Monthly Archives: February 2012

sample chapter 101

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INTERDISCIPLINARY METHOD

We live in a compartmentalized mind frame. Home is different from office, fun is separated from work, science lives apart from art. We’ve been trained to specialize in one thing and call that our profession, pushing our other interests down to lesser importance. Many of us, however, have several seemingly unrelated passions simmering within us, waiting to be manifested with the right method.

Interdisciplinary thinking turns compartmentalization on its head by encouraging the coming together of disparate interests. In her map painting series, designer Paula Scher, partner in the eminent studio, Pentagram, combined her passion for lettering, maps and painting to create a series cross-disciplinary works. Similarly, designer Andrew Byrom merged his love of typography and furniture to create typographic furniture, while the ceramicist Stephanie Dearmond cast letterforms in porcelain to make new and unexpected form. These are but a few examples of what can happen when we choose to combine our interests instead of segregating them.

Passions are fluid. They change shape and intensity. Introduce yourself to a new subject matter. Prod into a new discipline in order to give yourself a new perspective. A great way to do this is to talk to experts in other fields, as conversations fuel passions and can spark new ways of thinking. This is precisely why designer James Victore holds The Dinner Series, an annual week-long workshop where each day culminates in a lavish dinner party, meant to stimulate creative conversation. (Get Victore quote here).

Add additional examples of conversations: Etsy Street Teams and D:Center Baltimore’s monthly design conversations. 

Conversations can lead to striking collaborations between experts from different fields. Longtime collaborators  Michael Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak of MM/Paris and photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin have produced hybrid photo/text works. (Show alphabet here). Likewise, designer Stephen Farrell has worked closely with writer Steve Tomasula to publish novels that bestow equal value on the design and the text. (Need example of designer working with a non-artistic collaborator). 

Add a paragraph on working with community — larger, social issues

How does this work get done? In this chapter, we give you some leads. We attempt here to break down the method of interdsiciplinary design into useful tools—charts and diagrams, tips on inter-personal relations, and guidelines for testing the work as you go along.
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That Can’t Be Done. Can It?

Most of us have pulled the cord to flip venetian blinds open or closed hundreds of times, without giving it a second thought. To designer Andrew Byrom, this commonplace instance provided a burst of inspiration, as he envisioned letterforms made of blinds, switching from bold to regular to light with the pull of the cord. This notion has led him to build a series of letters out of venetian blinds, and further, to draw a striking flat font based on the idea of the window blind. (show images)

Byrom thinks in an unrestricted way, seeing the magical in the mundane by asking, “what if?” His thoughts flow from paper to screen, to metal work, kite construction and neon signage. In doing so, he constantly subverts existing parameters and pushes his way into other disciplines to nourish his creative needs. Byrom’s thinking is effective only because it is backed up by his eagerness to learn, to renounce the comfort of his mastery to for the thorny work of the beginner, failing again and again until a new skill has been learned.

Fluid thinking allows us to see old things in a new way. Find inspiration and possibilities by combining existing knowledge in unexpected ways. Apply an old process to a new material, or inversely, a new process to a well-known material. And when you move from thinking to making, expect obstacles and find ways to overcome them. Experts will insist that it cannot be done, but if you trust your idea and show both your passion and persistence, they may eventually move over to your side and share skills with you. When the level of investment is high and when it is shared among participants, interdisciplinary work comes alive.

Add here: Joshua Davis, Banksy, Wayne White (need a woman, too)

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Design and ________

Once your interdisciplinary geenie has been unleashed, seek out partners with whom you can create new work, free of artificially imposed restrictions of academia. Partnerships come in all shapes and sizes: project-based or long term; intimate or distant. Beware, when disciplines come together, the unknown, that fearsome sphere, grows ever larger. As does the need for careful listening on both ends. Success hinges on shared passion, common goals and a high tolerance for risk. The following examples show the unlimited potential of graphic design as it branches off and connects with other disciplines.

When design meets architecture, motion and scale can find fresh new manifestations. Seeley and McNall are partners in Electroland, an interactive studio based in Los Angeles, California. A designer and architect by training, Seeley and McNall have fused their respective disciplines, using electronic tools to create urban site-specific experiences. In Drive By, 2007, Seeley and McNall have given motion an urban dimension, connecting it to traffic. An electronic display along Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood tracks the passing of cars by flashing phrases and abstract letterforms. Here, an unremarkable slice of metropolitan life — cars speeding along a thoroughfare — has been transformed into visual play; this has been achieved with a meging of architecture and graphic design.

The grand scale of architecture usually towers over the intimacy of books and screens. Electroland flipped this notion of scale in two projects, Author Wall (2009), and College Faces (year?). Visitors to the Guadalajara Book Fair enjoyed playing with authors’ names on a touch screen in Author Wall, and seeing their interaction simultaneously projected on a 30-meter wall. This type-driven environment enriched the event by making everyone, and not just the authors, feel like “makers”. The close-up experience of a touch-screen has been writ large, influencing the look and feel of the entire event. In College Faces (year??? has this been realized?), Electroland took the intimacy of the personal photograph and blew it up to architectural scale, projecting a yearbook of sorts on the facade of the Gateway Community College in New Haven, Connecticut. The faces of students, teachers and staff are cast in slow motion on the building’s glass curtain wall, generating a sense of togetherness on campus. To make the project more meaningful to its most frequent viewers, individual faces can be accessed on a website (which one??) or via smart phone.

Pairing up with someone with access to new technology can take your work to a new level, as demonstrated by two stunning 2011 typographic projects, Type Fluid by Skyrill Design and Arkitypo by Johnson Banks. Brothers Ali and Hussain Almossawi of Skyrill Design in Bahrain come from computer science and graphic design backgrounds, respectively. They have put their knowledge together to create Type Fluid (2011), a remarkable typeface built using RealFlow, a special effects program. The letterforms exist both as stills and as short animations in which they grow, pulsate and undulate in stunning ways that could not be achieved using the standard tools of graphic design. In London, the design studio Johnson Banks partnered with the 3-d manufacturing studio at Ravensbourne, a digital media school to print exquisite sculptural letterforms, an homage to 20th century typography executed with 21st Century technology.
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Single practicioners
Andrew Byrom
Wayne White
Joshua Davis
Need a woman here

Examples of Partnerships:
Electroland — design and architecture
Skyrill — design and computer science
MM/Paris — design and photography?
Johnson Banks —Arkitypo – design and rapid manufacturing

Stephen Farrell and Steve Tomasula — design and literature

School Projects:
Nancy’s Kala Raksha in India
Natacha Poggio’s lab
Mike Weikert’s CDP
Bezalel Academy of Arts and GM
Big Projects:
IDEO
Kala Raksha?

One Cubic Foot

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Beautiful photographs by David Liittschwager that are both graphic and scientific.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/02/cubic-foot/liittschwager-photography

How much life could you find in one cubic foot? That’s a hunk of ecosystem small enough to fit in your lap. To answer the question, photographer David Liittschwager took a green metal frame, a 12-inch cube, to disparate environments—land and water, tropical and temperate. At each locale he set down the cube and started watching, counting, and photographing with the help of his assistant and many biologists. The goal: to represent the creatures that lived in or moved through that space. The team then sorted through their habitat cubes, coaxing out every inhabitant, down to a size of about a millimeter. Accomplishing that took an average of three weeks at each site. In all, more than a thousand individual organisms were photographed, their diversity represented in this gallery. “It was like finding little gems,” Liittschwager says.

Nicola Yeoman

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Interesting artist that works across mediums. Might include her at the end of the book.

From an interview- http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/arts/nicola-yeoman

Looking through your portfolio, it seems that you experiment with many different mediums and styles. Is that accurate, and if so, why is that experimentation so important?

