#DI2025feb – Design Incubation

Designing Inclusive Engagements in Neighborhood Design Projects

Examining methods and comparing measures in civic research.

D.J. Trischler
Assistant Professor
University of Cincinnati

In my previous civic communication design work, I typically finished projects knowing we missed essential voices even though we intended to invite broad participation. Increasingly, communication designers, in partnership with institutions like universities, city councils, and non-profits, engage in civic projects in spaces like neighborhoods. Like me, they aim to include various levels of engagement to represent and improve the quality of life of the whole community. Therefore, there is a need for expanded practical knowledge available for communication designers when facilitating inclusive engagement methods on a civic design project.

In this presentation, I will study the exploratory design research phase within three adjacent diverse neighborhoods in a Midwest city. I previously published the results of what I gathered about the neighborhoods. However, there is more to share about the methods used to collect that information — interviews, a survey, design ethnography, a photo voice study, and a custom-designed paper questionnaire, including a co-design activity. Accordingly, this presentation will examine each method and compare measures like representation, effort, quality of the responses, and the role of communication design. My goal is to aid designers as they plan their methods during the early stages of a civic design project, specifically when neighborhood-centered.

Initial comparisons showed that some methods led to more inclusive representation and sparked better connections with neighbors. As such, I argue that designers use various methods, namely those that move them into the community and incorporate communication design skills to shape friendlier, seemingly rudimentary data-gathering and dialogue-building tools.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.2: Annual CAA Conference 2025 (Hybrid) on Friday, February 14, 2025.

Collaborative Creativity and Digital Identity: Reimagining Authorship in the Digital Age

Insights into how the adaptability of digital content fosters both individual and collective creativity.

Feixue Mei
Assistant Professor
James Madison University

In the digital era, the continuous reshaping and reinterpretation of content have challenged traditional concepts of authorship, identity, and community, presenting new possibilities for communication design. This project explores how dynamic digital platforms enable collaborative artistic practices and engage communities in co-creating evolving representations of identity.
Drawing on Heather Warren-Crow’s theory of “plastic images,” this research examines how artists, designers, and fan communities leverage the adaptability of digital media to create participatory environments. The case study of virtual pop star Hatsune Miku—whose identity is continually redefined by fan contributions—illustrates how digital communities transform media representations, leading to new forms of collective expression that challenge established norms.

This study is especially relevant in today’s digital landscape, where the roles of creator and audience are increasingly blurred. By analyzing how collaborative digital practices disrupt conventional notions of authorship and originality, the project addresses the ethical and theoretical implications of intellectual property and creative ownership in an age where content is perpetually reinterpreted.

Ultimately, this research offers insights into how the adaptability of digital content fosters both individual and collective creativity, influencing communication design and the broader cultural landscape. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how collaborative creativity within digital spaces is reshaping communication design and contributing to cultural and social transformations.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.2: Annual CAA Conference 2025 (Hybrid) on Friday, February 14, 2025.

Design History Data: A Snapshot of US-based Undergraduate Programs

Graduating students may not understand the historical conditions that created their discipline.

Aggie Toppins
Associate Professor
Washington University in St. Louis

Design history is not a firmly established field in the United States. Scholars Grace Lees-Maffei and Rebecca Houze show how in the UK, by contrast, educational reforms in the 1970s mandated that colleges offer subject-specific contextual studies, creating demand for design historians in studio programs and initiating the field’s growth in Europe. Although many early graphic design historians were American educators, most colleges here offer little design history content. Consequently, graduating students may not understand the historical conditions that created their discipline.

NASAD Data Summaries show that enrollment in communication design programs is eclipsing studio art, yet most design students are required to study art history. The author will argue that as design professions contend with new forms of automated labor, skills in historical thinking—described by Andrews and Burke through the “five Cs” of change over time, context, causality, contingency, and complexity—are as useful as analyzing aesthetic objects. Design conferences and journals have recently spotlighted design history pedagogy, questioning its entanglements with connoisseurship and canonicity, and with capitalism and imperialism. How are these trends making an impact on design history education today?

In this presentation, I share insights from data I collected on 345 US-based undergraduate programs in communication design. The data affirms that the survey course is often the only touchpoint graphic design students have with design history. I aggregated information about these courses from academic bulletins, course catalogs, and program websites, and verified facts with faculty. The data contributes evidence for current practices and patterns of change in course titles and descriptions (which indicate common approaches and themes), textbook choices, and faculty training. The data will serve as a useful resource for educators looking to situate their curriculum in current discourse, and for administrators in positions to advocate for faculty hires and curricular revision.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.2: Annual CAA Conference 2025 (Hybrid) on Friday, February 14, 2025.

