Author: Design Incubation

Design Criticism in Search of a Platform

Dr. Gaia Scagnetti
Assistant Professor
Graduate Communication Design
Pratt Institute

By definition criticism presents negative connotations. In philosophical terms, criticism is not an action but a method of systematic analysis of a written, oral and visual discourse. It involves merit recognition and it means a methodical practice of doubt. Design criticism has had a short life story and never reached the popularity of Architecture or Art criticism, Film or Literary criticism. Probing design work is perceived as a threat, especially in a time when liking is the expected way of supporting peers both within and outside of social networks. To like and express appreciation for the work of others is a consolidated strategy to get noticed and welcomed in a community of practice, especially among the young generation.

Support is rarely shown through critical encouragement and is mostly communicated through unconditional recommendations; endorsement is seen as a currency to be exchanged regardless of the intrinsic value of a certain production. The problem gets exacerbated by the platforms we use to contribute to disciplinary conversations: symposia, conferences, talks are now always recorded and publicly streamed. This public exposure does not support attempts to make critical analyses; streaming is an opportunity for advertising others or yourself, your connections and your relevancy. Public speeches are opportunities to create connections the so called shoutout to other projects, friends or celebrities. In a time where positivity is the currency nobody wants to practice doubt.

We can consider the process of criticism to be equivalent to making strategic decisions it is a part of how we govern ourselves. Strategies are rarely discussed out in the public, but within a dedicated environment where the social rules of conduct are made explicit and intentions are shared. Similarly, design criticism should be fostered and cultivated within purposebuilt platforms. Design criticism needs a home more than ever. Analysing, considering or dissecting design discourse is a contribution to the politics of truth and criticism is the art of not being governed quite so much.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 2.1: Pratt Institute, Graduate Communications Design on Saturday, October 24, 2015.

On Technology, Design and Art: A Reformulation

Alex Liebergesell
Associate Professor
Pratt Institute
Graduate Communications Design

The term “design” (Latin designare, to designate) is defined as “intent.” Technology, from the Greek techné (art, craft), are tools derived from the deliberate application of knowledge. Design and technology are therefore inseparably rooted in their common meaning as the deliberate instantiation of ideas.

Vilém Flusser, in his 1993 essay About the Word Design, explains design as a “bridge” born during the Industrial Revolution, which attempted to close the “sharp division between the world of the arts and that of technology” in place since the Renaissance. For Flusser, design is a reunion of “equals” which makes “a new form of culture possible.”

But is design really a reunion of art and technology? In the face of converging trends in art, technology and design, Flusser’s typology is outmoded. His view still maintains a separation between art and technology, and while he ascribes a strong causal value to design as a cultural arbiter, he over-expresses its dependency on technology and ignores art as an intrinsic expression of technology. In short, neither art or design are defined as technologies, thus rendering his entire equation untenable.

However, if we designate both art and design as technologies, and accept that the former is primarily preoccupied with intrinsic expression and the latter with extrinsic functionalities, we can readily assign technology as the universal constant from which all knowledge, inventions, and creative expressions — in effect, all culture — emerges. By assigning equal value to art and design as manifestations of technology, we can better grasp the convergence in methods and intent that are common to these disciplines today. Moreover, this alternative formula provides room and equal footing for liberal arts and social science co-products such as philosophy, political theory and the institutions which sustain them, all key technologies and human inventions essential for design and artistic development.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 2.1: Pratt Institute, Graduate Communications Design on Saturday, October 24, 2015.

Membit: A Magic Time Machine

Jay Van Buren
Artist, Designer
CEO and Founder, Early-Adopter.com LLC
Co-Founder and CEO, Membit Inc.

Places are part of our identity. Our memories and experiences are tied to places, and yet in a world where we increasingly use digital means for everything, there’s no good way to mark a place as special to us, or to connect with the other people for whom that place matters. GPS is insufficiently precise and computer-vision-based augmented reality depends upon some kind of physical marker, a poster, a plaque, or other demarcation.

Membit allows people to annotate a location with precisely placed, augmented content without using computer vision. It uses the patented “human positioning system” which works anywhere.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 2.1: Pratt Institute, Graduate Communications Design on Saturday, October 24, 2015.

