Author: Design Incubation

Analyzing Local Graphic Design History: A Pedagogical Approach

Students visit local and online archives, and conduct research online to contextualize their artifacts in local and graphic design history

Christina Singer
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Undergraduate Design Research students at UNC Charlotte have been investigating local graphic design history as part of an ongoing project since Fall 2021. What artifacts do students decide to illuminate, and why? This presentation clusters and analyzes 183 local graphic design artifacts and topics that 61 students have chosen to research, write about, and contribute to the People’s Graphic Design Archive. The project teaches students about biases and factors that contribute to who and what has been included in graphic design history. Students visit local and online archives, and conduct research online to contextualize their artifacts in local and graphic design history. Through this process, students research ways of making, social movements, and graphic design history in order to construct and write a story for each artifact. Students review each other’s writing and create a class book, which combines their essays and sources with a collaborative timeline of the local graphic design artifacts they selected to research. The collection of individual choices that students make regarding what they choose to contribute to the PGDA’s effort to democratize design history has become a separate topic of inquiry for both research and pedagogical purposes. This presentation analyzes the students’ choices and the stories they tell.

This design research was presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 10.2: Annual CAA Conference 2024 (Hybrid) on Thursday, February 15, 2024.

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes in an Interdisciplinary, Experiential Course

A conceptual model that empirically examines the impact of interdisciplinary studies, participation in experiential learning, and the role demographics on learning outcomes.

Denise Anderson
Assistant Professor
Kean University

This research project is inspired by co-teaching an interdisciplinary, experiential course with three professors and thirty-three students in Graphic Design, Marketing, and Communication, with a partnership with the New York Jets as a client. Using survey data from students in the course and other college students pursuing their undergraduate degree, we develop a conceptual model and empirically examine the impact of interdisciplinary studies, participating in experiential learning, and the role of student demographics on student learning outcomes.

Interdisciplinary studies refer to studies between two or more fields of study and involve students working in an environment transcending disciplinary boundaries. Experiential learning refers to learning through hands-on experiences, where students apply the theories learned in the classroom to real-life situations using higher-order thinking.

Factors that affect student learning outcomes in higher education have been identified as lacking knowledge in other disciplines (Fruchter and Emery, 1999) and working with an actual client (Coker et al., 2017). Other factors include effective team collaborations (Machemer and Crawford, 2007), student engagement (Kuh et al., 2008; Letterman and Dugan, 2004), motivation (Pintrich and DeGroot, 1990; Deci et al, 1999), study habits and strategies (Dunlosky et al, 2013; Kember and Kwan, 2000), to name a few.

The proposed research will support the important role of interdisciplinary studies and experiential learning in achieving favorable student learning outcomes. In addition, it will provide empirical support for Universities to offer more interdisciplinary courses and experiential learning opportunities to retain students and prepare them for professional practice.

This design research was presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 10.2: Annual CAA Conference 2024 (Hybrid) on Thursday, February 15, 2024.

Designing Dialogue: Leveraging Technology for Cultivating Inclusion and Belonging in Classroom Critique

CritMoves would allow faculty to create a set of specific prompts that would be randomly assigned to students via student cell phones

Jenny Kowalski
Assistant Professor
Lehigh University

Abby Guido
Associate Professor
Temple University

Peer critique is a tool for formative and summative assessment in art and design classrooms (Motley, 2016). Although some forms of critiques are dominated by the instructor (Barrett, 2000), a framework encouraging peer discussion establishes a collaborative environment and fosters meta-cognitive skills (Topping, 1998).

Two graphic design professors are proposing a tool called CritMoves to enhance participation in classroom critiques. Based on the concept of conversational moves (Nichols, 2019), CritMoves would allow faculty to create a set of specific prompts that would be randomly assigned to students via student cell phones. Students could “execute” prompts during the critique, gamifying the critique experience and encouraging peer communication.

Prompts such as “agree with what was just said and add additional feedback” or “disagree with what was just said and share an opposing view” encourage students to engage in a full discussion. Other prompts such as “discuss the color contrast in this piece” direct students to focus on specific details that can be connected to pedagogical goals. Our intention is that the structure of the curated prompts will lead to more positive feelings towards peer critique and a greater sense of belonging in the classroom.

This presentation will discuss the early stages of this research and the development of a prototype through an interdisciplinary collaboration of students in Computer Science and Graphic and Interactive Design programs. We are interested in engaging in a conversation about how best to utilize technology to foster human interaction and connection in art and design classrooms.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 10.2: Annual CAA Conference 2024 (Hybrid) on Thursday, February 15, 2024.

Convergence of Science and Art to Support Climate Resilience in Central American Smallholder Communities

This innovative application assists farmers in planning their planting and harvesting activities based on rainfall forecasts

Qiuwen Li
Assistant Professor
Santa Clara University

Sara Wheeler
Undergraduate Student
Santa Clara University

Contributors: Iris Stewart-Frey, Ed Maurer, Allan Báez Morales, Gautam Chitnis, Alex Avila, Tanmay Singla, Turner Uyeda, Briana Guingona

Farming communities in vulnerable regions of Northern Nicaragua heavily rely on rain-fed agriculture amidst climate variability. Unfortunately, smallholder farmers often lack timely climate forecasts to inform their decisions. To address this challenge, a collaborative team from Santa Clara University (SCU) has partnered with a Nicaraguan NGO to develop the NicaAgua app. This innovative application assists farmers in planning their planting and harvesting activities based on rainfall forecasts.

This app innovatively simplifies presenting probabilistic rainfall forecasts. Our project leverages resources and advocates integrating data visualization with shapes, symbols, and attributes, following human-centric principles for accessible climate data.

Forecasts’ use relies on perceived skill (Babcock, 2016). The main challenge is converting rain forecasts across language and geography, aligning with local knowledge and ensuring accessibility. We employed participatory methods, surveys, focus groups, and workshops. In design, Gestalt principles make our visuals digestible, aiding in identifying relevant metrics for local climate efforts.

Through visual aids and expertise, this initiative empowers Nicaraguan farmers. We’ll share insights in the session, covering student-centered research, participatory methods, and app design.

References

Babcock, Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Mitchell J. Small and Iris Grossmann, Stakeholder perceptions of water systems and hydro-climate information in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Earth Perspectives (2016) 3:3, DOI 10.1186/s40322-016-0035-x

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 10.2: Annual CAA Conference 2024 (Hybrid) on Thursday, February 15, 2024.

From Bricks to Pixels: The Evolution of Banna’i Kufic

During the prosperous Islamic era, Persian architecture began to incorporate calligraphy as an ornamental element in mosque design

Sajad Amini
Assistant Professor
DePaul University

By exploring the historical roots of calligraphy and typography in one of the world’s most ancient civilizations, we can uncover the origins of some genuinely captivating scripts that still serve as powerful symbols of Arab and Persian cultures today. This narrative commences with the Islamic doctrine’s prohibition of natural imagery, prompting Iranian scholars and calligraphers like Ibn Muqla (10th century) to craft various distinctive scripts, including Naskh, Muhaqqaq, Rayhani, Thuluth, Riqa’, and Tawqi.’

Proposal-imagesDownload

During the prosperous Islamic era, Persian architecture began to incorporate calligraphy as an ornamental element in mosque design, sparking the creation of a new script known as Banna’i Kufic (Banna in Farsi means building), often referred to as Square Kufic. This progressive typographic approach borrowed the square and solid geometric characteristics of its foundational structural components: bricks. It’s noteworthy that Square Kufic’s minimalistic design coexisted alongside complex calligraphic scripts like Thuluth. Diacritics were deliberately omitted, pushing the boundaries of typography to extremes and enabling the intricate formation of holy names and Quranic verses. Architects ingeniously intertwined two or more texts by manipulating negative and positive spaces. The fundamental structure of Square Kufic bears a striking resemblance to the inherent nature of pixels and the constraints of early computer graphic art. Banna’i Kufic’s modular design and adaptability have allowed it to endure as a versatile typographic foundation still in use today.

This presentation will provide an in-depth exploration of the historical underpinnings of the Banna’i Kufic and its structural rationale and aesthetic through the design lens.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 10.2: Annual CAA Conference 2024 (Hybrid) on Thursday, February 15, 2024.

Design Is Not Neutral

A podcast featuring design educators discussing gaps in design education

Grace Hamilton
Assistant Professor
Baruch College City University New York

This project confronts design and design education’s historical exclusion of marginalized voices due to Eurocentric, capitalist, and patriarchal biases. It champions a feminist, practice-driven approach for an anti-patriarchal and post-capitalist design pedagogy, challenging the notion that design is confined to formal structures.

The “Design is Not Neutral” podcast is central to this initiative, featuring design educators discussing gaps in design education. It reveals the entanglement of design education with corporate capitalism, especially in the United States, while dismantling the division between craft, design, and art. This scrutiny exposes oppressive structures sidelining craft-based design, aiming to broaden design education’s horizons.

In the following phase, a knitting workshop was introduced to confront power dynamics and reintegrate “low design” or craft into the classroom. This hands-on workshop encourages everyday creativity, collaborative learning, and questions gender-based hierarchies in design curricula, empowering what’s traditionally labeled “craft.”

Aligned with scholars like bell hooks, Louise Schouwenberg, Paulo Freire, and Cheryl Buckley, this feminist intervention emphasizes “design in the margins” in education. The project’s podcast serves as a centralized resource, ensuring accessibility for educators looking to integrate feminist curricula.

This initiative reimagines design education through a feminist lens, challenging craft-based design stereotypes and engaging with design education’s historical ties to capitalism. Its aim is to create a more inclusive, equitable design pedagogy, centering marginalized perspectives and subaltern forms of making, contributing to a diverse, accessible, and just society.

This design research was presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 10.2: Annual CAA Conference 2024 (Hybrid) on Thursday, February 15, 2024.

A Plural Pedagogy for Graphic Design History

Revised documentation integrates more women, people of color, and underrepresented stories into the curriculum

Kristen Coogan
Associate Professor
Boston University

Today’s pressing social and political landscape prompts reflection. As people, designers, and educators, how can we actively contribute to the cultivation of more inclusive and balanced cultures? Amidst these circumstances, established historical narratives face renewed scrutiny, challenging their authority and the traditional confines of academic discourse. Nikole Hannah-Jones’ groundbreaking “The 1619 Project” confronts the whiteness of American History. Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” envisions educational spaces where a reimagined teacher-student dynamic invites diverse contributions. This research also recognizes the inherent bias found in any historical discourse built on collective knowledge yet often within a singular perspective. As the demand for a decentralized history grows, the question arises: how do we build a more inclusive design history? At Boston University, Graphic Design History students foster inclusivity through a plural design history pedagogy. Revised slide presentations integrate more women, people of color, and underrepresented stories into the curriculum — enabling students to find more of themselves throughout the narrative. Through interactive lab sessions, students contribute distinct viewpoints informed by supplementary readings, written responses, and collaborative discussions. Culminating in extended essays, students disrupt the Western design canon, spotlighting lesser-known designers and movements. These responses culminate in the “Design History Reader,” where specific texts reveal narratives beyond the established versus marginalized dichotomy. Chapters unveil conceptual ecosystems, emphasizing visual and contextual symmetries bridging dominant and minority narratives. The “Reader” serves as a dynamic starting point, open to interpretation. While not fully representative, it’s an expanding, living archive shaped by collective research.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 10.2: Annual CAA Conference 2024 (Hybrid) on Thursday, February 15, 2024.

Design Incubation Colloquium 10.2: Annual CAA Conference 2024 (Hybrid)

Presentations and discussion in Research and Scholarship in Communication Design at the 112th Annual CAA Conference 2024

Recent research in Communication Design. Presentations of unique, significant creative work, design education, practice of design, case studies, contemporary practice, new technologies, methods, and design research. A moderated discussion will follow the series of presentations.

The colloquium session is open to all conference attendees.

Design Incubation Colloquium 10.2: Annual CAA Conference 2024
Thursday, February 15, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Hilton Chicago – 8th Floor – Lake Michigan (Hybrid)

CHAIRS

Camila Afanador-Llach
Florida Atlantic University

Heather Snyder Quinn
DePaul University

Discussants

Jessica Barness
Kent State University

Liz DeLuna
St John’s University

Dan Wong
New York City College of Technology, CUNY

PRESENTATIONS

A Plural Pedagogy for Graphic Design History
Kristen Coogan
Associate Professor
Boston University

Design Is Not Neutral
Grace Hamilton
Assistant Professor
Baruch College City University New York

From Bricks to Pixels: The Evolution of Banna’i Kufic
Sajad Amini
Assistant Professor
DePaul University

Convergence of Science and Art to Support Climate Resilience in Central American Smallholder Communities
Qiuwen Li
Assistant Professor
Santa Clara University

Sara Wheeler
Undergraduate Student
Santa Clara University

Designing Dialogue: Leveraging Technology for Cultivating Inclusion and Belonging in Classroom Critique
Jenny Kowalski
Assistant Professor
Lehigh University

Abby Guido
Associate Professor
Temple University

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes in an Interdisciplinary, Experiential Course
Denise Anderson
Assistant Professor
Kean University

