Week 1: 1/11/21
Syllabus & Expectations
Syllabus & Expectations
Instructor
Philip DiBello
pdibello@sva.edu
Course Description
This course will provide a emphasis on developing your sensitivity to typography through both restrictive and open-ended assignments. Projects will be a combination of experimentation and formal exercises with a focus on typographic systems. Together we will discover the details of macro and micro typography.
Theory, dialogue, process and personal practice will be central themes discussed to establish your own opinions about design. Classes are a combination of critique, in-class workshops, and one-on-one meetings with occasional guest lectures and critiques.
Throughout the semester readings will be assigned along with each project. They are central to your comprehension of the task at hand. There is often a clue or process within these readings that will unlock the assignment. Read them carefully.
Student Expectations
This course is constructed for a higher level junior design student. It assumes you already have knowledge of fundamental design and typographic principals. Some assignments will be open ended. You must take initiative in every project and make it your own. You’re expected to engage in critique, both by giving and receiving feedback.
Your level of effort will dictate your success in this class. You must be disciplined and self-motivated. Be willing to put in the time.
This is a space to discuss and understand graphic design. You’re here for yourself. Not to please your peers, or your professors, or other outside sources. We will intentionally subvert “real world” concerns, they mean nothing to what we can achieve in the classroom. Ask questions, challenge your critique and yourself, always strive to improve.
Attendance is critically important to the success of your assignments and your letter grade. You’re required to be in class at it’s start time. Once you walk into the classroom please display your work before you do anything else. It should be hung on the wall, uploaded to the class computer, or set on a table and prepped for presentation. Take pride in your work and display it properly, hang things straight and in an orderly grid, etc.
Attendance Policy
You’re given one absence without repercussion. Missing a second class is an automatic C. If you miss three classes you will be withdrawn from the course, no exceptions. Tardiness will not be tolerated. Class starts promptly at 3:20, and the classroom door will be closed at 3:30. If the door is closed you are not permitted to enter and your tardiness will be counted as an absence.
Grading Breakdown
Grades are a combination of the quality of your work, class participation and progress. Simply showing up will not make you pass the course. You must be prepared for the days lesson, completing any homework or readings assigned and ready to discuss.
A
Your work is of exceptional quality and reflects mastery of the material covered in class. Your class participation is outstanding. Your craft is impeccable and you find ways to push design and materiality. You consistently add something new to every project or push your capabilities. Your work steadily improved throughout the semester.
B
Your work is very good and satisfies the goals of the course. You participate in class discussion. Continue to refine your craft, and find those moments to take initiative in any given project and push it beyond it’s boundaries.
C
Your work meets the standards of the course. You could speak up or engage more often during class discussion. Be willing to take more chances with craft and production. You turn in assignments and did not miss more than one class.
F
Your work did not meet the requirements for this class. You did not complete all projects or missed 3 classes. You will receive no credit.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Students found to have committed an act of academic dishonesty will fail the assignment for which an infraction is suspected and substantiated. More serious violations will be handled through the process enumerated in the SVA Handbook. Put simply, make sure your work is your own.
Students with Disabilities
SVA is committed to providing students with access to their academic programs and courses. If you are a student with a disability and require accommodations, you must register with Disability Resources by visiting sva.edu/disabilityresources and completing an online accommodation request. To be eligible for accommodations in this course, students must provide the instructor with a letter of accommodation from Disability Resources. For questions or assistance, please call Disability Resources at 212-592-2396, or visit the office: 340 East 24th Street, New York, NY 10010, or email disabilityservices@sva.edu
SVA Attendance Policy
The SVA Handbook says: The School of Visual Arts is a professional art college dedicated to teaching and learning. Attendance is required in all courses, and the individual faculty member determines the number of acceptable absences, if any.
All students are expected to participate and keep their cameras on for the duration of all synchronous class sessions. Failure to do so may result in reduction of grade, at the discretion of the faculty, unless the student has received permission in advance from the faculty member. Students should refer to the “netiquette” section in the Student Knowledge Base to familiarize themselves with best practices for online learning.
Pronouns and Chosen Names
Students may indicate their pronouns and preferred/chosen first name through MyServices; this information will then appear on class rosters and select " Edit Personal Identity").
Please let your instructor know the preferred name and pronouns by which you would like to be referred, if that information does not already appear on the roster. A student’s chosen name and pronouns should be respected at all times.
Suggested Books
Designing Books by Jost Hochuli ➺PDF
Detail In Typography by Jost Hochuli ➺PDF
The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli ➺PDF
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst ➺PDF
Typographie: A Manual of Design by Emil Ruder
The New Typography by Jan Tschichold
Grid Systems / Raster Systeme by Josef Müller-Brockmann
The Typographic Desk Reference By Theo Rosendorf
Designing Type by Karen Cheng
Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees by Robert Irwin
Design and Crime (And Other Diatribes) by Hal Foster
Multiple Signatures by Michael Rock
Design as Art by Bruno Munari
Suggested Websites
Butterick’s Practical Typography
Don’t Fear the Internet: Basic HTML & CSS
The Elements of Typographic Style (Web)
Programming Design Systems
Type Resources
Type Resources
✳ Classics
—ITC
—Monotype
—Font Shop
—Linotype
—URW++
✳ Foundries & Independent Type Designers
—Commercial Type
—Klim Type Foundry (Kris Sowersby)
—Grilli Type
—Swiss Typefaces
—Colophon Foundry
—Optimo
—Lineto
—Our Type
—Tobias Frere-Jones
—Hoefler & Co.
—Production Type
—Letters From Sweden
—Playtype
—Bold Monday
—A2 Type
—Open Foundry (decent, free fonts)
✳ Newer Foundries & Contemporaries
—Dinamo
—Radim Pesko
—Milieu Grotesque
—Schick Toikka
—Camelot Typefaces
—Medium Extra Bold
—Or Type
—Oh No Type Co.
—Future Fonts
—A is for
—The Pyte Foundry
—Polytype
—Out of the Dark
—Pizza Typefaces
Philip DiBello
pdibello@sva.edu
Course Description
This course will provide a emphasis on developing your sensitivity to typography through both restrictive and open-ended assignments. Projects will be a combination of experimentation and formal exercises with a focus on typographic systems. Together we will discover the details of macro and micro typography.
Theory, dialogue, process and personal practice will be central themes discussed to establish your own opinions about design. Classes are a combination of critique, in-class workshops, and one-on-one meetings with occasional guest lectures and critiques.
Throughout the semester readings will be assigned along with each project. They are central to your comprehension of the task at hand. There is often a clue or process within these readings that will unlock the assignment. Read them carefully.
Student Expectations
This course is constructed for a higher level junior design student. It assumes you already have knowledge of fundamental design and typographic principals. Some assignments will be open ended. You must take initiative in every project and make it your own. You’re expected to engage in critique, both by giving and receiving feedback.
Your level of effort will dictate your success in this class. You must be disciplined and self-motivated. Be willing to put in the time.
This is a space to discuss and understand graphic design. You’re here for yourself. Not to please your peers, or your professors, or other outside sources. We will intentionally subvert “real world” concerns, they mean nothing to what we can achieve in the classroom. Ask questions, challenge your critique and yourself, always strive to improve.
Attendance is critically important to the success of your assignments and your letter grade. You’re required to be in class at it’s start time. Once you walk into the classroom please display your work before you do anything else. It should be hung on the wall, uploaded to the class computer, or set on a table and prepped for presentation. Take pride in your work and display it properly, hang things straight and in an orderly grid, etc.
Attendance Policy
You’re given one absence without repercussion. Missing a second class is an automatic C. If you miss three classes you will be withdrawn from the course, no exceptions. Tardiness will not be tolerated. Class starts promptly at 3:20, and the classroom door will be closed at 3:30. If the door is closed you are not permitted to enter and your tardiness will be counted as an absence.
Grading Breakdown
Grades are a combination of the quality of your work, class participation and progress. Simply showing up will not make you pass the course. You must be prepared for the days lesson, completing any homework or readings assigned and ready to discuss.
A
Your work is of exceptional quality and reflects mastery of the material covered in class. Your class participation is outstanding. Your craft is impeccable and you find ways to push design and materiality. You consistently add something new to every project or push your capabilities. Your work steadily improved throughout the semester.
B
Your work is very good and satisfies the goals of the course. You participate in class discussion. Continue to refine your craft, and find those moments to take initiative in any given project and push it beyond it’s boundaries.
C
Your work meets the standards of the course. You could speak up or engage more often during class discussion. Be willing to take more chances with craft and production. You turn in assignments and did not miss more than one class.
F
Your work did not meet the requirements for this class. You did not complete all projects or missed 3 classes. You will receive no credit.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Students found to have committed an act of academic dishonesty will fail the assignment for which an infraction is suspected and substantiated. More serious violations will be handled through the process enumerated in the SVA Handbook. Put simply, make sure your work is your own.
Students with Disabilities
SVA is committed to providing students with access to their academic programs and courses. If you are a student with a disability and require accommodations, you must register with Disability Resources by visiting sva.edu/disabilityresources and completing an online accommodation request. To be eligible for accommodations in this course, students must provide the instructor with a letter of accommodation from Disability Resources. For questions or assistance, please call Disability Resources at 212-592-2396, or visit the office: 340 East 24th Street, New York, NY 10010, or email disabilityservices@sva.edu
SVA Attendance Policy
The SVA Handbook says: The School of Visual Arts is a professional art college dedicated to teaching and learning. Attendance is required in all courses, and the individual faculty member determines the number of acceptable absences, if any.
All students are expected to participate and keep their cameras on for the duration of all synchronous class sessions. Failure to do so may result in reduction of grade, at the discretion of the faculty, unless the student has received permission in advance from the faculty member. Students should refer to the “netiquette” section in the Student Knowledge Base to familiarize themselves with best practices for online learning.
Pronouns and Chosen Names
Students may indicate their pronouns and preferred/chosen first name through MyServices; this information will then appear on class rosters and select " Edit Personal Identity").
Please let your instructor know the preferred name and pronouns by which you would like to be referred, if that information does not already appear on the roster. A student’s chosen name and pronouns should be respected at all times.
Suggested Books
Designing Books by Jost Hochuli ➺PDF
Detail In Typography by Jost Hochuli ➺PDF
The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli ➺PDF
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst ➺PDF
Typographie: A Manual of Design by Emil Ruder
The New Typography by Jan Tschichold
Grid Systems / Raster Systeme by Josef Müller-Brockmann
The Typographic Desk Reference By Theo Rosendorf
Designing Type by Karen Cheng
Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees by Robert Irwin
Design and Crime (And Other Diatribes) by Hal Foster
Multiple Signatures by Michael Rock
Design as Art by Bruno Munari
Suggested Websites
Butterick’s Practical Typography
Don’t Fear the Internet: Basic HTML & CSS
The Elements of Typographic Style (Web)
Programming Design Systems
Type Resources
Type Resources
✳ Classics
—ITC
—Monotype
—Font Shop
—Linotype
—URW++
✳ Foundries & Independent Type Designers
—Commercial Type
—Klim Type Foundry (Kris Sowersby)
—Grilli Type
—Swiss Typefaces
—Colophon Foundry
—Optimo
—Lineto
—Our Type
—Tobias Frere-Jones
—Hoefler & Co.
—Production Type
—Letters From Sweden
—Playtype
—Bold Monday
—A2 Type
—Open Foundry (decent, free fonts)
✳ Newer Foundries & Contemporaries
—Dinamo
—Radim Pesko
—Milieu Grotesque
—Schick Toikka
—Camelot Typefaces
—Medium Extra Bold
—Or Type
—Oh No Type Co.
—Future Fonts
—A is for
—The Pyte Foundry
—Polytype
—Out of the Dark
—Pizza Typefaces
Week 2: 1/18/21
Assignment 1: Do One Thing Well
Assignment 1: Do One Thing Well
Design an interactive, screen based single function interface for mobile devices. It should do no more or less than one function. Your interface should respond to a users input, meaning when it is scrolled, tapped, pinched or controlled in any way by a user interaction it should respond to the gesture. Your design can be functional or abstract.
Your final deliverable is an interactive prototype to be viewed on your phone. Design and prototype your interface in Figma for your mobile device’s screen size. Your app should include all states and animations necessary to explain your interface. Because I assume you have limited or no programming experience, I expect your prototype to be a demonstration of how your interface works. It does not have to be fully functional, which is why we call it a prototype. Present your work in Figma’s prototype view for review next class.
SCREEN DIMENSIONS
iPhone 11 Pro / X
—375x812px
iPhone 13 / 13 Pro
—390x844px
iPhone 13 Pro Max
—428x926px
READING
Our reading for this assignment is Frank Chimero’s 2013 essay What Screens Want. Frank discusses an approach for designing interfaces, and discusses interactive design’s history.
EXAMPLES
John Provencher’s screen based interface distorts the image captured by your phone’s camera to create an abstract texture. The user can record a screenshot or video of the current color palette to their phone’s Photos.
Apple’s Measure (level) is a perfect example of a single function interface that meets this assignments requirements. It is both beautiful and simple to use.
Bloom by Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers is an interactive instrument that creates looping, generative music.
Rafaël Rozendaal creates beautiful, sometimes meaningless, internet art.
Zander Whitehurst shares short, succinct figma prototype tutorials on Instagram. You can learn a basic understanding of the workflow by watching his tips.
Your final deliverable is an interactive prototype to be viewed on your phone. Design and prototype your interface in Figma for your mobile device’s screen size. Your app should include all states and animations necessary to explain your interface. Because I assume you have limited or no programming experience, I expect your prototype to be a demonstration of how your interface works. It does not have to be fully functional, which is why we call it a prototype. Present your work in Figma’s prototype view for review next class.
SCREEN DIMENSIONS
iPhone 11 Pro / X
—375x812px
iPhone 13 / 13 Pro
—390x844px
iPhone 13 Pro Max
—428x926px
READING
Our reading for this assignment is Frank Chimero’s 2013 essay What Screens Want. Frank discusses an approach for designing interfaces, and discusses interactive design’s history.
EXAMPLES
John Provencher’s screen based interface distorts the image captured by your phone’s camera to create an abstract texture. The user can record a screenshot or video of the current color palette to their phone’s Photos.
Apple’s Measure (level) is a perfect example of a single function interface that meets this assignments requirements. It is both beautiful and simple to use.
Bloom by Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers is an interactive instrument that creates looping, generative music.
Rafaël Rozendaal creates beautiful, sometimes meaningless, internet art.
Zander Whitehurst shares short, succinct figma prototype tutorials on Instagram. You can learn a basic understanding of the workflow by watching his tips.
Week 3: 1/25/21
Assignment 1: Do One Thing Well
Assignment 1: Do One Thing Well
Create a final, fully functional prototype of your interactive interface. It should sufficiently do one thing well. Load your prototype on your phone and have it ready to present to the class.
Lots of people say “graphic design is problem solving”. I’m not sure I fully agree, but there is a “problem solving” component to what we do. Even if it’s creating clarity and visual harmony, that could be solving a problem. I would argue good graphic design is not just “window dressing” or “decorating”.
Your interface can solve a number of problems. Maybe it tells me the time. Maybe it tells me what podcast to listen to. Maybe it shows me if something is level. Maybe it generates random faces. It can be a useful tool, or it can not be useful at all. But do these things need to exist? What would you find useful if you had to design anything?
Don’t get hung up on the ‘problem solving’ part too much, the thing you’ll realize quickly is that it’s a lot harder than it seems to do one thing well. And most of this will be a process in reduction. Do you need to add that extra step? Would it work better if something were moved here? Or interacted with this way?
Watch the above lecture by Bob Gill. Bob Gill (b. Brooklyn, New York, January 17, 1931) is an American illustrator and graphic designer. April Fool's Day, 1962, Gill, Alan Fletcher and Colin Forbes established Fletcher/Forbes/Gill design studio, the forerunner of Pentagram. In 1967, Gill left the partnership and assumed independent freelancing again, including teaching, filmmaking and writing children’s books. He lives and practices in New York.
Andy Pressman dicsusses functional interfaces, and the merits of friction within user interaction.
Lots of people say “graphic design is problem solving”. I’m not sure I fully agree, but there is a “problem solving” component to what we do. Even if it’s creating clarity and visual harmony, that could be solving a problem. I would argue good graphic design is not just “window dressing” or “decorating”.
Your interface can solve a number of problems. Maybe it tells me the time. Maybe it tells me what podcast to listen to. Maybe it shows me if something is level. Maybe it generates random faces. It can be a useful tool, or it can not be useful at all. But do these things need to exist? What would you find useful if you had to design anything?
Don’t get hung up on the ‘problem solving’ part too much, the thing you’ll realize quickly is that it’s a lot harder than it seems to do one thing well. And most of this will be a process in reduction. Do you need to add that extra step? Would it work better if something were moved here? Or interacted with this way?
