meow woof

Throughout the last 2 weeks I’ve found the 3 topics which I would like to expand on for my thesis proposal

• education through creative process
• bioengineering (focusing on food), ethical issues, and informing general public
• Integrating asian and western design (universal design?)

I’ve been looking at books and articles focusing on the 3 topics, and have managed to find interest and a lot of information.

This is some notes I have taken for one of my possible thesis proposal.

For this I am interested in finding the relationship between parents and children when it comes to education. It is commonly believed that when parents are involved in their children’s education optimal development in preschool and elementary school children, and improve the relationship between child and parent. Also it influences their future relationship. The most important are home-based activities which relate to what is learnt in school:

• reviewing work
• monitoring progress
• helping with homework
• talk about school events, classes
• enrichment activities for school success
• talking to teacher

However, most of the time as children grow up, they do not want involvement from their parents. I am interested in how to keep the parents involved and still preserve a healthy relationship.

Generally from the readings I find are true, and sadly even to OCAD. From the classes I have been taking here, it seems less diverse. It is ALL about design and art. Even the liberal studies course….it has to somehow relate to design. It’s very rarely just about learning something new. Even within the school, a lot of the graphic designers probably don’t even know what is going on in the other half of the school/building. We mostly just stay up on the 6th floor, occasionally 5th, and same for art students, they very rarely come upstairs. Most of us don’t know the culture of our own school pass our majors (all we have is he said she said something about art students doing this…).

My thesis topic has modified, changed, evolved, which ever from last semester.

I think the hard part is picking something which will relate itself back to graphic design, so I actually end up with something, not just a bunch of research. I’m not so worried about whether or not the topic is going to sustain throughout the year, because there will always be new things to learn.

Here’s a list of my interests and possible topics

• biology
• education
• bio technology
• genetics
• education – parent vs child
• some form of information design
• some form of wayfinding system
• cultural clash western vs asian
• something to do with a text book…i love text books…

the list is by no means final, but I have started to look at materials which relate to each of the topics.

On (Design) Bullshit…

Richard Meir vs Artist Robert Irwin

-Irwin creates central garden

• ignores design of building by Meier
• whimsical
• organic form
• respond to Meire’s critique with “bullshit”
• client already liked his proposal

bullshit vs design

became subject of inquiry of Harry G. Frankfurt’s volume “On Bullshit”

• difference between bullshit and lies
• bullshit – not giving false belief about state affairs
• give audience false impression concerning issue on mind of speaker

design presentation often exercise in bullshit

• functional goals and intuitive irrational decisions
• theories about symbolic quality, colours, typefaces
• unprovable claims on historical inevitability of certain shapes
• arbitrary design elements
• added to hard business goals

desier to succeed private intentions

• getting client to do things the way you like

both Irwin and Meier can be accused of being single-minded

Wonders Revealed: Design and Faux Science

Real Science

• revolutionizing the world
• cultural influence
• affects everything (behavior, things we eat, breathe etc)
• connect to past, present future
• relationship to visual communication
• through graphic design science is revealed

why few designer participate

• no more central intellectually relevant roles for designers
• inventing new ways to visualize new ideas

small response from design profession except superficial appropriations to design

designers using visual accuracies

• only cosmetic enhancement
• lack of knowledge of discipline itself

design lacks instant validation seriousness of purpose

new seeking

• faux science
• modernism
• serious form retrofitted with interchangeable content

False Authority

appeal to info design

• offers instant credibility

rational and authoritative

• classified and controlled
• looks serious and scientific
• believe into from without question

most look alike

• swiss modernism
• remove chance for expressive content driven form

ignore earlier sources

• ignorant of alternative models
• produce more original point of view
• form masked as content

Panaceas

morphology

• basic form/structure or organism
• no consideration of function in biology
• graphic design – more than ornamental
• random set theory

Documenting

recording detail-conscious bordering

busy organizing

• unlikely have time/distance/objectivity to transcend work
• insight/observation/point of view

Cataloguing

full-bleed image saturation

• attempt to create context
• no science

The New Vernacular

appropriating found artifacts

become way to create instant nostalgia

• surface style looks authentic

belong to everyone

• real, familiar, accessible

art of everday

disciplined in formal sense

• still appropriation

role of education

• why not study

Graphic Design Thesis: A Survivor’s Guide

Thesis

• accumulation of student’s design education
• created by Michael Vanderbyl
• challenge/broaden understanding of being designer
• self directed
• identify area of interest
• using design to present finding
• 4 components

1. proposal
2. research
3. thesis project
4. process booklet

Proposal

• proposal/argument based on original observation
• support with research
• anticipate research
• potential implications of propositions

1. start with your interest
2. make sure there’s a point
3. don’t base on obvious
4. shorter is better
5. claims are true
6. have supporting documentation
7. define terms
8. revise proposal

Research

• understand/evaluate information
• develop opinions
• develop understanding

1. let topic dictate type of research
2. be critical of sources
3. consult with export mentor in field of study
4. develop system of note-taking
5. footnote sources
6. avoid reading pseudo science

Thesis Project

• actual production
• conclusion of proposal
• form determined by mature of proposal and content
• creating narrative (core message?)

If your project is so personal that it fails to communicate, it fails

1. do not have preconceived ideas about form of project
2. create written outline (serve as guide)
3. give audience multiple access point to content
4. visual language appropriate to content
5. if unfamiliar with medium – allow time for learning

Other Students

• make schedule
• make connections
• research
• true to yourself

If your project is so personal that it fails to communicate, it fails

today’s meeting~~

we’re almost done~~ go team

For the final hand in next week….

• 250 words documenting what you’ve done
• 1~2 paragraph of literature review
• try to find stuff on how festivals effect people and the residence in the aread

if i’ve missed anything let me know~