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.
Posts
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.
The Blunt Conference
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.