I dont really want to be pigeon-holed, so I do keep experimenting and trying to push things further. I like using a wide range of materials and exploring their uses and potentials; it could be fabric, cement, brass or wood or found objects. I do have recurring themes and ideas which I always return to, and some materials become favorites which again I go back to using.

Last year I moved into a massive studio, and this has really given me more freedom than ever to mess around and explore different ideas. Some ideas work and I develop them further, and others I abandon. But I have the space to be working on a couple of things at once, and to leave them, keep coming back and changing them, much like the the dens of my youth. The Scrapbook Circles series, which is also part of The Wyer show, is part of an ongoing body of work which is like a visual record of my scrapbooks. They all use different materials/ objects, the only thing which unifies them is that they are circles.

PSYOP

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Design studio in NY where designers challenge animators, stunning stunning work http://www.psyop.tv/mtv-crow/

“It’s become a bit of a game between design and production. Our design team keeps trying t come up with styles and images that seem near impossible to translate into motion, which end up inspiring our animators and technical team even more.” from Design Life Now
Psyop helps brands and agencies connect with consumers and solve business and marketing problems by telling compelling stories and building engaging worlds, using whatever techniques and media are appropriate. Skilled in animation, design, illustration, 3D, 2D and live action production — and seamlessly combining some or all of these — Psyop takes a unique, tailored approach to each and every project.
As put by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum:

“At a time when consumers are bombarded with more messages from more media than ever before, Psyop seeks to win over the hearts and minds of the public through creative content that people willingly seek out and enjoy, especially on the internet, where compelling ads spread via word of mouth.”

Psyop was founded in 2000 by Marco Spier, Marie Hyon, Todd Mueller, Kylie Matulick and Eben Mears in New York City. In 2001, Justin Booth-Clibborn joined as a partner, helping the team grow into a global design and production powerhouse. With ever-expanding offices in NYC and LA, the Psyop family also includes production company Blacklist.

Institute for Creative Technologies

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Really interesting collaborative, multidiscipliary institute that fouces on ways to train those enlisted in the army as to how to deal with situations. Could be an example we use at the end of the book.

From their website- http://ict.usc.edu/about
ICT was established in 1999 with a multi-year contract from the US Army to explore a powerful question: What would happen if leading technologists in artificial intelligence, graphics, and immersion joined forces with the creative talents of Hollywood and the game industry?

The answer is the creation of engaging, memorable and effective interactive media that are revolutionizing learning in the fields of training, education and beyond.

We bring together the people who understand what makes compelling content with the people who understand how to develop realistic simulation technologies.

At ICT these disparate groups are pioneering new ways to teach and to train.

Historically, simulations focus on drills and mechanics. What sets ICT apart is our focus on human interactions and emotions—areas that are recognized as increasingly important in developing critical thinking and decision-making skills.

an example of how their AI experience works- http://www.youtube.com/uscict

================ZVEZ adds:

http://ict.usc.edu/
The University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies is revolutionizing learning through the development of interactive digital media.

Collaborating with our entertainment industry neighbors, we are leaders in producing virtual humans, computer training simulations and immersive experiences for decision-making, cultural awareness, leadership and health.

Engaging and effective. Powerful and portable. Our innovations help save lives, resources and time.
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The MedVR labis a project of the ITC, designed to use VR for clinical purposes. …using VR for mental health therapy, motor skills rehabilitation, cognitive assessment and clinical skills training

Virtual Reality Iraq/Afghanistan Exposure Therapy — an immersive program designed to help veterans cope with PTSD, and equip clinicians to provide better support to them.

Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan


Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan

Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan controller view
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Email correspondence with Glenn Storm, ICT game designer:

Sure. Design Thinking is that near-buzzword that can get off track, but what I mean specifically is the idea that anyone can contribute to the design, that proper design processes are inclusive (design “with”, not “for”), that the responsibilities of design innovation can and should come from everywhere. It is the idea that by changing the way groups and organizations think, we approach a more design-friendly environment and greater involvement by all members. The roles and responsibilities of designer, as traditionally viewed, would then morph to manage the array of ideas, using their expertise to shepard a design process that makes sense for the needs, to make the necessary connections that bring innovation to light, and to reduce complexity by maintaining a focus on the design requirements. This is a really rough description of a broad topic that’s part of a larger debate on what design thinking is all about. If you’re familiar with the original concept, as from IDEO’s Ted Brown, then you’re in the ballpark. For an organization like ICT, who is coming from a much more traditional (non-design) culture, this means getting design more involved at all levels; a culture change. (see Switch, and other good books on culture change to a get a sense of that challenge)

Thanks for your feedback on your project. I agree that graphic design, as being part of a design culture with that kind of perspective, is a valuable part of innovation and input at higher levels. That’s a neat aim you’re going for. Hi, Nancy.

I hope this helps to give a sense of what is going on design-wise at the ICT, and to provide a little more inside info on our organization that isn’t apparent from our website or youtube channel, for example. Pleased to meet you both. Please stay in touch.

Best,

Glenn

From: zvezdana stojmirovic [zvezdanas@earthlink.net]

Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 7:55 AM

To: Glenn Storm

Cc: nancyfro@yahoo.com

Subject: RE: greetings and question about graphic design

Hi Glenn, Your answers are great. Here’s a little bit about our research:I’m coauthoring this book with my colleague Nancy Froehlich (ccd here), graphic design professor at Oregon State U in Corvallis, Oregon. We’re looking at the role of graphic design in interdisciplinary practices. We recognize that new knowledge often happens when disciplines intersect. We also see how in some instances graphic design is moving from being a “servant” (client gives you brief, you fulfill it), to getting “a seat at the big table” as it were, becoming a core process that can help all kinds of teams achieve all kinds of results. Our book, aimed at students, professionals and design enthusiasts, attempts to answer the big question, “what is interdisciplinary graphic design?” by capturing a broad range of examples, as we look to the future of our ever-shifting profession. In addition, we want to offer readers sample projects and tips that will assist them in becoming more “interdisciplinary”.

Our examples are diverse, from self-initiated artsy collaborations, to client driven work, to work done for social change, all both in and out of academia. From Bjork, the singer, to IDEO, the design giant. The clinical/military work of the ICT is interesting to us in that it is part-academia, and yet has such real-world applications that help solve pressing social problems. The graphic designer’ career path is changing, and basically, we want to show how being “interdisciplinary” can lead to great jobs in all kinds of industries.

What you’ve written is right along those lines, particularly this segment:

“an internal infrastructure of design, spread widely through the organization, would help all aspects of what we do, from grant proposals and presentations, to more efficient production practices, to building a more robust culture of innovation by way of bridging gaps between cultures and fostering ‘design thinking’ across the institute,”

If I may ask, what part of “design thinking” would help bridge gaps between cultures? And what part would assist innovation?

I hope you’ve gotten a sense of our project.

Best,

Zvezdana

—–Original Message—– 

From: Glenn Storm

Sent: Mar 23, 2012 9:07 AM

To: zvezdana stojmirovic

Subject: RE: greetings and question about graphic design

Hi Zvezdana,

Our research institute is part academia and part development, as applied research. The ICT’s mandate is to take core research and combine it with expertise from the entertainment industries of gaming and film. As such, there has been a need for our organization to recognize design as a way to help bridge gaps that span these two different worlds. Some needs include the recognition of design, and quality in general, as a valuable boost to gaining funding for further research, gaining cultural recognition for the institute as a whole, but probably the biggest gains involve efficiency brought about by applying best practices in design and development.

