Colloquium Abstract Submissions

Facilitating Justice through Design Research

Mariam Asad Graduate student Georgia Institute of Technology Whereas much academic scholarship engages with the concepts and principles of justice; design research is a unique opportunity to challenge oppression by leveraging design-based resources and practices. This presentation will discuss some concrete and pragmatic examples of design research work that tries to materially contributes to community-based … Continue reading “Facilitating Justice through Design Research”

Material Voice: Communicating with Substrates

Meridyth Espindola Graduate student Vermont College of Fine Arts BFA, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth In the context of graphic design, we translate material significance through substrate semiotics. While substrates are necessary for the representation of visual art and design, that’s not all they do. They also send messages through visual and haptic communication. We can … Continue reading “Material Voice: Communicating with Substrates”

How AI is Changing Design

Scott Theisen Executive Creative Director Deloitte Digital Everyday a few more pieces of software and technology are being worked on, distributed and connected using some flavor of AI. What does this mean for how we design artifacts, software and services? What might this mean for us as professionals? How might this start to change our … Continue reading “How AI is Changing Design”

A Tool for Understanding: Giving Voice to Diverse, Non-traditional and Low-Income Students Through Teaching Letterpress Printing

Vida Sacic Associate Professor Northeastern Illinois University Visual communication skills provide a backbone for participation in a shared cultural exchange. Yet, universities often fail to offer tangible ways to foster long term accessibility and inclusion. Northeastern Illinois University is among the nation’s leaders at graduating students with the least debt while serving the most diverse … Continue reading “A Tool for Understanding: Giving Voice to Diverse, Non-traditional and Low-Income Students Through Teaching Letterpress Printing”

Evolving Graphic Design from Serving Industry to Fulfilling Fundamental Human Needs

Gareth Fry Assistant Professor Utah Valley University In the same way that discussions about critical issues in our society’s past were once buried and eventually found a foothold in public discourse, graphic design must be shaken from its hypnotic focus on serving industry and refocused on the fulfillment of fundamental human needs. This presentation seeks … Continue reading “Evolving Graphic Design from Serving Industry to Fulfilling Fundamental Human Needs”

Design as Performance

A. Marcel Graduate student Vermont College of Fine Arts “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.” Hannah … Continue reading “Design as Performance”

A Taste of Miami: Mentors, Creative Teams, Award Shows

John Delacruz Associate Professor of Advertising School of Journalism and Mass Communications  San Jose State University A mentor is a friendly guide who helps a less experienced person by demonstrating positive behaviors. To be effective, a mentor’s role is to be dependable, engaged, authentic, and tuned into the mentee’s needs and limitations. Mentoring is important because students … Continue reading “A Taste of Miami: Mentors, Creative Teams, Award Shows”

Lowering Barriers to Access at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

Teaching Award Winner Helen Armstrong Associate Professor North Carolina State University Armstrong’s advanced graphic design studio course, GD400, took on an acute problem for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS). One of the museum’s key exhibitions—the Acrocanthosaurus Exhibition—repelled visitors on the autism spectrum. The space was so overwhelming for these visitors that they … Continue reading “Lowering Barriers to Access at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences”