Day one of my Topics in Graphic Design class was an experience. I say that because I do not exactly know how else to describe it. Going into this class I didn’t know what to expect, because “Topics in Graphic Design” is a somewhat vague title for a class, but in the end I was pleasantly surprised.

We started off as it would in any other class—introductions, passing out and reading of the syllabus, and wondering exactly how much homework will be assigned this semester (at least in my case). After that we were asked to share any questions we had about the class, or the Design world in general. That led to a classroom discussion about various topics.

We were also asked what we expected, or wanted, to learn this semester. At the time I did not know what to suggest, because there is so much that I don’t know, and furthermore, I don’t know what I don’t know, so what was I to do? Luckily my classmates are very goal oriented, so they knew exactly what they want to learn, which was how to get a job, working with emerging media, the “gig economy”, to name a few.

The last thing we did was watch a TED Talk by a book designer named Chip Kidd. The talk, The art of first impressions—in design and life, was all about boiling designs down to only their essential parts—giving the audience just enough information to figure the rest out for themselves. This resonated with me and my style of design. I subscribe to the less is more philosophy, however my work can be too straight forward at times. In the future I will try to incorporate bit of mystery into my work to make it more interesting.

So, it turns out “Topics in Graphic Design” is exactly what is sounds like—topics in graphic design. It covers any and everything that pertains to graphic design, which means that I should be learning a lot about my future profession in the upcoming months. If it’s anything like the first day it should be an experience, and I look forward to it.