Author: Prof. Matthew C. Lange (Page 2 of 7)

This week’s discussion is a follow-up to Steven Heller’s Underground Mainstream essay, and an opportunity to think outside of the traditional design box.

With Heller’s idea in mind, think of a recent cultural trend that is underground, but which may go mainstream. It can be music, movies, fashion, something on social media, or really anything that takes place outside of advertising and design. Create a new Discussion Post in which you describe that trend to us.

You can format your post however you like. You can record a video of yourself talking. You can type out your idea. You can design a quick graphic. You can share images or links to relevant videos. However you go about, consider the following set of questions…

What is the trend you’re describing? Where did it originate? Who started it? Has it already gone mainstream with certain audiences, perhaps in a particular region or within a specific demographic group? Would you like to see this trend become more mainstream? Or will widespread attention dilute its messages? What do you think it will look like if and when the trend goes mainstream? Will the originators receive the attention they deserve, or will imitators take the credit?

Once you’ve posted please be sure to check out your peers’ posts as well. Comment on at least 3.

Here is the asynchronous presentation for this week. You will see that this expands on the ideas from the Steven Heller text, and invites you to do the same. Comments are optional, but encouraged if you have any questions.

After watching the Second Video for this Week, which provides an overview of some successful presentations from past semesters, please consider some ideas that you would like to address for your final presentation.

Create a new Post, categorized as a Discussion. In that Post, try to answer the following questions, or at least begin to sketch out some ideas that might be related to these…
– Is there a particular designer or design trend that you find interesting, and that you might like to explore in greater detail?
– What makes that work interesting or compelling for you?
– Is there a specific time in that designer’s career that is a particularly interesting or compelling? Or if you’re thinking about a design trend, is there a time frame that can be defined within a few years?
– How are the designs in question related to the things that we have read throughout the semester?
– Is there a particular text, or school of thought, that we covered, which interested you or that you would like to know more about?
– Can you formulate a theory of your own regarding the designs that you are considering?

Again, you don’t not need to have a perfectly clear vision for your final at this point. And you are not committing to any particular topic through this discussion. We’re still mostly in a brainstorming phase. The goal for now is to bring you closer to settling on an idea.

Here is the second half of the asynchronous presentation for this week. In this video I share some examples of recent final presentations. You’ll see that each of these presentations were very well done, but there is not really one exact formula for successfully completing this project. You’re encouraged to consider the unique approach that you might adopt to address the theories and ideas that are most relevant to your particular design interests.

Remember, if you need a refresher on the final presentation guidelines, they can always be found HERE.

Please leave comments or email me with any immediate questions you may have.

After you’ve begun to consider some topics, you’ll respond according to these Guidelines.

Here is the first half of the synchronous presentation for this week, which is a follow-up to last week’s readings. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have.