Author: Design Incubation

Swiss Style Now September 07 – October 01, 2016

The Swiss style of graphic is perhaps the most influential movement of the 20th century. It came to fame in the 1950s, as a clear graphic language of communication, and became a hallmark style internationally.

http://www.cooper.edu/events-and-exhibitions/exhibitions/swiss-style-now

The Swiss style of graphic is perhaps the most influential movement of the 20th century. It came to fame in the 1950s, as a clear graphic language of communication, and became a hallmark style internationally.

The “Swiss Style Now” exhibition provides a current view of the graphic design scene in Switzerland from the last five years and features more than 120 works from different generations of Swiss designers. Pieces by a hundred currently working Swiss designers, including Ludovic Balland, Stephan Bundi, Büro Destruct, Melchior Imboden, NORM, Felix Pfäffli, Tania Prill, Ralph Schraivogel, Niklaus Troxler, Martin Woodtli, Jonas Vögeli and more, will be on view. Posters, books, brochures, flyers and more make up the body of printed matter being highlighted.

Opening Reception: Tuesday, September 6, 2016, 6:30pm – 9:00pm

Ongoing Exhibition: September 7 – October 1, 2016
Monday – Saturday 10:00am – 7:00pm
Sunday 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Look Closer: Interaction, Interpretation, Environmental Storytelling

John Delacruz
Professor of Advertising
School of Journalism and Mass Communications
San Jose State University

The creative industries rely on interdisciplinary practices. They require team working skills and the ability to learn, support and help others in an increasingly inter-disciplinary environment.

Students at San Jose State University who aim to enter the creative industries have been working on a project with Santa Clara County Parks creating interactive and interpretive story tree installations on the Coyote Creek Parkway Trail at Hellyer County Park. This is the Coyote Creek Fables, part of a bigger project of artworks to be sited in Hellyer Park.

Our presentation will explore how the student team has evolved and produced a body of work that will exist in a real space, enhancing the trail and the Ranger-led talk, and online, supplementing the Coyote Creek fables with information and interactive elements shaping the user experience. How did the design process unfold? How did the experiential and improvisational pedagogical approaches help shape the outcomes? What are the Coyote Creek fables?

The concept, inspired by the Ohlone tribes of California and their associations with totem poles, is intended to enhance existing interpretive programs, while encouraging trail users to take a closer look at the wildlife found along the multi-use Coyote Creek Parkway Trail.

Our design team is a diverse mix group of undergraduate and graduate students with backgrounds in graphic design, journalism, photography, advertising, and mass communications. The project has enabled them to engage in collaborative, experiential practices where different skill sets have allowed peer mentoring to drive them to their final products.

The student team has engaged in peer to peer collaboration, and found ways to work remotely at times. They have developed awareness of natural history and environmental stewardship as they flex their creative muscles. The overall learning experience has provided them with a skill set that will help them navigate their future careers in the creative industries successfully.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 3.1: Kean University on Saturday, Oct 22, 2016.

How Much is Too Much?

Mark Zurolo
Associate Professor Graphic Design, UConn Storrs
Liz DeLuna
Associate Professor Graphic Design, St. John’s University

Motion design has evolved into a discipline that requires a complex skill set including, but not limited to, an expert command of typography and illustration, technical ability including expertise in software, understanding of narrative structures, an animator’s sense of motion, timing and sound, and formal design acumen. Whew! That’s a lot. Motion graphics emerged from graphic design with pioneers like Saul Bass, trained as a traditional graphic designers who saw graphic design not as static compositions, but kinetic orchestrations captured in a moment of stasis. New technologies have created not only the potential for new visual languages, but entirely new skill sets. Who is best equipped to wield these languages? What should they learn and how should they learn it? Taste or Technology? Software or gestalt? Is the horizon endless or ending? This presentation will explore techniques and briefs that investigate strategies for creating thoughtful and articulate skill sets driven by the principles of graphic design in the context of motion.

 

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 3.0: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) on Saturday, Sept 24, 2016.