Improving Cybermedia Literacy In Art Education Through Internet Art: A Study on Adolescent Perspectives

Laura Scherling
GreenspaceNYC, Co-founder
The New School, Design Lead
Teachers College, Columbia University, Doctoral student 

By fostering cyberliteracy in the arts, educators and their students can examine the digital artifacts of our time and embrace a dialogue that addresses the profound effects that digital art, such as Internet artwork, is having on youth culture in formal and informal learning environments. This research, through a series of interviews with four adolescent participants who have grown up as digital natives, explores an enhanced focus on cyberliteracy in visual arts education, on both the part of students and educators. Four major themes are explored: cybermedia literacy in art education, adolescent Internet use, the emotional and psychosocial development of the adolescent, and online identity construction.

Design Incubation Colloquium 2.1: Pratt Institute, Graduate Communications Design

Design Incubation Colloquium 2.1

Hosted by Santiago Piedrafita, Lauren Davis, Gaia Scagnetti
Saturday, October 24, 2015
10am–1pm

Pratt Institute
Graduate Communications Design Department
Manhattan Campus W18th Studios
123 West 18th Street
(between 6th and 7th Avenues)
Room 301
New York, NY 10011

Design Incubation Colloquia 2.1 (#DI2015oct) will be held at the Pratt Institute, Manhattan Campus, Graduate Communications Design Department. This event is open to all interested in Communication Design research. RSVP with name and affiliations if you plan on attending.

Agenda details and list of presentations/speakers updated intermittently.

Abstract submission for presentations deadline October 10, 2015.  For details visit the Call for Submissions, and Submission Process description.

Presentations

Design Criticism in Search of a Platform
Dr. Gaia Scagnetti
Assistant Professor
Pratt Institute
Graduate Communication Design

On Technology, Design, and Art: A Reformulation
Alex Liebergesell
Associate Professor
Pratt Institute
Graduate Communications Design

Membit: A Magic Time Machine
Jay Van Buren
Artist, Designer
CEO and Founder, Early-Adopter.com LLC
Co-Founder and CEO, Membit Inc.

Improving Cybermedia Literacy In Art Education Through Internet Art: A Study on Adolescent Perspectives
Laura Scherling
GreenspaceNYC, Co-founder
The New School, Design Lead
Teachers College, Columbia University, Doctoral student 

You Look Like The Right Type
Mark Addison Smith
Assistant Professor
Electronic Design and Multimedia
The City College of New York, CUNY

Zone1/ZoneA: Reflection/ Resilience
David Frisco, Adjunct Professor, CCE
Graduate Communications Design
School of Design
Pratt Institute

Villages in the City
Hui Xie
Visiting Scholar in St. John’s University
Associate Professor
Graphic Design
School of Art and Design
Shenzhen Polytechnic
XiLi Lake, Nanshan District
Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

Attendees
  • Aaris Sherin, St. John’s University
  • Liz DeLuna, St. John’s University
  • Scott Lundberg, Pratt Institute
  • Leonor Kerke, Pratt Institute
  • Kathryn Weinstein, Queens College, CUNY
  • Kiran Puri, Pratt Institute
  • Sha Huang, NAVA
  • Gizem Serifoglu, Pratt Institute
  • Liana Castillo
  • Lynn Overmyer, Donorschoose.org
  • Mary Ann Biehl, CityTech, CUNY
  • Tony DiSpigna, Pratt Institute
  • Alisa Zamir, Pratt Institute
  • Steffi Duarte, Cooper Hewitt/Cleveland Museum
  • Marianna Trofimova, CityTech, CUNY
  • Phyllis Rosenblatt, CityTech, CUNY
  • Andrew Shea, CityTech/Pratt
  • Ann Morris, Pratt Institute
  • Corwin Green, Pratt Institute
  • Dan Wong, CityTech, CUNY
  • Genevieve Hitchings, CityTech, CUNY

Design Incubation Colloquia 2015-2016 Calendar

Save the dates for the upcoming Design Incubation Colloquia. Submit your abstracts early, and let us know which event is preferred. Remote presentations can be accommodated, with advanced notice.

