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Community
Projects
On occasion, we would do a mini-project during the second
semester of the Junior year as a means for preparing students
to work on the more extensive Senior project. At other times,
we might do a course assignment based on a local situation
with a non-profit organization.
Over the years, we did the decor for the 1961 International
Design Conference at Aspen. We designed and produced all the
materials in Minneapolis and twenty students made the trip
to Aspen and installed the design work. We worked with the
Minnesota State Department of Parks and Recreation. The state
wanted to increase tourist traffic at the parks and the system
needed to be better identified and promoted. We did a demonstration
of how Kansas City, Missouri could use an identity system
and make visible all public properties or activities through
a coordinated design system. This led to the city developing
such a system. At a later date we did the same project for
Tempe, Arizona. Again, the proposal was carried through and
the city established a Graphic Design Office. The Kansas City
Missouri Zoo was a municipal one and its budgets were declining
at a time when there was critical need for renovation and
new facilities. The students did a project to publicize the
zoo, effect a paid admissions and build membership for Friends
of the Zoo, a private supporting organization. The student
project resulted in a paid admissions which could be used
only for improving existing exhibits and building new ones.
We did a signing system for a new Children’s Zoo in Phoenix,
Arizona which was implemented and won a national award. One
year we did visual aids for Nelson Elementary School in Minneapolis.
Later we designed educational aids for Kenwood School, a demonstration
school and Operation Headstart in Kansas City. The year the
national poverty programs went into effect we did a large
photographic reportage on poverty in Kansas City, Missouri
called “On the Other Side of Town.”
University
Projects
When I began to teach at universities, it seemed plausible
that projects conceived within the university might be similar
to community projects. A special problem for Graphic Design
within the university is that it is identified with the Art
Department.
As such, design is often viewed by administrators and many
other segments of university as being a relatively unimportant
field of study. University attitudes toward art and design
range from it being frivolous, to not understanding art or
design or being dubious of its role in the university. Art
Department generally have the lowest faculty salaries, the
worst space and lowest operating budgets.
My strategy was to identify activities in the university where
design would be helpful and appropriate. With the recent emphasis
on research, there were numerous opportunities for students
to bring their expertise to bear on various research projects,
and at the same time, we could create a more favorable impression
of Graphic Design within the university as an educational
program. We could build respect for Graphic Design among our
colleagues and with administration.
One of the best examples of this was at Carnegie Mellon University.
The university had just established a Robotics Institute with
a substantial grant from Westinghouse. We met with the Director
of the robotics program and he was agreeable to the project.
The project was a demonstration of how Graphic Design could
further the objectives of the new Institute. Some of the goals
of the institute were:
1
To recruit the brightest graduate students from other schools.
2
To create an identity for the institute.
3
To solicit industrial membership.
4
The research goals were to use robots in situations dangerous
to people, robots with sensory capabilities, robots to do
jobs that were repetitious and tedious for humans.
The students designed materials such as a map of robotic activities
as they were scattered over campus, a mark for the institute,
a bulletin which would publish research reports, a plaque
for industrial members, a signing system, posters for recruitment
of graduate students, a catalogue of graduate studies in robotics,
annual reports and promotional materials.
The
students planned and installed an exhibition of their work
and arranged for members of the Westinghouse Design Offices
to speak about the value of design. The program was directed
toward the Robotics Institute staff and university administrators.
It was a well conceived and executed project but the Robotics
Institute did not use any of the materials. Carnegie Mellon
University proved to be the least receptive of any clients
I worked with on student projects. At Arizona State University
we were extensively involved with the Anthropology Department,
and in particular, Dr. Charles Redman. Students designed exhibits,
newsletters, and went on field trips to do photographic documentation
at various digs. It was beneficial for design students and
I think they enjoyed the involvement. Dr. Redman seemed to
relish working with Graphic Design students. He was a stimulating
and exciting individual for our students. I found that Graphic
Design students collaborating with people in other disciplines
to be broadening, and it most certainly expanded their educational
horizons. Using their knowledge and skills in Graphic Design
as a base to enter into, or relate to, other fields was extremely
effective as an educational practice
Benefits
I think there is much to gain from similar university
projects in terms of student educational experiences and promoting
design within the institution. Graphic Design workshops accomplish
some of the same goals by doing a variety of work for various
clients in the university. However, they rarely get into the
same depth as an entire Senior class working on a university
project.
For portfolios, most students would show slides of an entire
project and then identify their contributions to the project.
These materials were so different from what most interviewers
saw in student portfolios that it elicited considerable discussion.
Often the interviewer would ask other members of the firm
to come and look at the slides. Because the projects required
teamwork, dealt with clients and involved practical solutions,
most inter viewers were favorably impressed.
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