DEClaring Ourselves

My latest article, “Yourselves: Declaring Ourselves,” is posted on the Design Observer blog in the “Observatory” section. The piece looks at the history and mission of the AIGA Design Educators Community—I serve on the organization’s steering committee. Particular focus in the article is given to the DEC’s current initiatives.

At Central Michigan University

I was a guest speaker/presenter for the Graphic Design program in the Art Department at Central Michigan University, November 12–13, 2013. On the evening of November 12, I gave a talk called “Singing the Surface,” and followed the next day with a presentation of my “Graphic Equalizer,” after the essay in my book Volume. Thanks to David Stairs of CMU and Designers Without Borders for the invitation, and the brave/inquisitive students and faculty that came to the events.

The Designer As…

My work and words are featured in The Designer as…: Author, Producer, Activist, Entrepeneur, Curator, and Collaborator: New Models for Communicating by Steven McCarthy. The new book “provides an overview of the phenomenon of design authorship and interviews many international designers who have taken on different roles as authors or producers of their own projects.” I am one of 12 design figures interviewed specifically for the book, which also discusses and presents images of my exhibition Adversary: an exhibition (of) contesting graphic design, and the News of the Whirled magazine/novel project. An additional joy of the book is its design by Martin Venezky.

AIGA Design Educators Community

I’m proud to have been named to the AIGA Design Educators Community Steering Committee for a three-year term. The DEC’s mission is to enhance the abilities of design educators and educational institutions to prepare future designers for excellence in design practice, design theory and design writing at the undergraduate and graduate levels, while supporting the fundamental mission of AIGA. A major initiative of the DEC is sponsorship of annual design education conferences such as Blunt.