Visualizing Pesticide Use in Controlling Zika

Courtney Marchese
Assistant Professor of Interactive Media + Design
Quinnipiac University

Information graphics help condense large amounts of data into comprehensive visuals. One of the most critical topics for the general public to understand is issues of public health. Zika virus has come to the forefront as one of the most threatening mosquito-transmitted diseases in the Americas, with proven complications that include microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Although there is currently no cure for Zika, there are a number of pesticides used in the affected areas in hopes of controlling the spread of the virus. In collaboration with scientists and other experts in the field, I will harvest and deliver the most important data to the general public. Through data visualization, we can track which pesticides are being used where, and how efficiently they are controlling the spread of the virus-carrying mosquitos.

My methodology in creating the information graphics is to research both data visualization techniques as well as pesticide use in the Americas as it related to controlling Zika transmission. I will also interview and collaborate with experts as I collect and analyze the necessary layers of data. From there, many iterations of potential visualizations will be created and critiqued until the best possible solutions have been created. My hope is that these graphics will help provide a comprehensive overview of the relationship between various pesticide use and the spread of Zika virus.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 3.0: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) on Saturday, Sept 24, 2016.

The Rise of the Design Entrepreneur

Denise Anderson
Assistant Professor
Michael Graves College
Kean University

Graphic designers who aspire to become entrepreneurs can achieve their ambition by tapping into their well-cultivated ability to think creatively, generate ideas, and help clients bring their concepts to market through the creation and execution of commercialized branding programs.

In many cases, however, both students and professionals simply lack the fundamental knowledge or experience to translate original ideas into viable and actionable business opportunities. Graphic designers who want to bring their ideas to market need to know what to do, how to do it, and where to find the network and resources necessary for launching and building a sustainable enterprise. They need to think and act more like traditional entrepreneurs, and to accomplish this, they need supplemental business education that fully considers the life cycle of a product or service as it makes its way from idea to market. They must learn how to evaluate risk and the impact it may have on their business. Additionally, they should understand the traits common to entrepreneurs, as well as how to draw upon or develop similar qualities in the context of their role as graphic designers.

The Rise of the Design Entrepreneur will feature yet-to-be-launched business projects, survey results that reveal the business fundamentals that design practitioners say are essential bringing ideas to market, and recommendations for resources that will help graphic designers achieve their aspirations.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 3.1: Kean University on Saturday, Oct 22, 2016.

Robin Landa Joins Design Incubation

Design Incubation is pleased to announce that Robin Landa, Distinguished Professor and author will join the governance team as Chair.

Design Incubation is pleased to announce that Robin Landa, Distinguished Professor in the Michael Graves College at Kean University and author of more than 20 books, will join the governance team as Chair. We are excited to enlist Ms. Landa’s creative energy, enthusiasm, professional experience and design expertise in the organization.

Ms Landa has received high praise as one of the “Great Teachers of Our Time” by The Carnegie Foundation, as well as being honored by The National Society of Arts and Letters. In 2013, Ms. Landa received Kean University’s Professor of the Year Award.

CAA Conference Invites Design Topics

The CAA Conference 2017 in New York City has an open call for participation. The deadline for proposals of papers and presentations is August 30, 2016.

College Art Association (CAA) has recently created the Committee on Design, to address the needs and scholarly efforts of design academics.

The CAA Conference 2017 in New York City has an open call for participation. The deadline for proposals of papers and presentations is August 30, 2016.

For session topics and details, check out the listing of session descriptions.

Design Incubation Colloquium 3.0: MCLA

Design Incubation Colloquia 3.0 (#DI2016sep) at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts on Saturday, Sept 24, 2016.

Hosted by Josh Ostraff

Saturday, Sept 24, 2016
Time: 12:30pm–4pm
Feigenbaum Center for Science & Innovation, Room 121
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
71 Blackinton St
North Adams, MA 01247

Design Incubation Colloquia 3.0 (#DI2016sep) will be held at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts. This event is open to all interested in Communication Design research. RSVP with name and affiliations if you plan on attending.