Watch the above lecture by Bob Gill. Bob Gill (b. Brooklyn, New York, January 17, 1931) is an American illustrator and graphic designer. April Fool's Day, 1962, Gill, Alan Fletcher and Colin Forbes established Fletcher/Forbes/Gill design studio, the forerunner of Pentagram. In 1967, Gill left the partnership and assumed independent freelancing again, including teaching, filmmaking and writing children’s books. He lives and practices in New York.
Andy Pressman dicsusses functional interfaces, and the merits of friction within user interaction.
Week 4: 2/1/21
Assignment 2: Type Person: Spreads
Assignment 2: Type Person: Spreads
*UPDATE* Todays class will be held virtually. Please prepare a PDF of your work to screen share. We will discuss your Type Personification Book starting at 3:20pm. Please spread the word and make sure your classmates are aware of the change. Zoom Link.
When discussing typography we tend to use human characteristics to describe what we’re seeing. We call parts of letters arms, legs, chins, shoulders, spines… When we describe a typeface we might personify the alphabet by calling it friendly and bubbly, or serious and stark.
For next week you’re tasked to pick a person. You need to find a typeface that connects to the person in some way. Maybe you try to find something that feels like their appearance, or you focus on their personality, or their body of work, etc. Whatever the case, be ready to explain your rationale. Avoid overly expressive typefaces unless you have a really good reason. Try to find beauty in the details.
Design a french-folded book that should relate to the person somehow, and must use your typeface. The book should be at least 22 pages (10 spreads), plus a front and back cover (cover not included in page requirement). The page size must be 8.5×11”, spread size 11×17”. The book must be french folded. Your cover type is up to you (soft cover, hard cover, screw post, japanese stab, etc.). Take what you learned about book production and bring it to this project.
Next, print out a specimen poster that includes every character of the typeface, uppercase and lowercase, including punctuation. This doesn’t have to be overly designed. Make the letters as large as you can, black text on white, 11×17”.
Lastly, print a portrait of your person at 8.5×11”.Choose your typeface wisely. If in doubt, pick something classic and well drawn.
Next week print your spreads single sided. Hang your work on the wall in sequence.
DELIVERABLES
Type Specimen Poster
Person Portrait
At least 22 pages (10 spreads)
—Page size: 8.5×11”
—French Folded
Week 5: 2/8/21
Assignment 2: *Class Cancelled
Assignment 2: *Class Cancelled
Apologies but unfortunately I have to cancel class Tuesday. Take the next week to continue on the second round of your Type Person book and we'll pick up where we left off Tuesday 2.15.
Week 6: 2/15/21
Assignment 2: Type Person: Dummy
Assignment 2: Type Person: Dummy
Take todays feedback into consideration and continue to refine your book. Next week loosly bind your french folded pages with binder clips so we can review in the round and flip through your work. Bring samples if possible to illustrate your concept. Design your front and back cover and make any revisions to your page spreads.
We want a fairly substantial dummy of your final, so start to think about binding method and paper quality. Find references online, in the library, a bookstore, etc.
Checklist —
➺ Format and thickness
➺ Proportions of Spread
➺ Margins & Grid
➺ Typeface Selection
➺ Text Setting
➺ Paper, Printing, Production
➺ Binding
➺ Front & Back Covers
➺ Object Quality as a Whole
READ
New York–based designer Geoff Han is known for using interesting print techniques and materials in his work. Read the Walker Interview and gain some insight into his process.
We want a fairly substantial dummy of your final, so start to think about binding method and paper quality. Find references online, in the library, a bookstore, etc.
Checklist —
➺ Format and thickness
➺ Proportions of Spread
➺ Margins & Grid
➺ Typeface Selection
➺ Text Setting
➺ Paper, Printing, Production
➺ Binding
➺ Front & Back Covers
➺ Object Quality as a Whole
READ
New York–based designer Geoff Han is known for using interesting print techniques and materials in his work. Read the Walker Interview and gain some insight into his process.
Week 7: 2/22/21
Assignment 2: Type Person: Final
Assignment 2: Type Person: Final
Bring in your final book along with your poster and portrait. We want to see beautiful, well crafted books. Lean into your strengths, consider materials, and challenge yourself.
Checklist —
➺ Format and thickness
➺ Proportions of Spread
➺ Margins & Grid
➺ Typeface Selection
➺ Text Setting
➺ Paper, Printing, Production
➺ Binding
➺ Front & Back Covers
➺ Object Quality as a Whole
Other Libraby is a resource to view rare and beautiful books. Care and attention to detail has been documented and described by Other Work.
Informational Affairs is an ever growing index of books collected by Folder Studio. Many of the books are typical of their time, but when considered in a modern context, offer something unexpected.
Checklist —
➺ Format and thickness
➺ Proportions of Spread
➺ Margins & Grid
➺ Typeface Selection
➺ Text Setting
➺ Paper, Printing, Production
➺ Binding
➺ Front & Back Covers
➺ Object Quality as a Whole
Other Libraby is a resource to view rare and beautiful books. Care and attention to detail has been documented and described by Other Work.
Informational Affairs is an ever growing index of books collected by Folder Studio. Many of the books are typical of their time, but when considered in a modern context, offer something unexpected.
Week 8: 3/8/21
Object Project: Research
Object Project: Research
Object Project: Research
Choose an object that resonates with you. It can be anything you like, but should be something that stimulates you visually and critically. You’ll be using this as the pillar of your identity project, so choose wisely. Consider this objects materiality, history, lineage, function, and so forth. It can be old, attached with personal meaning, or brand new.
You will be presenting your object to the class in the form of a two minute scripted presentation or video which is a deep analysis of your object. Upload your presentation to the Google Drive Folder under week 8. The following weeks will be focusing on designing a larger project which is based on your analysis and research. Trust the process. Go into this project with no preconceived notions. You need to let the object guide you.
PART 1: Research Presentation
Show your research in the form of a scripted presentation. Keep your presentation around 2 minutes. Your main goal is to explain how the ideas in your object are expressed through form, function and context. These should be a combination of subjective opinions and objective thoughts. Be as specific as possible, research and present even the most obvious themes and physical attributes (they might not be so obvious to us). Work on forming an opinion of the object, and explain it’s significance culturally and personally. Your presentation can take quantitative form as a traditional powerpoint with comparisons, statistics, interviews and visual collections or it can be crafted as an abstract visual exploration of the object. In both cases, keep in mind pacing, design, sequence, juxtaposition and tone. Your presentation should answer the following questions with thought and critical analysis of your object—
1. It’s history
2. Analysis of form
3. It’s users (past, present and future)
4. Associative meanings or other uses
5. Cultural context
6. Personal significance
7. 10 underlying themes uncovered
PART 2: Documentation of Form
Create a section of your presentation which is an exploration of your object both formally and representationally. You’re to bring 100 total images relating to your object.
For your first 75 slides, record and document your object. Explore every potential angle and facet. This should be an intimate documentation of your object, uncover things you’ve never noticed. Find beauty in the details.
Next, collect 25 images relating to your object. This should not be of the object itself, more like research. Found imagery can be sourced from online or in books, be broad and wide in your research. Are there schematics of blueprints of your object somewhere? Is it made by someone, if so does their company have a logo? Are there advertisements for your object? Be abstract in your research, find tangents. They’re often the most interesting.
75 slides: documentation of object
25 slides: 25 moodboard/research slides
Watch
Watch Michael Rock’s 2016 Bloomberg Businessweek lecture. Michael Rock is one of three founders of 2×4, a design consultancy located in New York and Beijing. He is a leader in design criticism and writing. His essays and thoughts will accompany this semesters assignments.
Example Presentations
Below are some previous student presentations to inspire you. Notice how each presentation follows the proposed outline, is well designed, and has a clear point of view.
AJ Kim
Eddy Lee
Daphne Chiang
Choose an object that resonates with you. It can be anything you like, but should be something that stimulates you visually and critically. You’ll be using this as the pillar of your identity project, so choose wisely. Consider this objects materiality, history, lineage, function, and so forth. It can be old, attached with personal meaning, or brand new.
You will be presenting your object to the class in the form of a two minute scripted presentation or video which is a deep analysis of your object. Upload your presentation to the Google Drive Folder under week 8. The following weeks will be focusing on designing a larger project which is based on your analysis and research. Trust the process. Go into this project with no preconceived notions. You need to let the object guide you.
PART 1: Research Presentation
Show your research in the form of a scripted presentation. Keep your presentation around 2 minutes. Your main goal is to explain how the ideas in your object are expressed through form, function and context. These should be a combination of subjective opinions and objective thoughts. Be as specific as possible, research and present even the most obvious themes and physical attributes (they might not be so obvious to us). Work on forming an opinion of the object, and explain it’s significance culturally and personally. Your presentation can take quantitative form as a traditional powerpoint with comparisons, statistics, interviews and visual collections or it can be crafted as an abstract visual exploration of the object. In both cases, keep in mind pacing, design, sequence, juxtaposition and tone. Your presentation should answer the following questions with thought and critical analysis of your object—
1. It’s history
2. Analysis of form
3. It’s users (past, present and future)
4. Associative meanings or other uses
5. Cultural context
6. Personal significance
7. 10 underlying themes uncovered
PART 2: Documentation of Form
Create a section of your presentation which is an exploration of your object both formally and representationally. You’re to bring 100 total images relating to your object.
For your first 75 slides, record and document your object. Explore every potential angle and facet. This should be an intimate documentation of your object, uncover things you’ve never noticed. Find beauty in the details.
Next, collect 25 images relating to your object. This should not be of the object itself, more like research. Found imagery can be sourced from online or in books, be broad and wide in your research. Are there schematics of blueprints of your object somewhere? Is it made by someone, if so does their company have a logo? Are there advertisements for your object? Be abstract in your research, find tangents. They’re often the most interesting.
75 slides: documentation of object
25 slides: 25 moodboard/research slides
Watch
Watch Michael Rock’s 2016 Bloomberg Businessweek lecture. Michael Rock is one of three founders of 2×4, a design consultancy located in New York and Beijing. He is a leader in design criticism and writing. His essays and thoughts will accompany this semesters assignments.
Example Presentations
Below are some previous student presentations to inspire you. Notice how each presentation follows the proposed outline, is well designed, and has a clear point of view.
AJ Kim
Eddy Lee
Daphne Chiang
Week 9: 3/15/21
Object Project: Digital
Object Project: Digital
Shift your focus from what your object is to what it suggests. Focus your effort on one theme or idea you’ve uncovered in your research. Think through what you’ve learned and find most interesting about your subject. Most importantly think through what you want to say about it.
Develop an audio or video based deliverable. Work towards making a piece that evokes what your object suggests. Your audio or video should be at least 30 seconds in length, but it can be longer. Next week conceptualize and create the audio/video component. If you’ve chosen audio, design a cover thumbnail for your piece.
Upload your work to this weeks Google Drive folder. Create a deck to describe your project, your process and final outcome. Lastly present your audio or video. This is crucial if we are to give you any feedback, we need to understand your concept before we can articulate any feedback. Remember, projects are not just about showing pretty things and asking “what do you think?”. Even if it’s post-rationalization, make sense of the thing you’re creating. Here is a guide to follow for your presentation:
PRESENT YOUR IDEA
1. The theme you’re focusing on
2. Your concept (idea) or north star
3. How your object suggests the theme and concept
Cite specific sources from your research (week 8)
4. Your work (video/ audio & cover art)
SUGGESTIONS
1. Field recording
2. Interview / podcast format (ref)
3. Musical composition
4. Ambient composition
5. Storytelling / podcast format (ref)
6. Supercut
7. Tutorial
8. Film / narrative / short story
9. Documentary
Ben Denzer, A Denzer Group, 2021. 8 mins 33 seconds. Objects from Paul Denzer’s office. Paper reproductions made by Ben Denzer from source photographs taken by Paul Denzer. Audio recordings from Paul Denzer.