October 24, 2015 DI Colloquium 2.1:Pratt hosted by Santiago Piedrafita
November 14, 2015 DI Colloquium 2.2: RISD hosted by Lisa Maione
January 16, 2016 DI Colloquium 2.3: St. John’s University.
In conjunction with the Fellowship Program.		 hosted by Aaris Sherin
February 3, 2016 DI Colloquium 2.4: Washington DC. Coinciding with the CAA Conference. host College Art Association (CAA)
March 12, 2016 DI Colloquium 2.5: FIT hosted by CJ Yeh

Fellowship 2016

The 2016 Design Incubation Fellowship will be held January 14–16, 2016 at St. John’s University’s Manhattan campus. This year’s participants may choose to pursue one of two modes for engaging with original research projects.

In the first scenario participants bring a manuscript, draft of an article, or a grant application to the fellowship and receive feedback from workshop mentors and other attendees.

The second option allows participants who may not have a project in progress to take part in the fellowship and benefit from the experience of the workshop mentors and the group. These applicants will choose to work on an exhibition or book review or statement of practice with the goal of publishing finished work in an academic or trade journal.

Design Incubation Fellowships are open to academics in one or more of the following areas: communication design, information design, branding, marketing, advertising, typography, web, interaction, film and video, animation, illustration, game design.

Format:

Workshops offer the opportunity for participants to share and develop ideas for research and individual writing projects while receiving constructive feedback from faculty mentors and peers in their field. Each meeting includes a short informational session or guest speaker followed by presentations of participants’ projects and structured feedback. Between sessions, Fellows will have time to execute revisions, review others participants work, and engage in discussions. Initiation of and work on collaborative projects is encouraged.

Application Process: Deadline October 15, 2015

Design Incubation is currently seeking applicants for the January 2016 workshop session. Workshops are free to participants whose applications have been accepted. Travel costs are not covered but a formal letter of acceptance will be provided so attendees can apply for travel funds from their home institutions.

The upcoming 2016 Design Incubation Fellowship Workshop will be held on January 14–16, 2016  at the Manhattan campus of St. John’s University, 51 Astor Place, New York, NY 10003

Applicants are required to provide contact information, title/current rank, name of their home institution and a 200-word biography. Candidates who will be working on projects already in progress should submit a 500-word description of the work including goals for publication/submission. Applicants interested in working on a review or statement of practice should indicate preference for one or the other. Once applicants are accepted, a workshop mentor will reach out regarding the choice of titles or exhibitions for review and with more information about statements of practice.

Send applications to submissions@designincubation.com.

Preference will be given to tenured and untenured full-time faculty currently employed by colleges or universities but adjuncts, graduate students, and independent scholars are also encouraged to apply.

Design Incubation Colloquium 2.0: City College of New York, CUNY

Hosted by Mark Addison Smith
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
10am–1pm

The City College of New York
Art Department
160 Convent Avenue
New York NY 10031
Compton-Goethals Building, Room CG-108
(corner of W 140th and Amsterdam Avenue)

The launch of the second year of Design Incubation Colloquia (#DI2015jun) will be held at the City College of New York, located in Upper Manhattan. This event is open to all interested in Communication Design research. RSVP with name and affiliations if you plan on attending.

Agenda details and list of presentations/speakers updated intermittently.

Abstract submission deadline May 6, 2015. Deadline extended to May 26, 2015. For details visit the Call for Submissions, and Submission Process description.

Presentations

Graphic Design in the Zone: Peak Performance in Picturing Sport
Jen Roos
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
Computer Arts + Design
Mercy College
Founder and Principal
8 Point Studio

Spark Collaborations: Design as Catalyst for Social Impact
Natacha Poggio
Assistant Professor, Visual Communication Design
Hartford Art School, University of Hartford

Lay Me Down to Sleep: The Design of Coffins, Caskets, and Alternative Containers
Susan Merritt
Faculty Emeritus, Graphic Design
School of Art & Design
San Diego State University

Font Design: Caribbean Archeology Inspired Symbols
Maria Giuliani
Associate Professor
Communication Design
New York City College of Technology, CUNY

