to both academic and professional design discussions on identity and collaboration in design practice. He is horrified at how well ChatGPT generated this bio, even if it is somewhat generic.

Yoon Soo Lee

Yoon Soo Lee is a Professor of Art and Design. She has been teaching at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth since 2001, and also at Vermont College of Fine Arts since 2011.

Yoon Soo’s practice moves around three core areas of study: the art of pedagogy, how to work in dialogue cross-discipline, and how to create art and design that is based on self-knowledge. These investigations have led to presentations at the AIGA Educators Conference, UCDA Design Educators Conference, grants from the National Institute of Health, presentations at the Cognitive Science Society and papers such as “Functional Criticism in the Graphic Design Classroom” published in “Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal”.

Yoon Soo studied at Seoul National University where she received her BFA and MFA, and she also studied at Western Michigan University where she received her second MFA in graphic design.

D.J. Trischler

D.J. Trischler is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design for the University of Cincinnati’s Ullman School of Design in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. He teaches typography, design research methods, and an introduction to design lecture. His research addresses the “dis-placed” sentiments familiar to the contemporary human experience, experimenting with possibilities to use design to “place” people in their surrounding ecologies. Through his research, he aims to increase place attachment, a sense of community and belonging, grow neighborliness and community engagement, and ultimately strengthen quality of life and well-being. D.J.’s work in this niche originated from his graduate thesis research into Neighborhood-Centered Design.

Faith and Fiction — The Impact of AI on Spirituality and Design

How researching spiritual subcultures can illuminate the ways AI shapes belief systems.

Nika Simovich Fisher
Assistant Professor
Parsons / The New School for Design

Today’s designers are navigating a landscape dominated by AI-generated content. In this presentation, I will explore an area of personal interest — digital spirituality — and examine how researching spiritual subcultures can illuminate the ways AI shapes belief systems. My research examines how AI-generated content influences spiritual subcultures and the broader implications for communication designers. This exploration is particularly vital for communication designers, who are tasked with conveying messages through visuals and language across diverse digital platforms.

By analyzing the language and production of specific spiritual practices, students can uncover the biases inherent in AI, sharpen their critical eye for content consumption, and better discern fact from fiction in online discourses. Understanding these dynamics is crucial as emerging technologies continue to impact the field, and design is a vital part of adding believability and establishing a convincing tone of voice. Design educators can enhance students’ technical literacy and mindfulness by incorporating projects focused on belief systems, ensuring they are better equipped to consume and create content responsibly. This presentation will explore the following questions: How do emerging belief systems, shaped by AI and social media algorithms, challenge traditional approaches to design and communication? How do the limitations of the AI tools impact what they look like? How do existing belief systems get amplified through AI generated content? How does technical literacy improve critical thinking skills?

My presentation will include three distinct sections:


1. AI-generated Serbian Orthodox Avatars on YouTube: These chain-letter-inspired videos use non-native Serbian speakers’ voices and depict a Catholic-style Jesus rather than an Orthodox one. This highlights the bias of the AI creators’ defaults, and analyzing their production can provide clues about their creation. I plan to connect this to other research on AI and bias, such as this study done by international news organization, Rest of World, which highlighted the cultural flatness within AI training.

2. Spiritual guidance and developing a tone of voice. In this section I’ll talk about the research that went into my WIRED article, “Generative AI Has Ushered In the Next Phase of Digital Spirituality.” In it, I’ll highlight how LLMs and algorithms are trained to predict the next appropriate response and how this can give the impression of believability. I will connect it to historical LLMs that were trained to respond to users as psychologists, and connect all of this to how a bias can impact how you understand the generated content that’s being shown to you. I’ll also touch on new spiritual practices, such as e/acc, that have formed in this moment, as well as art inspired pieces, like Sheila Heti’s Alice, that speak to these themes.

3. AI Pedagogy project on Wikipedia hoax — Lastly, I will discuss a pedagogical case study from my Design and the Future of Publishing class, where students engaged with Juliana Castro-Varón’s “Illustrate a Hoax” project. Part of Harvard metaLAB’s AI Pedagogy Project, this assignment involved students selecting a Wikipedia hoax and using AI-generated tools to substantiate it. The project encouraged students to push AI tools to their limits and reflect on what makes content believable.

Conclusion

Through this exploration of AI’s impact on spiritual subcultures, my presentation will not only reveal the nuanced ways in which belief systems are shaped by digital technologies but also highlight the critical role of design in navigating these complexities. By integrating these insights into design education, we can equip future designers with the tools to critically analyze and responsibly create content in an AI-driven world. This approach will foster a deeper understanding of the intersection between technology, spirituality, and design, encouraging a more thoughtful and informed practice in the field, and a progressive approach to design education.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.1: Boston University on Friday, October 25, 2024.

In Search of Feminism and Identity in Asia

A non-judgmental space dedicated to exploring the complexities of feminism within Asian Gen-Z cultures.

Wanjing Li
Designer and Artist
Boston University

In Search of Feminism and Identity in Asia is a project that explores the nuances and evolution of modern feminism within Asian cultures, with a particular focus on the perspectives of Asian Gen-Z women. Over the past decade, the visibility of feminism in Asian public discourse has increased, coinciding with the period when Gen-Z Asian women are developing their identities and transitioning into adulthood. This intersection has empowered them to contribute significantly to the ongoing dialogue on feminism.

The project culminates in a website designed as a non-judgmental space dedicated to exploring the complexities of feminism within Asian Gen-Z cultures. The website features conversations with women from across Asia, delving into themes of independence, culture, and identity. Each section of the site offers discussions that provide insights into how these women understand, perceive, and respond to feminism and gender inequality.

This project’s content and interview format draw inspiration from existing fundamental research and publications on feminism in Asia, particularly works like Ueno-Sensei, Would You Teach Feminism from Scratch?, which preserves essential conversations around feminism. While there is existing research on feminism in Asia, In Search of Feminism and Identity in Asia uniquely focuses on the Gen-Z perspective, contributing new insights to this area of study.

Through interviews with twelve Gen-Z women from Asia, the project highlights the challenges they face in reconciling feminist ideals with traditional cultural expectations. A notable observation is the association of “feminism” with radicalism and the misconception that it advocates female supremacy, leading to its negative and taboo perception in many Asian societies. As the discourse on feminism and gender inequality grows, a noticeable gap emerges—not only between Asian Gen-Z and their Gen-X parents but also between genders.

In Search of Feminism and Identity in Asia also aims to encourage and inspire individuals within Asian cultures and communities to engage in conversations about feminism. The project advocates for the exchange of ideas in trusted relationships and safe spaces, fostering a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of feminism within these settings.

The creative process involved blending research findings, personal reflections, and artistic expressions across multiple formats, including publication, web experience, and curated conversations. The visual language of the project draws on a diverse mix of Asian aesthetics from the early 2000s, chosen to reflect the historical context of earlier feminist movements and contrast it with contemporary Gen-Z perspectives. This juxtaposition creates a dialogue between past and present, underscoring the evolution of feminist thought in Asia.

Ultimately, In Search of Feminism and Identity in Asia seeks to spark more in-depth discussions about feminism within Asian social settings and cross-cultural dialogues, fostering a deeper understanding of the topic while contributing to the broader discourse on design’s role in social issues.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.1: Boston University on Friday, October 25, 2024.

Design + Cultural Heritage: The Guano Rug, A Cultural Heritage Under Extinction

Crafting hand-knotted rugs primarily made from wool sourced from sheep, llama, or alpaca.

Maria Isabel Paz Suarez
Assistant Professor
Universidad San Francisco de Quito

Located in the Chimborazo Province of Ecuador, Guano is a town celebrated for its rich artisanal heritage, particularly in crafting hand-knotted rugs primarily made from wool sourced from sheep, llama, or alpaca. Distinguished by their rich textures and vibrant colours, Guano rugs were once a high-commodity export in the 1970s. During that era, Guano produced over 3,000 square meters of tapestries per month for international export. Today, however, only 10 artisans of this craft survive, all of which are over 60 years old. Unfortunately, the Guano rug artistry is now a cultural heritage on the brink of extinction.

As an architect and lover of drawings, I have been researching ways to redesign the Guano carpets at all scales. The rugs are hand-knotted at 42,000 stitches per square meter, with designs often transferred from paper drawings to yarn. The original drawings, often damaged, are becoming increasingly difficult to interpret by those weaving the textiles, often hindering the possibility for new generations to weave and learn this craft. For the past five years, in close relationship with the artisans, I have developed new methodologies to produce these tapestries.

To enable the preservation of this craft, research on their creative processes and methodologies has been vital. My research has involved interviews with the 10 living artisans at their workshops, visits to local suppliers that produce natural and tinted yarn, and the design and production of a new collection featuring contemporary designs for international markets.

The result of this ongoing research is an attempt to show the world how to understand these cross-stitched drawings, enabling new designers to collaborate with the artisans and expose Guano to a global economy.

In light of this Design Incubation Colloquium, I intend to share details about my process of design and research with the Guano community showcasing the means and methods I’ve used to create digital drawings and patterns for Guano artisans to interpret. At large, I strongly believe there is an opportunity to revitalize this craft. By fostering the transfer of knowledge to younger generations, I am confident this project will work towards the preservation of this Ecuadorian cultural heritage.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.1: Boston University on Friday, October 25, 2024.

Emotional Engagement in Design: Traditional vs. Art-Based Approaches

Identifying differences by exploring the effects of emotional impact on an audience.

Violet Luczak
Associate Professor
McHenry County College

Many practicing designers create traditional graphic design for corporate work and art for personal expression. Little has been done to measure the difference in user engagement between Graphic Design and Art Design. Does an audience’s emotional engagement differ when experiencing traditional graphic design compared to art design?

The key objective of this research is to identify differences between traditional graphic design work and art design work by exploring their effect of emotional impact on the audience.

The methodology used in this study was surveys given to undergraduate graphic design students. Six Graphic Design and six Art Design pieces were shown to students using a projector. After viewing both sets of pieces, students were asked to fill out a user engagement survey to analyze the emotional impact of both sets of work.