William Basinski is an American avant-garde composer based in New York City. Basinski is best known for his four-volume album The Disintegration Loops, constructed from rapidly decaying twenty-year-old tapes of his earlier music.
WARNING: Graphic content and Violent imagery
Consider the role of foley in movies, or the sound effects created after the fact during the sound mixing process. Foley is a unique sound effect technique that involves creating and “performing” everyday sounds for movies and television shows. Foley artists create these sounds in a recording studio during post-production, in synchrony with the picture, to enhance the quality of the audio. Also see the Vice story The Secret To The Gruesome Sounds In Mortal Kombat Is Exploding Vegetables.
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Imagine the piece as a set of disconnected events
Give way to your worst impulse
Develop an audio or video based deliverable. Work towards making a piece that evokes what your object suggests. Your audio or video should be at least 30 seconds in length, but it can be longer. Next week conceptualize and create the audio/video component. If you’ve chosen audio, design a cover thumbnail for your piece.
Upload your work to this weeks Google Drive folder. Create a deck to describe your project, your process and final outcome. Lastly present your audio or video. This is crucial if we are to give you any feedback, we need to understand your concept before we can articulate any feedback. Remember, projects are not just about showing pretty things and asking “what do you think?”. Even if it’s post-rationalization, make sense of the thing you’re creating. Here is a guide to follow for your presentation:
PRESENT YOUR IDEA
1. The theme you’re focusing on
2. Your concept (idea) or north star
3. How your object suggests the theme and concept
Cite specific sources from your research (week 8)
4. Your work (video/ audio & cover art)
SUGGESTIONS
1. Field recording
2. Interview / podcast format (ref)
3. Musical composition
4. Ambient composition
5. Storytelling / podcast format (ref)
6. Supercut
7. Tutorial
8. Film / narrative / short story
9. Documentary
Ben Denzer, A Denzer Group, 2021. 8 mins 33 seconds. Objects from Paul Denzer’s office. Paper reproductions made by Ben Denzer from source photographs taken by Paul Denzer. Audio recordings from Paul Denzer.
William Basinski is an American avant-garde composer based in New York City. Basinski is best known for his four-volume album The Disintegration Loops, constructed from rapidly decaying twenty-year-old tapes of his earlier music.
WARNING: Graphic content and Violent imagery
Consider the role of foley in movies, or the sound effects created after the fact during the sound mixing process. Foley is a unique sound effect technique that involves creating and “performing” everyday sounds for movies and television shows. Foley artists create these sounds in a recording studio during post-production, in synchrony with the picture, to enhance the quality of the audio. Also see the Vice story The Secret To The Gruesome Sounds In Mortal Kombat Is Exploding Vegetables.
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Imagine the piece as a set of disconnected events
Give way to your worst impulse
Week 10: 3/22/21
Object Project: Digital
Object Project: Digital
Your next step in the digital phase of your Object Project is to create a home for your audio or video piece. Create a website with Cargo, Readymag, Webflow, Editor X or code your own site. This is a space for us to experience your piece. Your website should be designed as an extension of the visual language you are building in your project. Your site should include at least one page, and should give context to your piece. This can be as descriptive or abstract as you would like, but it can’t simply be an audio player only. This needs to be real and live. Present your website to the class as your deliverable for the week.
This is the last week we will crit your digital phase of the object project, but that doesnt mean you still shouldnt be working on it after the class is finished. Continue to refine your website until you are happy with the final result.
Chengbo Yao’s Object Project started with an instrument he was learning called the Handpan. What started as an observation of the instrument evolved into an exploration of the wavelength 432 Hz, a tuning in sync to the vibrations of nature. Chengbo created musical compositions with his instrument that imitated the sounds of nature like rain, wind, thunder, fog, etc. He then created a record label and website to house his project.
Chengbo Yao Object Project PDF
Discover Eric Hu’s project Monarchs and read the accompanying article on Friends with Benefits.
Discover David Rudnick’s project Tomb Series and read the accompanying article on Friends with Benefits.
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Go outside. Shut the door.
Take away the important parts
This is the last week we will crit your digital phase of the object project, but that doesnt mean you still shouldnt be working on it after the class is finished. Continue to refine your website until you are happy with the final result.
Chengbo Yao’s Object Project started with an instrument he was learning called the Handpan. What started as an observation of the instrument evolved into an exploration of the wavelength 432 Hz, a tuning in sync to the vibrations of nature. Chengbo created musical compositions with his instrument that imitated the sounds of nature like rain, wind, thunder, fog, etc. He then created a record label and website to house his project.
Chengbo Yao Object Project PDF
Discover Eric Hu’s project Monarchs and read the accompanying article on Friends with Benefits.
Discover David Rudnick’s project Tomb Series and read the accompanying article on Friends with Benefits.
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Go outside. Shut the door.
Take away the important parts
Week 11: 3/29/21
Object Project: Physical
Object Project: Physical
Continue to discover paths and tangents parallel to your object and research. Explore a second theme that you uncovered from your research presentation. It can be abstract or vague, but it should have a relationship to your object somehow. You do not need to develop one coheasive project relating to your digital deliverable. This can be a separate project entierly.
Develop a physical object which you will construct by the end of the semester. Your physical object should have a core “visual identity”. Create a system of parts for your project. This includes a logo or wordmark, typographic system, color palette and general creative direction that is unique to your project. Along with your object, create a “visual identity guidelines” document reviewing these components in a PDF.
Your physical object can manifest in many ways. It can be a printed publication (minimum 100 pages), a magazine (minimum 50 pages), a packaged good (an object & it’s box, gatefold record cover, container, etc), or another form that is constructed and presented as a final object we can hold and experience in person.
Upload your work to this weeks Google Drive folder. Create a deck to describe your project, your process and final outcome. Create a schematic sketch of your object. Show us how the physical object should look as a final outcome, drawing the top, front, side and an isometric view (source). This can be a vector based sketch and simple in it’s presentation, but it should plan out how exactly you will make your object. Here is a guide to follow for your presentation:
PRESENT YOUR IDEA
1. The theme you’re focusing on
2. Your concept (idea) or north star
3. How your object suggests the theme and concept
Cite specific sources from your research (week 8)
4. Your schematic
Top view
Front view
Side view
Isometric view
5. Your Visual Identity
Logo / Wordmark
Typographic System
Color Palette
Creative Direction
SUGGESTIONS
1. Research Based Publication (minimum 100 pages)
2. Magazine (minimum 50 pages)
3. Packaged Good
WAX Magazine (now in hibernation) was a bi-annual print publication exploring the intersection of art, culture and surfing. Each issue is organized around a unique theme and shares the stories of area surfers who are also artists, designers, authors and auteurs. Its first issue was funded in 2011. Its last issue was in 2017.
Chris Rodgers created the Decision Labratory. The project scope included concept, creative direction, identity, design, and illustration for a brand that creates analog decision making tools.
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Look at the order in which you do things
It is simply a matter of work
Develop a physical object which you will construct by the end of the semester. Your physical object should have a core “visual identity”. Create a system of parts for your project. This includes a logo or wordmark, typographic system, color palette and general creative direction that is unique to your project. Along with your object, create a “visual identity guidelines” document reviewing these components in a PDF.
Your physical object can manifest in many ways. It can be a printed publication (minimum 100 pages), a magazine (minimum 50 pages), a packaged good (an object & it’s box, gatefold record cover, container, etc), or another form that is constructed and presented as a final object we can hold and experience in person.
Upload your work to this weeks Google Drive folder. Create a deck to describe your project, your process and final outcome. Create a schematic sketch of your object. Show us how the physical object should look as a final outcome, drawing the top, front, side and an isometric view (source). This can be a vector based sketch and simple in it’s presentation, but it should plan out how exactly you will make your object. Here is a guide to follow for your presentation:
PRESENT YOUR IDEA
1. The theme you’re focusing on
2. Your concept (idea) or north star
3. How your object suggests the theme and concept
Cite specific sources from your research (week 8)
4. Your schematic
Top view
Front view
Side view
Isometric view
5. Your Visual Identity
Logo / Wordmark
Typographic System
Color Palette
Creative Direction
SUGGESTIONS
1. Research Based Publication (minimum 100 pages)
2. Magazine (minimum 50 pages)
3. Packaged Good
WAX Magazine (now in hibernation) was a bi-annual print publication exploring the intersection of art, culture and surfing. Each issue is organized around a unique theme and shares the stories of area surfers who are also artists, designers, authors and auteurs. Its first issue was funded in 2011. Its last issue was in 2017.
Chris Rodgers created the Decision Labratory. The project scope included concept, creative direction, identity, design, and illustration for a brand that creates analog decision making tools.
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Look at the order in which you do things
It is simply a matter of work
✳ Week 12: 4/5/21
Object Project: Physical
Object Project: Physical
Refine your idea or re-conceptualize entierly. Create a deck explaining your progress. Make a “dummy” version of your object, exactly full or half scale. Upload your work to this weeks Google Drive folder. Create a deck to describe your project, your process and final outcome. Create one slide for each identity component: Logo / Wordmark, Typographic System, Color Palette, Creative Direction.
This is the last week we will crit your physical phase of the object project, but that doesnt mean you still shouldnt be working on it after the class is finished. Continue to refine your object until you are happy with the final result.
PODCAST
Listen to the above episode of Design Matters with Debbie Millman and Michael Rock. There are some really interesting ideas here about world building.
EXAMPLE PROJECTS
Heeyoung Choi’s object project started as a collection of receipts. The project evolved into a publication examining her spending habbits over a period of time. Heeyoung developed a series of graphs and charts which categorized their spending in a methodical way. A unique visual identity was created for the project, taking cues from low-fi halftone printing stemming from the object itself. The project’s themes explore consumerism and it’s effects on daily life. Apple Garamond Condensed feels like an appropriate typeface for the publication, nodding to an influential company and 80’s era in which a global economy was evolving into what we experience today. Below are additional student projects to inspire you.
Eddy Lee (research project, custom typeface)
Heeyoung Choi (research publication)
Inkyoung Hur (conference, custom typeface)
John Patrikas (product, misc.)
AJ Kim (publication, misc.)
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Where is the edge?
Not building a wall; making a brick
This is the last week we will crit your physical phase of the object project, but that doesnt mean you still shouldnt be working on it after the class is finished. Continue to refine your object until you are happy with the final result.
PODCAST
Listen to the above episode of Design Matters with Debbie Millman and Michael Rock. There are some really interesting ideas here about world building.
EXAMPLE PROJECTS
Heeyoung Choi’s object project started as a collection of receipts. The project evolved into a publication examining her spending habbits over a period of time. Heeyoung developed a series of graphs and charts which categorized their spending in a methodical way. A unique visual identity was created for the project, taking cues from low-fi halftone printing stemming from the object itself. The project’s themes explore consumerism and it’s effects on daily life. Apple Garamond Condensed feels like an appropriate typeface for the publication, nodding to an influential company and 80’s era in which a global economy was evolving into what we experience today. Below are additional student projects to inspire you.
Eddy Lee (research project, custom typeface)
Heeyoung Choi (research publication)
Inkyoung Hur (conference, custom typeface)
John Patrikas (product, misc.)
AJ Kim (publication, misc.)
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Where is the edge?
Not building a wall; making a brick
Week 13: 4/12/21
Object Project: Temporal / Spatial
Object Project: Temporal / Spatial
Being a graphic designer affords endless possibilities. Our job is not purely visual or aesthetic; The way things look is only a part of the whole. Our job is to give ideas form, to shape what we have into a coheasive whole. Being in this position feels like a curse, but it’s actually a blessing. We’re world builders.
You’ve used your object to develop two different project types based on themes or ideas uncovered by your research. You’re to use this process a third time, but now considering time and space as your constraint. Your project should focus on the where and when. Either can take priority, but your deliverable’s motivation is experiential. This moment can be personal / private or public / communal.
Design an announcement for your event (poster, animated invitation, booklet, instagram posts, etc). Design your event, considering the setting (time and place, props, activities, etc). The final piece is documentation. We likely will not be attending your event; consider how you will present your work to the class and in your portfolio (documentary photography, a video, photo essay, website, book, etc).
Next week present your plan. Explain your idea and how it’s developing. Create a deck that outlines your thoughts, and show your designs for posters and other ephemera you’re creating for your event. Your focus needs to be in the what just as much as the how. Why are you exploring this idea? How is it manifesting visually?
Example: Public / Communal
Hilda Wong created The Internet is my Main Course, a curated dinner party series and short film of the same title. The film was looped in the background of the event. A series of Instagram posts acted as an invitation and documentation of the event.
Example: Personal / Private
During the evening hours of June 11-12, 2008 — just outside of the town of Ancram, New York — Graphic Designer Paul Sahre attempted to make contact. He was outfitted with objects to aid his mission, including a “Thought Protection Helmet”, manual, jumpsuit and “Probe”.
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Discover your formulas and abandon them
Idiot glee
You’ve used your object to develop two different project types based on themes or ideas uncovered by your research. You’re to use this process a third time, but now considering time and space as your constraint. Your project should focus on the where and when. Either can take priority, but your deliverable’s motivation is experiential. This moment can be personal / private or public / communal.
Design an announcement for your event (poster, animated invitation, booklet, instagram posts, etc). Design your event, considering the setting (time and place, props, activities, etc). The final piece is documentation. We likely will not be attending your event; consider how you will present your work to the class and in your portfolio (documentary photography, a video, photo essay, website, book, etc).
Next week present your plan. Explain your idea and how it’s developing. Create a deck that outlines your thoughts, and show your designs for posters and other ephemera you’re creating for your event. Your focus needs to be in the what just as much as the how. Why are you exploring this idea? How is it manifesting visually?
Example: Public / Communal
Hilda Wong created The Internet is my Main Course, a curated dinner party series and short film of the same title. The film was looped in the background of the event. A series of Instagram posts acted as an invitation and documentation of the event.
Example: Personal / Private
During the evening hours of June 11-12, 2008 — just outside of the town of Ancram, New York — Graphic Designer Paul Sahre attempted to make contact. He was outfitted with objects to aid his mission, including a “Thought Protection Helmet”, manual, jumpsuit and “Probe”.
Oblique Strategies for this week:
Discover your formulas and abandon them
Idiot glee
Week 14: 4/19/21
Object Project: Temporal / Spatial
Object Project: Temporal / Spatial
Execute your temporal / spatial project. Document the process in detail. This week, show us your final result. Also begin to design your final presentation that you will show during our final class (see week 15 below for full assignment). Bring in your laptop, show us how things are progressing. Consider the skills you learned while creating decks throughout the semester, make something well designed and considered.
READING
Read Research and Destroy by Daniel van der Velden (B. 1971). Daniel van der Velden is a graphic designer and writer. Together with Vinca Kruk he founded Metahaven, a studio for design and research. Metahaven’s work—both commissioned and self-directed—reflects political and social issues in provocative graphic design objects.
READING
Read Research and Destroy by Daniel van der Velden (B. 1971). Daniel van der Velden is a graphic designer and writer. Together with Vinca Kruk he founded Metahaven, a studio for design and research. Metahaven’s work—both commissioned and self-directed—reflects political and social issues in provocative graphic design objects.
Week 15: 4/26/21
Object Project: Final Presentation
Object Project: Final Presentation
Create a 2-minute presentation for our guest which showcases your digital, physical and spatial projects. Describe your process from beginning to end, what you found fascinating about your object and how these three projects connected in some way. Think of this as a full case study, walking through your process from concept, to visual language and finally execution. It goes without saying, but your end result should be professional and polished. Upload to our Google Drive folder.
DESCRIBE
1. What was your object?
2. How did you uncover your theme?
3. How did it manifest in your projects?
4. Finally, show your projects in full as a case study
— Show your digital project
— Show your physical project
— Show your temporal/spatial project
— Describe to us, in detail, your decisions which create the whole
ALSO
Please upload a PDF of all of your work from Fall and Spring semester for grading purposes to our Google Drive folder by Friday. This should be a simple PDF well presented that shows me your final project outcomes.
DESCRIBE
1. What was your object?
2. How did you uncover your theme?
3. How did it manifest in your projects?
4. Finally, show your projects in full as a case study
— Show your digital project
— Show your physical project
— Show your temporal/spatial project
— Describe to us, in detail, your decisions which create the whole
ALSO
Please upload a PDF of all of your work from Fall and Spring semester for grading purposes to our Google Drive folder by Friday. This should be a simple PDF well presented that shows me your final project outcomes.