Featured Resource: AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts)
In this issue we look at the intersection of educational practice with the academic discipline of graphic arts. We can only highlight a small portion of what AIGA offers educators in this discipline, but these three resources stand out to us as particularly useful.
Design Education Resources: Design Futures Research
A series of briefing papers in seven parts provided as downloadable PDF files on the AIGA site.
Typical article reading length is 8 to 12 pages long; about 12 to 18 minutes.
AIGA describes the Design Futures research project as examining “seven trends shaping the context for the practice of design. This change in the nature of work calls for new skills and perspectives beyond traditional college-level design education. It is critical that the industry expands its knowledge and expertise to remain economically viable and professionally relevant as it prepares for changing client demands and new opportunities for design influence.”
The Design Futures briefing paper serves as the introduction to this series (six pages, about nine minutes).
Each paper defines a trend, cites examples of the trend in practice, identifies the core concepts and principles involved, and lists the competencies necessary for addressing the trend at the college and professional level. Each includes a brief list of resources for further reading.
- Trend #1: Complex Problems
- Trend #2: Aggregation and Curation
- Trend #3: Bridging Digital and Physical Experiences
- Trend #4: Core Values Matter
- Trend #5: Resilient Organizations
- Trend #6: Making Sense in the Data Economy
- Trend #7: Accountability for Anticipating Design Outcomes
Design Teaching Resource: Projects
Browse the colorful cards of creative project possibilities, learn more about your peers who submitted them, connect with the Design Educators Community, or explore resources related to topics such as course planning and accessibility.
This resource, which includes over 160 successful teaching projects, is as inspirational as it is practical. Populated by graphic design faculty from around the country, each project includes a project brief, learning objectives, deliverables, associated readings and resources, and reflections regarding how well and why the assignment worked. Projects are searchable by student academic level, design category (for example, typography), and by keywords (for example, “color theory”, or “photography”).
Design Future Now! Podcast
Length ranges from very short (13 minutes) to much longer (50+ minutes); typical length is 30 minutes or less.
AIGA explores key questions confronting the profession with selected practitioners and leaders in this ongoing series of podcasts. With only 16 episodes thus far, this resource can be quickly scanned for interest. Past episodes have included topics such as what musical minds teach us about creativity and innovation, digital craft and the shift from “human centered design” to “humanity centered design”, along with a wide range of others.