To control for technique and skill the examples of Graphic Design and Art Design used in this study were pulled from the same subset of artists. Traditionally, Graphic Design is message-driven and Art Design is open to interpretation. Art Design typically aims for a stronger emotional response while Graphic Design focuses on clarity and functionality.

The designers used in this study are well-noted in the design field. Designers include Stephen Sagmeister, who designed for clients including the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum. Paula Scher, who designed for clients including Bloomberg, Microsoft, Adobe, Bausch + Lomb, and Coca-Cola (Bucher, S. 2004). April Greiman, whose notable projects include a 1979 poster for the California Institute of the Arts, the 1980 China Club Restaurant and Lounge advertisements, and a poster, designed in 1982, for the 1984 Olympics (Heller, S 1998). Clay Hickson designed for clients including American Express, the Chicago Reader, Bloomberg Businessweek, Lucky Peach, and Refinery 29 (Johalla Projects, 2016). Mike Perry has worked for clients including Apple, Nike, Urban Outfitters, Channel 4, PlayStation (Anderson, R. n.d.), and Paul Rand who designed corporate logos, including IBM, UPS, ABC, and Westinghouse (Heller, S.1999).

The surveys given in this study have been modified from the user engagement scale based on the research of O’Brien, H. Cairns, P. and Hall, M. The scale items include cognitive and emotional engagement measured using a 5- 5-point Likert scale. Emotional engagement is measured through a framework with multiple dimensions to assess emotional impact based on valence, intensity, and specificity.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.1: Boston University on Friday, October 25, 2024.

A New Framework and Database for Exploring Works of Experience Design

A project to organize and catalog resources to facilitate specific reference searches and discover experience design information.

Nicholas Rock
Associate Professor
Boston University

In both teaching experience design and working in a client-based practice, I have found sourcing clear case studies, examples, and references incredibly challenging and time-consuming. Recognizing the need for an accessible resource for experience design work, I have initiated a project to organize and catalog resources to facilitate specific reference searches and discover new information. The development of an introductory experience design course and my practice in design strategy provided the basis for a foundational framework. Initially designed to help teach design students, it was later adapted for my design work to enhance customer experience strategies. The framework categorizes experiences by scale, emotional response, and form to ensure a broader and more holistic understanding of experience design, benefiting designers, educators, and students.

Groups of students taking an Experience Design course utilized the framework to populate a database with more than 200 initial case studies. These case studies are a learning resource for subsequent classes, demonstrating the framework’s practical application and refinement. I additionally leveraged the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at Boston University to employ two undergraduate graphic design students in the project’s continued development, refinement, and evolution.

The result is a public database and guide for experience design—a resource that enables unexpected connections and discoveries across all forms of experience design. It helps to identify, archive, and contextualize a wide range of examples, making them accessible and valuable to future students and designers.

The work was intentionally published as a web-based resource, eventually welcoming contributions from a global community. This ensures its growth, adaptability, and continued insights on a broad scale. It has been designed to inspire curiosity and broaden perspectives of experience design and serves as a unique and ever-evolving collaborative resource for the design and design education communities.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.1: Boston University on Friday, October 25, 2024.

Design + History Methodology Slam

Four Graphic Design History Methodologies for historical research— formal analysis, biography, fiction writing, and data visualization.

Brockett Horne
Lecturer
Boston University

Recently, graphic design practitioners have urgently taken up the project of history-telling. Designers are committed to transforming the limited, exclusive narratives of graphic design history that we have inherited through a variety of methods to likewise define more inclusive spaces within the practice of graphic design. Yet Graphic Design History researchers rarely debate or articulate their methodologies for producing historical research. We speak of what’s missing from history, but methodologies are not discussed.

Unlike fields like Art History, American Studies and other spaces in the Social Sciences, where reflection on methodology is prevalent, designers lack a space to reflect upon HOW historical research is conducted. For other fields, books such as Anne D’Alleva’s Methods & Theories of Art History or Serie McDougal’s Research Methods in Africana Studies are assigned in required coursework about methodology. Even within studio courses in Graphic Design, methodologies such as Design Thinking and User-Centered research are codified and include substantial literature, but they are not prevalent when speaking about how we research history.

This presentation outlines four Graphic Design History Methodologies for historical research— formal analysis, biography, fiction writing, and data visualization. The presentation will especially inform design practitioners without training in history or material culture. Questions that will be addressed include: What cultural, political, gender, and historiographical perspectives shape Graphic Design Historical research? To what extent does Graphic Design History research methodology inadvertently seek information that aligns with prevailing beliefs (see Berry and Walters, The Black Experience in Design) How might present-day attitudes, values, and knowledge influence our interpretation of historical artifacts? And, crucially, how can we navigate these biases to develop more inclusive research practices accessible to all interested in history?

Takeaways:

  • Explore a lexicon of Design History Methodologies: formal analysis, biography, fiction writing, and data visualization
  • Assess strengths and limitations of a few design research methodologies
  • Imagine the future of Design History research

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.1: Boston University on Friday, October 25, 2024.