Espiritu, Texas 1886-2015: An Essential Part Of American History
Andrés Vera Martínez
Assistant Professor, Cartooning and Illustration
Lesley University College of Art and Design
Cambridge, MA

Attendees

  • Elizabeth Guffey, SUNY Purchase
  • Matt Ferrento, Westchester Community College
  • M. Genevieve Hitchings, CityTech
  • Kathryn Weinstein, Queens College
  • Mary Ann Biehl, CityTech
  • Anne Bartoc, CCNY
  • Danne Woo, Queens College
  • Michele Labrague, Parsons/Stockholm University
  • Olga Greco
  • Tanya Goetz, CityTech
  • Dan Wong, CityTech

Lay Me Down to Sleep: The Design of Coffins, Caskets, and Alternative Containers

Susan Merritt
Faculty Emeritus, Graphic Design
School of Art & Design
San Diego State University

Throughout our country’s history coffins, caskets, and more recently alternative containers have been invented or perfected by anonymous contributors working in the factories that manufacture them. These wood and metal boxes that have become the standard for American burial are being called into question due to changing attitudes towards death and the shift from indifference to action on the part of some contemporary designers.
This research tracks the journey of a corpse from site of death to burial, through the containers it may inhabit. First, I examine containers that are designed to contain, enclose, and preserve as much as possible the corpse, including historical examples gleaned from nineteenth century advertisements. Starting with body bags as a means of transporting cadavers from the place of death to the burial container in which the body will be either buried or cremated, next I consider the evolution from eight-sided English coffin to four-sided American casket; the desire to preserve the body and methods to achieve preservation; the introduction of gasket mechanisms for sealing bodies in metal caskets to protect them from the elements; standardization of design, materials, and casket dimensions, including oversized caskets for bodies that don’t fit the established standards.
The second part of my research considers an alternative route for the corpse, in which it is not preserved but rather encouraged to decay and decompose. This section encompasses Green 2 burial, the rise of Green cemeteries and memorial preserves, sustainable materials and biodegradable burial containers, shrouds, and unassembled casket kits. It also introduces the work of several young designers who are stretching the boundaries of death by reimagining burial practices and reconfiguring burial containers through the use of biodegradable materials and sustainable technologies.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 2.0: The City College of New York, CUNY on Wednesday, June 3, 2015.

Spark Collaborations: Design as Catalyst for Social Impact

Natacha Poggio
Assistant Professor, Visual Communication Design
Hartford Art School, University of Hartford

Designing for wellness has extended further beyond the creation of care products to the design of processes and experiences involving patients as learners and users. Visually compelling and meaningful systems of artifacts are part of the “wicked solutions” at the intersection between design and health.

The past decade has seen a radical revolution in the amount and variety of design products and systems addressing life-improving humanitarian issues and showcasing the transformational implementation of design as a change agent. Visual communication design education still struggles to transcend the conversation about effectively implementing and facilitating design curricula that could help trigger and sustain positive social and cultural change while balancing the need for portfolio-driven outcomes.

Approximately 3–11 million amputees worldwide are in need of a prosthesis, most are located in the poorest countries, where physical therapists are seldom available to teach patients how to use their artificial limbs. “Prosthetic Training Across Borders” (PTAB) is an ongoing transdisciplinary research initiative between Design and Physical Therapy departments at [University] and nonprofit humanitarian organization LIMBS International. Faculty leading teams of undergraduate and graduate students collaboratively co-created prosthetics training materials for above-knee amputee patients in developing countries.

Through the use of simple illustrations to overcome literacy limitations, these educational materials facilitate the communication process for local clinicians so they can effectively educate their patients about rehabilitation protocols and regain mobility. By following simple, concise instructions in posters, brochures, and manuals, amputees are able to perform various training activities and avoid inefficient gait patterns. After testing of prototypes in Peru, Ghana and Kenya, the materials are being translated for cultural adaptation to the 32 clinics in Latin America, India and Africa. PTAB initiative not only has transformed the lives of patients, but also shows a practical way in which the intersection between design and health matters.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 2.0: The City College of New York, CUNY on Wednesday, June 3, 2015.