Lately I've come to suspect that there may be more currency to my degree than I had initially considered. In four years of practice, I am finding that ours is a slippery and semipermeable profession. The domain of graphic design now extends into information architecture, usability, content management, experience design, social practice, design writing, and design criticism. This proliferation of new titles is reflective of an increasing imperative for designers to demonstrate capacities for critical thinking.
Our department is earnest in its attempts to adapt to this shifting paradigm, and would like to confer upon its students the opportunity to exhibit critical thinking/writing skills and gain exposure in the larger design community. And so on behalf of the department, I would like to introduce a proposed expansion of designalogue as an open forum to showcase student editorials. Students are encouraged to propose topics, synthesize ideas, and engage others in discussion. Anyone interested in contributing original editorials should speak with Jamie, Morgan, or myself.
What are some other professional fields that explicitly require critical thinking in the job description? Are there any that could benefit from critical thinking that don't presently insist upon it? Is "critical thinking" just a fancier, less condescending way of saying "creative"?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
designalogue is happy to entertain discussion
Friday, February 20, 2009
Hey Graphic Design Juniors and Seniors... AIGA Portfolio Day is here!
The Kansas City chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts invites you to Portfolio Day. This is your opportunity to get valuable one-on-one feedback on your portfolio and career goals from some of the Kansas City Area’s best designers. Don’t wait, this event sells out quickly! Please register online at www.aiga.kansascity.org
Click here to register now!
Student Members $10
Student Nonmembers $15
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Skylab Letterpress
The sophmores recently visted Skylab Letterpress. Owner and operator Bob Atkins showed us his shop, presses, and the wonderful work he has done for local graphic design firms as well as KCAI artists like Laura Berman.
Cameron Perry nicely documented our visit.
Skylab's Website
Why am I writing this post in italic?!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The End of Graphic Design?
Forbes magazine recently published this story about CrowdSpring.
So, is crowd sourcing a threat to graphic design? Or is it an easy way to turn your skills into quick cash? Do you want to toss your work into a bucket with 1,000 other hopefuls for 250 bucks? Post your thoughts here!
Thanks to Monina for the link.
Must see film: Le Jetee
Location: Atkins Auditorium
Feb. 20:
Photography and film are explored in four films, La Jetee by Chris Marker, Breakfast (Table Top Dolly) by Michael Snow, Nostalgia (Hapax Legomena I) by Hollis Frampton, and NO by Sharon Lockhart. Reserve tickets.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Barkley Summer Internship Call
"This year, in addition to being able to rub shoulders with some of the top PR, marketing and advertising professionals in the area, students will get the real-world experience of working on a project for a Kansas City original: The Roasterie coffee company at Barkley." Get all the internship details here.
Learning & Working in the Collaborative Age
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Freelance opportunity: T-shirt graphics
Contact Jason D. Neef, Higher Power, Inc.
913.681.9949, jneef@sbcglobal.net
$10 per hour
Monday, February 9, 2009
Web Typography Tools
Webdesigner Depot has posted a list of 10 web typography tools every designer should know. Worth reading.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Get recognized for your work on an international stage.
The 2009 Adobe® Design Achievement Awards give higher education students from around the world the shortcut to brilliance to propel their careers in the future. Enter in 12 categories in 3 media areas endorsed by the industry. Free to enter. Cash prizes will be awarded during the Icograda World Design Congress in Beijing, China. Submissions close June 5, 2009. LEARN MORE >
Friday, February 6, 2009
Layer Tennis – Live online creative competitions
Every Friday in February, 2:00 P.M. catch an exciting series of live online design competitions called Layer Tennis. Watch amazing creative pros show off their skills, get play-by-play commentary, and help judge the winner by posting to the online forum. Learn more
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Financial Aid Workshops
Become aware of the many opportunities to learn about financial aid, steps involved, deadlines, how to complete paperwork, etc. so that finances are in place for the next academic year. Students need only attend one workshop. All workshops are held in the Jannes Library 3rd floor computer lab.
Monday, February 9, 4-5pm
Tuesday, February 10, 12-1pm
Wednesday, February 11, 3-4pm
Thursday, February 12, 12-1pm
KCAI GD curriculum will be presented at Chicago AIGA conference
Eppelheimer and I were recently selected to present at AIGA's Future History 3: 21st Century Curriculum conference in Chicago on March 7-8, 2009. We'll be speaking about "Technology Integration & Blog Culture at the Kansas City Art Institute" for the undergrad curriculum break-out session and our lecture will feature a short video produced by Ian Tirone and Greg Kaufman.
Update: if you'd like to attend the conference yourself, student rate is $75. Register here.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
internships
"make art without starving/feel free without freelancing." yes, the big card factory on the hill has a lot to offer in the way of internships_a great opportunity to experience life in one of the world's largest creative organizations. meaningful work_not watering plants or fetching coffee. heck, they even have a blog going! check out all the options here. the deadline for uploaded portfolios is march 17th.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Addy Bronze awards
A big congrats to Monina. She received two bronze awards at the KC ADDYs for a campaign for the Kansas City Brigade. One for the Collateral Campaign and another for an individual poster in that campaign. She completed the project this summer as an intern at Barkley along w/ two other students from Kansas State University and from Johnson Community College.
Anyone else enter the Addy's?
a5 gala pics!
It was a great evening had by all that attended. If you missed it you can still check out the pics of the A5 Gala on KCAI's flickr and AIGA's flickr.
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