Analyzing Local Graphic Design History: A Pedagogical Approach
Christina Singer
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Uncanny Ways of Seeing: Engaging AI in Design Practice and Pedagogy
Drew Sisk
Assistant Professor
Clemson University

The Design Writing Fellowship

Three Tracks: Books, Academic Articles and Book/Exhibition Reviews

Are you trying to bolster your research agenda or are you a design writer trying to decide where to publish? TheDesign Writing Fellowship (formerly the Design Incubation Fellowship) can help. The 2024 Fellowship has three tracks: Books, Academic Articles and Book/Exhibition Reviews. Participants take part in a 3-day virtual writing workshop where they learn about the publishing process, receive feedback on their writing and commit to working on their writing projects for 3-6 months. The Design Writing Fellowship is for design faculty, researchers, writers, and academics.

Applications will be accepted through November 30th

The 2024 Fellowship Workshop will be held May 29-31, 2024. All participants must participate in the workshop. 

https://writingspacechi.com/design-writing-fellowship

CFP: 2023 Design Incubation Communication Design Awards

Call for Nominations and Entries for the 2023 Design Incubation Educators Awards Competition.

Design Incubation announces a call for nominations and entries for the 2023 awards for communication design educators and graduate students 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 January 15, 2024 

ENTRY GUIDELINES

Entries will be accepted until January 15, 2024. 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
  • $20 entry fee donation

2023 JURY

Steven McCarthy (Chair), University of Minnesota

Helen Armstrong
Professor
North Carolina State University

Anne H. Berry
Associate Professor
Cleveland State University

Warren Lehrer
Founding Faculty
School of Visual Arts, MFA Design

Ana Raposo
Lecturer
ESAD – Escola Superior de Arte e Design
Porto, Portugal

Neeta Verma
Associate Professor
University of Notre Dame

BIOGRAPHIES

Helen Armstrong

Helen Armstrong is Professor of Graphic & Experience Design at North Carolina State University. She has an MFA in Graphic Design from The Maryland Institute College of Art. Armstrong has authored several books including her latest: Big Data, Big Design: Why Designers Should Care About Artificial Intelligence. Armstrong is a past member of the AIGA National Board of Directors and she served on the editorial board of the journal Design and Culture.

Anne H. Berry

Anne H. Berry is Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Design at Cleveland State University. She has an MFA in graphic design from Kent State University. Her research focuses on race and representation in design, and ethnic and racial disparities within the field of graphic design. Berry was managing editor of the book The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Expression, and Reflection, which was included in Fast Company’s “Best Design Books of 2022.”

Warren Lehrer

Warren Lehrer is a founding faculty member of SVA’s Designer as Author/Entrepreneur MFA program and Professor Emeritus at Purchase College, SUNY. Lehrer has an MFA from Yale University, is a writer and designer known internationally as a pioneer in the fields of visual literature and design authorship. His artists’ books and multimedia projects have been widely exhibited and are in many collections including MoMA, The Met, Pompidou Centre, and Tate Gallery. Among many honors, he is a 2019 Ladislav Sutnar Laureate, and 2016 Center for Book Arts Honoree.

Steven McCarthy (Chair)

Steven McCarthy is Professor Emeritus of graphic design at the University of Minnesota. He has an MFA from Stanford University. He authored the book The Designer As… Author, Producer, Activist, Entrepreneur, Curator and Collaborator: New Models for Communicating. McCarthy’s creative work has been in over 135 juried and invitational exhibitions and has been honored by the AIGA, STA 100 and Graphis Poster. He has published in the journals Design Issues, Message, Visible Language, Design and Culture, She Ji, and AIGA Dialectic, and occasionally writes for Eye magazine.

Ana Raposo

Ana Raposo is Lecturer at art and design academy ESAD (Escola Superior de Arte e Design) located in Porto, Portugal. She is a graphic designer, educator and design researcher who has a PhD from Central Saint Martins / University of the Arts, London. Raposo has published a number of journal articles about punk rock music graphics, facism and politics and has presented at the Design History Society conference and the Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association national conference.

Neeta Verma

Neeta Verma is an Associate Professor of Visual Communication Design at the University of Notre Dame. She has an MFA from Yale University. Verma’s areas of research and teaching explore the critical use of design as a tool for social equity and justice. She has been the recipient of numerous awards. Her professional design work includes clients such as the American Red Cross, Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, Liberty Science Center, The New York Botanical Garden, The New York Public Library, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and The Wildlife Conservation Society.