Design Incubation Colloquium 11.2: Annual CAA Conference 2025 (Hybrid)

Presentations and discussion in Research and Scholarship in Communication Design at the 113th Annual CAA Conference 2025

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. Be sure to watch the online video presentations before attending this event.

Friday, February 14, 2025
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
New York Hilton Midtown – 2nd Floor – Sutton North

CHAIRS

Camila Afanador-Llach
Florida Atlantic University

Heather Snyder Quinn
DePaul University

Discussants

Jessica Barness
Kent State University

Cat Normoyle
East Carolina University

Dan Wong
New York City College of Technology, CUNY

PRESENTATIONS

Design History Data: A Snapshot of US-based Undergraduate Programs
Aggie Toppins
Associate Professor
Washington University in St. Louis

Editorial Infographics: Bridging the Gap Between Complexity and Clarity in Design Education
Teresa Trevino
Professor
University of the Incarnate Word

The Bayou at y.our Doorstep: Integrating Environmental Education in Graphic Design
Natacha Poggio
Associate Professor
University of Houston Downtown

Collaborative Creativity and Digital Identity: Reimagining Authorship in the Digital Age
Feixue Mei
Assistant Professor
James Madison University

Designing Inclusive Engagements in Neighborhood Design Projects
D.J. Trischler
Assistant Professor
University of Cincinnati

Service Design for Digital Tours: The Rixing Type Foundry Case
Ting Han Chen
Adjunct Associate Professor Rank Specialist
Yuan-Ze University, Taiwan

Enhancing Design Education: Students Skill Development through Technology in Blended Learning Environments
Danilo Bojić
Associate Professor
Winona State University

Black Space Protocols: On Anti-Racist Placemaking and Urban Design
Nekita Thomas
Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Editorial Infographics: Bridging the Gap Between Complexity and Clarity in Design Education

Students now more effectively understand and display text, images and data.

Teresa Trevino
Professor
University of the Incarnate Word

Francesco Franchi, graphic journalist, described infographics as “impossibility in its purest form,” using the Penrose triangle to illustrate the complex coexistence of content, design, and data. This reflects the challenges that information designers face when aiming to inform and engage overstimulated audiences.

These challenges resonated in our Information Design studio course. While students begin the semester with enthusiasm, a shift occurs when transitioning from research to design. Confusion often sets in as they struggle to create effective visualization. Observing this recurring pattern over the years, I recently implemented a subtle yet significant change that led to improved outcomes.

An original 5-week Infographic assignment became the current 8-week “Editorial Infographics” project. Students begin researching and gathering information for a newsletter. The revised assignment required students to design all pages including an infographic as the central spread. Despite the complexity added by merging Editorial and Information design as a unit, students now more effectively understand and display text, images and data.

References such as Franchi’s work for La Repubblica and Intelligent Lifestyle Magazine, along with Manuel Lima’s The Book of Trees: Visualizing Branches of Knowledge, and Nigel Holmes’ Map of Infographia and Infographic Design were instrumental.

The extended project introduced a learning curve, with some resistance to the longer assignments. However, most students reported increased confidence and have incorporated these skills into other projects, with some receiving recognition at design competitions and publications.

I will continue refining this project to enhance students’ information design skills and better prepare them for future challenges.

This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 11.2: Annual CAA Conference 2025 (Hybrid) on Friday, February 14, 2025.

Colloquium 11.2: CAA Conference 2025 Call for Submissions

113th CAA Annual Conference, Hybrid format.
Deadline for abstract submissions: August 29, 2024.

We invite abstract submissions on presentation topics relevant to Communication Design research. Submissions should fall into one or more of the following areas: scholarly research, case studies, creative practice, or design pedagogy. We welcome proposals on a variety of topics across the field of communication design.

Submit an abstract of 300 words using the Design Incubation abstract submission form found here (indicating preference for virtual or in-person session):
https://designincubation.com/call-for-submissions/

Submissions are double-blind peer-reviewed. Reviewers’ feedback will be returned. Accepted presentation abstracts will be published on the Design Incubation website.

A 6-minute videotaped presentation is required for participation. The video is due on January 15, 2025. It will be published on the Design Incubation YouTube channel.

The 113th Annual CAA conference session will consist of live presentations plus a moderated discussion.

113th CAA Annual Conference
Virtual and New York City
February 12–15, 2025
Live presentations and moderated discussion in a hybrid format.

Presenters are required to follow the basic membership and fee requirements of CAA.

We are accepting abstracts for presentations now until August 29, 2024.

Tag: #DI2025feb

Designing Inclusive Engagements in Neighborhood Design Projects

Like this:

Collaborative Creativity and Digital Identity: Reimagining Authorship in the Digital Age

Like this:

Design History Data: A Snapshot of US-based Undergraduate Programs

Like this: