My latest writing, “Learn by Numbers: Eleven Lessons Taught Only in Design School,” has been posted at the Design Observer blog. The essay turns the table on the perennial listicles authored by design practitioners offering low-downs on the profession that are allegedly essential and that design education supposedly doesn’t supply. The published article is a condensation of a slightly longer piece (with the title heading this post) that may end up here some day.
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.
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.
I am co-organizer of the AIGA Design Education conference Blunt: Explicit and Graphic Design Criticism Now, to be held at Old Dominion University April 12–14, 2013. My co-conspirators David Cabianca, Jiwon Lee, and Jason Tselentis. The conference’s focus is on criticism and critical writing in and about graphic design. Presentations will be in the areas of Practice and Theory, History, Writing, and Education, with keynote speeches by Rick Poynor, Michele Champagne, and David Stairs. Plus panels, roundtables, workshops, and fun for the whole family. And an exhibition, Mount, that features graphic design artifacts from my personal collection. Information about the conference can be found here.