Overview

As we start to wrap up the “groundwork” of design theory (where revolutionary ideas evolved into mainstream modernism and corporate commercial design), let’s take moment to consider that in the history of design, not every story gets told. Why?

You will be reading and annotating three essays written by Madeleine Morley, Silas Munro, and Alice Rawsthorn, looking at the lack of diversity in the design field and, relatedly, design history.

Read and annotate Celebrating the African-American Practitioners Absent From Way Too Many Classroom Lectures by Madeleine Morley, Eye on Design, 2018, Typography as a Radical Act in an Industry Ever-dominated by White Men by Silas Munro, Eye on Design, 2019 and Design Gets More Diverse by Alice Rawsthorn, NYTimes, 2011 with your classmates in our Hypothesis group.

Instructions

Following the instructions below, read and annotate the text with your classmates in our Hypothesis group. After reading and annotating the text, create a rough draft of your response in your Research Journal. Your response should be about 200 words and checked for spelling and grammar errors. Lastly, create a new post and publish your response.

1. Open the readings

In new tabs, open the essays Celebrating the African-American Practitioners Absent From Way Too Many Classroom Lectures by Madeleine Morley, Eye on Design, 2018, Typography as a Radical Act in an Industry Ever-dominated by White Men by Silas Munro, Eye on Design, 2019 and Design Gets More Diverse by Alice Rawsthorn, NYTimes, 2011

2. Enable Hypothesis

The reading links above will automatically open Hypothesis. Login to your account and select our group (IMPORTANT!) from the dropdown to make sure your annotations and highlights will be recorded in the group. See Using Hypothesis for details.

3. Consider these questions.

Here are the questions to which you should respond in your reading response. Be sure to reference and cite the three essays, but form and share your own opinions too.

  • What stood out to you the most in this week’s readings?
  • How do we change the commercial design field to include a diversity of voices and visions?
  • What will the commercial design field and the study of design history look like in 20 years?

4. Read & Annotate.

Consider the questions/prompts listed above. Start to formulate the answers to these prompts while you practice close reading with annotations. This will be part of your grade. Share at least 3 annotations in the Hypothesis group, including your questions, definitions, and ideas with your classmates. Add the tags: Diversify Design and Reading Response 6 to your annotations.

5. Draft your Reading Response.

In your Research Journal, write a draft of your 200-word response. Check for grammar and spelling errors. Use the word count tool. Use the Grammarly app or something similar to improve the clarity of your writing. Use visual examples to supplement your reading response.

Consider looking at the Course Resources and COMD Theory OER, especially the sections Inclusion & Exclusion and Diversity & Inclusion in Design to see if there are examples that will help support your ideas.

6. Post your Reading Response.

When ready, create a new post titled “Reading Response 6 – YourInitials.”

At the top of the post copy and paste the following: Celebrating the African-American Practitioners Absent From Way Too Many Classroom Lectures by Madeleine Morley, Eye on Design, 2018, Typography as a Radical Act in an Industry Ever-dominated by White Men by Silas Munro, Eye on Design, 2019, and Design Gets More Diverse by Alice Rawsthorn, NYTimes, 2011.

Copy and paste the questions/prompts listed above. Paste your reading response from your Research Journal. Add links to your annotations in the Hypothesis group at the bottom of your post. Always add links and attribution for any images that you use in your post. Adjust any formatting issues that may have occurred while pasting. Use the Reading Response (Example) post as a guide.

Please be sure to add the following title, category, and tags to your posts. For help with adding Categories and Tags, see OpenLab Help.

  • TITLE: Reading Response 6 – Your Initials
  • CATEGORY: Reading Responses
  • TAG: Reading Response #6
  • TAG: Your Name/Screenname

Due Date(s)

Your reading response is due the day before the next session.

Resources

More info

Print this page