When I started here some years ago, the production practices were exclusively a kind known as Waterfall; in short, plan first, follow plan until it is complete. One of the major best practices that I’ve championed is the use of Agile development; in short, identify the priority needs, adjust that list constantly with input from end users and stakeholders, always tackle highest priority needs first, work until time runs out. A brief, but somewhat entertaining primer on Waterfall vs Agile can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDDO3ob-4ZY

Since we have begun to implement development methodologies such as this, those efforts have shown significant efficiency gains, significant quality boosts, and generally much more relaxed and enthused teams. Using this kind of methodology in during the design processes (from UI development, to tool development, level design and game design) has been somewhat of a game-changer, in terms of how development can then be targeted to core needs, with less waste, more time to focus on the unknowns. And for a research institute, that last one is a biggie.

All this is to say, as I research Design with a capital “d”, I find ways to bring the kind of valuable knowledge back to the ICT and champion its application (with some modification for our unique needs), demonstrate the value through action, and in the process, try to gain momentum on a greater design focus at the institute. I have made formal a proposal as well, to leadership and stakeholders, to highlight how an internal infrastructure of design, spread widely through the organization, would help all aspects of what we do, from grant proposals and presentations, to more efficient production practices, to building a more robust culture of innovation by way of bridging gaps between cultures and fostering ‘design thinking’ across the institute, to name a few of the ideas proposed.

Hope that helps to illustrate what I meant.

Arno Hartholt is project leader of the Art Group here at the institute, and that sounds to me like the most likely group that would have needs involving graphic design in particular. Allow me to ‘introduce’ you in another email.

Perhaps you could share with me some of the reasons you were drawn to the ICT, what you hope to see in the ICT and how you might see contributions you make that can benefit the Art Group in particular? That will help in my introduction.

Hope this helps.

Glenn

From: zvezdana stojmirovic [zvezdanas@earthlink.net]

Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2012 10:13 PM

To: Glenn Storm

Subject: RE: greetings and question about graphic design

Glenn,

Thanks so much for your answers.

I had a couple of q’s regarding this comment you made:

“I do champion design best practices, and encourage further development of the ICT’s use of design as a more formal part of our organization.”

What do you mean by “design best practices”? Could you give me an example?

How do you think design could become a “more formal part of ICT?”

And, yes, I’d love to get in touch with your colleague.

Thanks so much,

Zvezdana

—–Original Message—–

From: Glenn Storm

Sent: Mar 22, 2012 8:57 AM

To: zvezdana stojmirovic

Subject: RE: greetings and question about graphic design

Hello Zvezdana,

Thank you for getting in touch and for your interest. Yes, I happen to be on a couple of the projects that use virtual reality for clinical purposes; projects called Bravemind and STRIVE. These employ Head-Mounted Displays, biometric harnesses (a cap with electrodes) and game engine technology (Unity and Gamebryo, currently) to approach immersive experiences that can be used for research, exposure therapy and stress resilience training.

We have an Art Group, sort of an internal art production studio, that handles the many projects’ art needs, including graphic design. Most of the work done by the AG is in production of the game engine assets, including 3D modeling, rigging, and animation. On occasion, there will be tasks that require graphic design, such as in poster design for conferences, print and online media design for publication, or in service of special needs for projects, such as training materials.

If interested to hear more from our Art Group, I would be happy to put you in touch with Arno Hartholt, who is the Project Leader who manages the AG. I do champion design best practices, and encourage further development of the ICT’s use of design as a more formal part of our organization. Graphic design is one area of design which would fit into what I imagine our design organization to one day be.

If there is any more information I can provide, or if you would like to be put in touch with someone here at the institute, based on the above, please don’t hesitate to ask.

 

Hope that helps

 

Take care,

Glenn Storm

Game Designer

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From: zvezdana stojmirovic [zvezdanas@earthlink.net]

Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 5:20 PM

To: Glenn Storm

Subject: greetings and question about graphic design

 

Hi Glenn,

My name is Zvezdana Stojmirovic, I am a graphic designer teaching at MICA in Baltimore.