Parking: There is a lot across the street from the Feigenbaum Center for Science & Innovation on Blackinton Street or the lot behind the Church Street Center between Elmwood & Porter Streets.

Abstract submission for presentations deadline Sept 3, 2016.  For details visit the Call for Submissions, and Submission Process description.

Guest Presentation

Making Small Things: Robots, Cracks, and Hamburgers
Chris St.Cyr
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
The College of Saint Rose

Presentations

How Much is Too Much?
Mark Zurolo
Associate Professor Graphic Design, UConn Storrs
Liz DeLuna
Associate Professor Graphic Design, St. John’s University

Visualizing Pesticide Use in Controlling Zika
Courtney Marchese
Assistant Professor of Interactive Media + Design
Quinnipiac University

Would You Take This Course? A Case Study in Instructional Design
Gerol C. Petruzella Ph.D.
Associate Director, Academic Technology
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Major and Life Design for a Wild New World
Karen M. Cardozo, M.Ed., PhD
Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Thinking Through The Pencil: The Primacy Of Drawing In The Design Thinking Process
Pattie Belle Hastings
Chair of Interactive Media + Design
School of Communications
Quinnipiac University

Developing Agency in Art and Design
Mitch Goldstein
Assistant Professor, School of Design 
Rochester Institute of Technology

The City of You

Robert J. Thompson
Assistant Professor
Graphic & Interactive Design
Department of Art
College of Creative Arts & Communications
Youngstown State University

Youngstown State University in partnership with the City of Youngstown was approved for a two year federal grant from the Economic Development Administration supporting the development of an economic development and marketing/advertising strategy. Putting this purpose into action, an interdisciplinary team of economic strategists, researchers, community organizers, and graphic designers was developed to finalize an economic development strategy and marketing/advertising campaign.

The collaborative, multi-disciplinary strategy offers a new future-focused narrative for Youngstown, visually portrayed through a multi-point advertising campaign that offers intelligent and meaningful expressions across all print and digital media channels. This campaign, titled “The City of You”, was developed by RJ Thompson, Assistant Professor of Graphic & Interactive Design and his Youngstown Design Works students at Youngstown State University. Youngstown Design Works is an elite-level, student-run graphic & interactive design agency that provides affordable, high quality design services to Youngstown-area civic and business organizations.

All advertising and design concepts created by Thompson and his students were subjected to extensive stakeholder critique, public presentation, critical observation and in-depth analysis through the use of target-specific focus groups, user testing scenarios, and experimental, in-person data collection techniques. Campaign deliverables include, but are not limited to, a completely new brand identity, advertising, printed and digital billboards, a newly redesigned City of Youngstown government website, and a centralized “City of You” campaign website that highlights crowdsourced stories of Youngstown citizens.

Launching in late April 2016, it is expected that the conceptual potential and significant financial investment supporting the campaign will permit it to run for a minimum of 5 years with local, regional, and national exposure.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 3.1: Kean University on Saturday, Oct 22, 2016.

Colloquium 3.1: Kean University Call for Submissions

Kean University, in the Union County region of New Jersey will be hosting a Design Incubation Colloquium on Saturday, October 22, 2016.

Kean University, in the Union County region of New Jersey will be hosting a Design Incubation Colloquium on Saturday, October 22, 2016. All are welcome to attend. Details and agenda can be found on the Colloquium 3.1: Kean University page.

We are accepting abstract submissions for presentations. Abstract submission deadline: October 1, 2016.

We invite designers—practitioners and educators—to submit abstracts of design research. Remote presentations are also acceptable.  Presentations are limited to 6 minutes + 4 minutes for questions. (Skype or Google Hangouts.)

For more details, see the Submission Process description. Email 300 word abstract to submissions@designincubation.com.  Questions can be directed to info@designincubation.com.

Please RSVP@designincubation.com if you plan on attending. Space is limited.