Tom Effler and his 1977 Comic Panels Translation Series. Way back in 2008, at a US design educators conference, I took part in a “Pecha Kucha” event with several fellow educators. I profiled a retired colleague from my institution and showed…

What do you know about the USA’s Green New Deal? Unless you’re a so-called “policy wonk,” then the answer is probably “not much.” Maybe you recall AOC introducing it at the time. Don’t feel too bad, however, if you don’t — as the majority of Americans are also mainly in…

Introduction Design students’ learning experiences in college-level curricula play a major role in shaping their careers. The approaches and underlying philosophies to which students are exposed can lead to specific opportunities in the field and help shape their mindsets as practitioners. While studies in traditional design disciplines concerned with products…

A project by Ohio State design student Michael Booher — The Ballot digital resource was developed primarily to serve voters in the 18–25-year-old age group, with the goal of increasing voter turnout during elections. Research indicates that a large percentage of individuals from this demographic in Franklin County, Ohio, only vote during presidential elections, or not at all. Duration Fall 2013…

Abstract “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.’ – Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln’s advice is, of course, very good, and applicable to many pursuits. Yet many graphic design practitioners and students often routinely ignore this sentiment, and dive directly into form-making…

Today’s corporation is very different from its predecessors. But the identities devised by designers are failing to mirror those changes. Corporations have changed. They look and act differently compared to the way they did when mass-production was at its height. The “general” is on the decline and the “specific” has…

New media will allow audiences greater control than ever over the reception of messages. Designers neglect users’ needs at their peril. The last few years have brought unprecedented change to graphic design. Recent developments in technology have radically affected the creation, transmission, and reception of visual messages. Graphic designers shifted…

Abstract This paper reports the results of a survey of 1500 US graphic designers. Respondents provided information about their levels of involvement with project-related information gathering and analysis, planning, and end-user evaluation. While there are significant levels of involvement in some of these activities, comments made by respondents reveal that involvement…

Inconspicuous Consumption: The Best of Beer Frame by Paul Lukas (New York: Crown Trade Paperbacks, 1997) 192 pages, $12.95 Many of us are, no doubt, familiar with the concept of a “fanzine.” It’s an informal term used to describe small­ edition magazines, usually published by “fans” of a certain subject…