I’m working on a book about interdisciplinary grpahic design, and was really compelled by the work of ICT, particularly the projects that use virtual reality for clinical purposes (Iraq/Afghan project, for example).

I’m interested in what is the role of graphic design in this work? Would you be able to tell me a little bit about that?

How do you rely on graphic designers to help accomplish the work? If there is a graphic designer you could put me in touch with, I would be most thankful.

Best regards,

Zvezdana Stojmirovic

Ann McDonald: In Between….

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This chapter from the book Design Studies is called In Between: Challenging the Role of Graphic Design by Situating It in a Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Class. It talks about an interdisciplinary class at Northeastern in Illinois, and how GD figured in the mix. Students worked together to make Trace, an interactive piece to educate people about the Patriot Act. Chapter Author: Ann McDonald

Here’s the pdf: ann_mcdonald

One of the strengths of the class is that it taught students the importance of balancing the time spent planning and conceptualizing versus executing and realizing the collaborative work. This was possible because the class stretched over two semesters. (359)

“…collaborative authorship and group decision-making necessitated that design become a social practice.” (360)

“The instructors must act as facilitators of an undefined collective vision—they must steer, rather than lead.” (361)

“Individuals who were not performing  could not be fired and had to be brought back into the fold with a renewed sense of ownership, involvement, or a revised area of contribution. There was a constant need to bring issues to the surface so they could be articulated, visualized and acted upon or resolved.” (361)

“Students learned the resilience needed to stay involved, so that even when their individual ideas were discarded by the group, they were able to remain invested in the collective goal.” (365)

“The students and the Trace project would have benefited from increased use of formal design skills as a method of questioning.” (367)

The piece goes on to honestly evaluate the strengths and challenges of tackling an interdisciplinary class.

The Age of Big Data

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The Age of Big Data, by Steve Lohr, February 11, 2012, New York Times, accessed February 22, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/sunday-review/big-datas-impact-in-the-world.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

“If you can see patterns and make sense of the explosion of data, you are the future.”

Interesting article in the NY Times about the current demand for “deep analytical” expertise. Examples of people with business, math, and political science background- certainly design plays a part in the process.

“The impact of data abundance extends well beyond business. Justin Grimmer, for example, is one of the new breed of political scientists. A 28-year-old assistant professor at Stanford, he combined math with political science in his undergraduate and graduate studies, seeing “an opportunity because the discipline is becoming increasingly data-intensive.” His research involves the computer-automated analysis of blog postings, Congressional speeches and press releases, and news articles, looking for insights into how political ideas spread.”

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Here we learn that dada is increasing at the massive rate of 50% per year, meaning it doubles every two years. Data is changing how business decisions get made on all levels. Processing and visualizing it is becoming key in all sectors of the economy. Here’s where interdisciplinary work needs to happen. Let’s look to graphic designers who’ve done work with data visualization. I have a book called “Data Flow” that should have some great examples.

Tim Brown urges designers to think big

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TED talk by Tim Brown of IDEO, worth watching for inspiration on larger design projects.

Design is too important to be left to designers.

Tim Brown of IDEO suggests a different view of design- less on objects and more on design thinking. He calls for a shift to local, collaborative, participatory “design thinking.” Integrative thinking- ability to exploit opposing ideas and opposing contraints to create new solutions. Application of design thinking to tackle new kinds of problems. Design is human centered as it always starts with what humans need.

Banksy

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Banksy is another example of an artist/designer who is fearless of shifting mediums, scale, and exhibition location.

From Wikipedia below-
Banksy’s work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. According to author and graphic designer Tristan Manco and the book Home Sweet Home, Banksy “was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s.”Observers have noted that his style is similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris and members of theanarcho-punk band Crass, which maintained a graffiti stencil campaign on the London Tube System in the late 1970s and early 1980s and is active today. However Banksy himself stated on his website that in all actuality he based his work off of 3D from Massive Attack, stating, “No, I copied 3D from Massive Attack. He can actually draw.”