Reading 2 - Helfand

Method Designing: The Paradox of Modern Design Education

Jessica Helfand

- Over a century ago, Konstantin Stanislavsky revolutionized the modern theatre by introducing a new system of training, in which the actor would draw on his or her own emotions to achieve a true understanding of a character.

- The good news is that in an effort to produce designers who can think for themselves, we ask our students to identify a method which becomes evident through the work that they produce.

- Such an emphasis on authorship is, by and large, a way to train young designers as thinkers — and not merely as service providers. At the same time, we encourage them to seek references beyond the obvious: the richness of their sources testifies to an ability to engage a larger universe, and their work benefits from locating itself along a trajectory they’ve chosen and defined for themselves.

- The bad news is that as a consequence of seeking validation elsewhere, there is an unusual bias toward false identity: so the design student, after looking at so much art, believes that s/he is making art.

Reading 2 - Bayazit

Investigating Design: A Review of Forty Years of Design Research

Bayazit

Design research tries to answer the obligations of design to the humanities:

A - Design research is concerned with the physical embodiment of man-made things, how these things perform their jobs, and how they work.

B - Design research is concerned with construction as a human activity, how designers work, how they think, and how they carry out design activity.

C - Design research is concerned with what is achieved at the end of a purposeful design activity, how an artificial thing appears, and what it means.

D - Design research is concerned with the embodiment of configurations.

E - Design research is a systematic search and acquisition of knowledge related to design and design activity.

First-Generation Design Methods

- The influence of systems analysis and systems theory on design established the grounds for the foundation of “systematic design methods,”

- The methods proposed at that conference were simplistic in character. Everyone was systematizing his or her own approach to design, and externalizing it as design method.

Second-Generation Design Methods

- Second-generation design methods began to compensate for the inadequacy of the first-generation design methods.

- User participation to P&D is a very wide and comprehensive subject, with its political, ideological, psychological, managerial, administrative, legal and economical aspects in relation to various countries.

Reading 2 - Leedy + Ormrod

The Problem: The Heart of the Research Process

Leedy + Ormrod

The problem or question is the axis around which the whole research effort revolves. The statement of the problem must first be expressed with the utmost precision; it should then be divided into more manageable subproblems. Such an approach clarifies the goals and directions of the entire research effort.

Basic Research

Such projects, which can advance human being's theoretical conceptualizations about a particular topic, are known as basic research.

Applied Research

Such projects, which can inform human decision making about practical problems, are known as applied research.

Axe Effect

Creative thinking - business card design ideas

Creative thinking

Reading 1 - Gunnar Swanson

Design as Liberal Art

Gunnar Swanson

We need to consider whether our attitudes toward "professionalism" in design education do the same.

By "synthetic" I mean that design does not have a subject matter of its own- it exists in practice only in relation to the requirements of given project. The path of progress for the field is not defined by the next great unsolved design problem.

Design is "integrative" in that, by its lack of specific subject matter, it has the potential to connect many disciplines.

Even while some design programs are strengthening their liberal studies requirements, the tendency toward professional rather than general education at colleges and universities has been growing for the past two decades.

In light of this tendency toward professionalism, it may seem counter-intuitive that I suggest that we not only increase the augmentation of design training with more liberal studies, but also reconsider graphic design education - as a liberal arts subject.

Reading 1 - Leedy + Ormrod

The Fundamentals: What is Research?

Leedy + Ormrod

What is not a research?

1. Research is not mere information gathering.

2. Research is not mere transportation of facts from one location to another.

3. Research is not merely rummaging for information.

4. Research is not a catchword used to get attention.

What is research?

1. Research originates with a question or problem.

2. Research requires clear articulation of a goal.

3. Research requires a specific plan for proceeding.

4. Research usually divides the principal problem into more manageable sub-problems.

5. Research is guided by the specific research problem, question, or hypothesis.

6. Research accepts certain critical assumptions.

7. Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in an attempt to resolve the problem that initiated the research.

8. Research is, by its nature, cyclical or, more exactly, helical.

Reading 1 - Meredith Davis

The Landscape of Graphic Design Education

Meredith Davis

A discipline is a branch of learning that has a body of knowledge, modes of inquiry, and historical and critical perspectives on both as they relate to the subject. Chemistry and anthropology are disciplines. A profession, on the other hand, is an occupation that involves the application of knowledge and training in the discipline.

The role of colleges and universities now engaged in professional education is to develop students with respect to both the discipline and the profession of graphic design.

I would argue that what distinguishes a professional graphic design education from a pre-professional experience (and a profession from a trade) is not the one-to-one match between curriculum and the current skill set necessary for entry-level practice, but the essential competencies that enable design practitioners to be predictive and responsible for transforming the field across their professional careers.

What excellent professional programs in design demonstrate, regardless of their structure and the particular skills of the faculty, is that it takes time to produce a professional and even longer to produce a leader in the field.

We must move the relationships of general education of liberal arts courses to design courses from one of proximity to integration.

As long as we remain reactive to changes in the profession, instead of anticipating changes in the communication environment itself, we will be ill-prepared for addressing them from a position of strength.

Toronto Police Service - Logo

The components of the TPS logo is similar to the old Metro Toronto Police logo less the name change:

• winged wheels of industry on the top part of the shield
• crown commemorating the coronation year of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953
• two books for education
• Caduceus - Roman god of commerce
• chevron for housing
• beaver from the city of Toronto logo

Toronto Police Service - Uniform

Front line officers wear dark navy blue shirts, cargo pants (with red stripe) and boots. Winter jackets are either dark navy blue jacket design– Eisenhower style, single breasted front closing, 2 patch type breast pockets, shoulder straps, gold buttons, or yellow windbreaker style with the word POLICE in reflective silver and black at the back (Generally worn by the bicycle police). All ranks shall wear dark navy blue clip on ties when wearing long-sleeve uniforms.

Auxiliary officers (shown to the right) wear light blue shirts, with the badging of auxiliary on the bottom of the crest. Originally front line officer also wore light blue shirts but changed to the current navy blue shirts in the Fall of 2000.

Hats can be styled after baseball caps, combination caps,or fur trim hats for winter. Motorcycle units have white helmets. Black or reflective yellow gloves are also provided to officers with Traffic Services. Front line officers usually wear combination caps since that is the location of their badge.

As is the case with all Ontario Law Enforcement Officers, uniformed officers wear name tags. They are in the style of "A. Example" where the first letter of the first name is written and the last name next to it. Name tags are usually stitched on with white stitching on a black background, but they also have pin-styled with black lettering on a gold plate.

Senior officers wear white shirts and a black dress jacket.

Toronto Police

Welcome to my blog

I am a 4th year graphic design student in OCAD.