Work In Progress—Thesis Body

1. Design Education

• What is Design Education?

A. Design education is the teaching of theory and application in the design of products, services and environments. It encompasses various disciplines of design, such as graphic design, user interface design, web design, packaging design, industrial design, fashion design, information design, interior design, sustainable design, and universal design. The values and attitudes which underly modern design schools differ among the different design schools.

B. Design education is many things.
A television show that entertains and motivates.
An innovative, integrated university curriculum.
A mentorship program that inspires future designers.
An international consortium of creative problem solvers.


C. Design education is constant meaningful practice in design problems of increasing complexity.

D. Design education blends theory with creative application in preparing students to become artists and creative leaders in their professions. It seeks to instill aesthetic judgment, professional knowledge, collaborative skills, and technical expertise in students so they can achieve their full potential.


• Design Concepts and Processes

Designers need to master a wide variety of skills and concepts. What follows is an overview of the nine categories of investigation you can find in most design programs. Not every category is taught in every undergraduate curriculum—the time is just too short. Each program emphasizes certain subjects and teaches others more broadly.

Perception, visual organization, aesthetics
Designers think about visual forms and how they are put together to convey meaning. These forms are a kind of visual language. Points, lines, planes, volumes, spaces, areas, textures and colors, as well as how they are used to create symmetry, proportion and rhythm, are basic aspects of the designer’s visual vocabulary.

Form and structure analyzes positive and negative forms.

Form analysis examines how two- and three-dimensional forms create a feeling of space.

Structure and system consider various ways to create order in space. For example, grid system is one way to create a sense of harmony and order.

Visual phenomena explores the intuitive response of the audience to form, color and texture.

Composition and visual framing involves deciding what to include in an image and how elements of an image contrast with one another.

Visual abstraction identifies the key features of an object and simplifies them.

Unity of form looks at relationships among design elements, such as proportion, scale, symmetry and contrast.


Visualizing techniques

Designers need to be familiar with basic tools, techniques and processes to produce images, sketches, models and finished work. They need to use tools with skill and sensitivity. Students learn photography, various kids of drawing, model making and diagramming as ways to develop their ideas.

Photography, although often regarded as a “truthful” rendering of the world, may convey realism or emotion, as demonstrated in these examples.

Visual translation is the process by which the essence of an image is abstracted in a drawing.

Model making explores three-dimensional forms in order to plan and prototype an exhibition or a new product.

Drawing teaches the student to look and to see as well as to put down meaningful marks on paper.


Materials, tools and technology

Technology always plays a role in the process of designing and in communicating information visually. Designers create ideas in two and three dimensions using various materials such as paper and film. They use tools such as computers, camera and airbrushes and work with the technologies of letterpress and video. The designer’s selection of materials and tools can change what an image looks like and what it says.


Blending ideas and production techniques

Designers create solutions to design problems. A part of every solution includes communicating how to get the job done technically: how to get the poster printed or how to create the mechanicals for the package design. The designer must learn to clearly express and transmit ideas and instructions as well as to receive and evaluate feedback. To this end, the student learns to specify technical instructions; to write objectives, briefs and reports; to present ideas verbally, graphically and with audiovisual support; and to listen carefully.


Message and content
Designers address communication problems. They interpret ideas and represent them with images and words. Skill in thinking about and creating meaning with images, type and symbols is essential. The ability to put a persuasive or informational perspective on an idea is also important.

Semantics is the study of how people understand words and images.

Visual metaphor studies symbols. For example, a torch can signal the abstract ideas of victory or freedom.

Persuasion and information examines how to create a memorable visual statement.

Image, symbol and sign explores the ways in which graphic marks, such as handprint or a target, communicate.


Methods, planning and management

Design methodology provides a path for the designer in the search for solutions to communication problems.

Design evaluation judges reaction to a design through a testing procedure. For example, observing a child’s reaction to a book might answer the questions: Is the book easy to read? Is it appealing? Is meaning communicated effectively?

Design management involves an overview of the process of design, including managing creativity, costs, schedules and quality.


History and criticism

Designers are part of a visual culture that includes art, architecture and design. It is not only interesting but also important to know what has gone before. Designers study the past for inspiration and to understand its themes, styles and technical developments. It is possible to trace how certain ideas, developments in the art and technological advances have influenced particular designers. Criticism helps the designer evaluate the usefulness or beauty of a design.


Design theory

Design theory explores the principles underlying what communicates and why. For example, why does one color communicate happiness to you and fear to someone from another society? What are the ways culture affects the designer and the audience? Design theory seeks to find the unifying principles—which might be intuitive or deliberate—that are the basis for all graphic design. It is where education and practice meet.



• History (Past & Present)