Month: August 2021

Our first reading assignment consists of a couple short texts. Please download them using the links below, (print if possible,) read, and respond. Your response should be 3-4 paragraphs, which can be typed directly into a post or handwritten in your research notebook. If you decide to hand-write please just post an image into a new post.

Here are the readings:
Helen Armstrong, “Introduction: Revisiting the Avant-Garde” from Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field (2009):

Bruno Munari, selected chapters from Design as Art (1966):

Here are the questions to which you should respond:
According to these authors, what role should design play in our society? What distinguishes the field, or fields, of design from other creative occupations? Why should designers concern themselves with unsolvable theoretical questions? What role does technology play in shaping design? What are the most urgent problems facing designers today? How, and why, is a designer responsible for solving these problems?

Please post your responses before class on the 14th. And please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or issues. You can send a message through OpenLab or email me: mlange@citytech.cuny.edu

Our first objective (which is sort of just an extension of the first class session) will be to create a short video introduction.

While the hybrid classroom will keep us socially distanced to varying degrees, the quality of our discussions will depend on our willingness to speak openly with one another. The goals for this exercise will be to tell the class a little bit about yourself, and meet everyone that you’ll be working with through the semester.

Please record a short video providing the following information:
– Your name and preferred name
– Where you are filming the video (Feel free to go somewhere interesting!)
– Your “relationship” to City Tech and COMD; meaning how far along you are in the program, your primary interests, and goals for the future
– The fashion item, accessory, or footwear that has been necessary in your life for the past 17 or 18 months
– A theory that you have, or have heard recently…it can be about anything, but should ideally be impossible to prove.

Video files tend to be large. You’ll need to upload to YouTube, Dropbox, Vimeo, etc., then embed the link into a New Post by clicking the + box, locating Video, then selecting “Link”. (We’ll review Posting instructions in our first class session.)

Finally, the most important part of the assignment: Watch all of your peers’ videos! You may need to check back a couple times if you upload yours right away.

Here is mine. Hope you enjoy: