design CREATING TEAMWORK BUILDINGCITIES 18 Impressions 2010|2011
This “Germ Colony” by student designers included a tooth hospital and a small river <strong>of</strong> mouthwash. By Chris Brawley- Morgan Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Amy Johnson’s goal is to produce anti-diva designers. “We want to create work horses, not show ponies. Your work is better, and your career will be better too,” said Johnson, <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Oklahoma</strong> graphic design assistant pr<strong>of</strong>essor. That’s why when Johnson redesigned the UCO design curriculum two years ago, she included the “Technicolor Cities” assignment in Design Foundations Three. Last spring, graphic and interior design majors built their cities: a Mario Brothersstyle community, an ideal college campus, a mythical Greek world and—perhaps most intriguingly—a germ colony on a tooth. The results were unique and visually striking, but “Technicolor Cities” was as much about building teams as building alternative universes. For example, the tooth team had to decide whether their fuzzy germ residents would come in all colors or just a few, said Amy Jacobson-Peters, UCO interior design instructor. “They didn’t want it to look like an elementary-school craft project. They went back and forth, and there were some strong opinions,” she said. In general, “all the teams had to settle disputes, collegially and pr<strong>of</strong>essionally. Design is not an individual sport,” Jacobson-Peters said. For the “Technicolor Cities” project, the students built on 12–inch-by-12-inch squares that integrated with the surrounding squares and the “city” as a whole. Jency Johnson, an <strong>Oklahoma</strong> City sophomore who is a graphic design and computer science major, created a casino for the glittery, gilded version <strong>of</strong> Zeus’ heaven. She said her team usually worked together before or during class. “None <strong>of</strong> us wanted to do anything without seeing what other people were doing, just to make sure we were all going in the same direction,” she said. Besides proportion, the four levels <strong>of</strong> the Grecian city were connected by other elements, such as columns. For instance, the columns in the underworld were broken and cracked, while the ones on earth had a granite-look. “The columns are supposed to be cake toppers. We found a lot <strong>of</strong> stuff in the wedding section at Hobby Lobby,” said Jessica Harrison, a junior from Woodward who is double majoring in graphic design and advertising. The tooth city was linked by its white Styr<strong>of</strong>oam base and small rivers <strong>of</strong> mouthwash and fillings. It also included a wad <strong>of</strong> green gum—which the germs had converted to a climbing wall—and a downtown, which is where germs worked, hollowing out a cavity. The ideal college campus included plenty <strong>of</strong> free parking, a luxurious dorm with a ro<strong>of</strong>top pool and an energy drink factory. The Mario Brothers city was filled with vividly colored, erratically shaped buildings and mushrooms with polka dots. The 22 students who built the Grecian city won the contest for the best city. Johnson said it was clear by looking at the transitions between each section <strong>of</strong> the city that the team members cooperated. “The incorporation <strong>of</strong> the cities assignment into the foundations class has been very successful,” said Johnson. “It has <strong>of</strong>fered our design students even more opportunities to enhance their understanding <strong>of</strong> compromise, increase their level <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism and encourage their creativity.” ■ One <strong>of</strong> the “Technicolor Cities” created by UCO student designers resembled the popular “Mario Brothers” video game. UCO College <strong>of</strong> Fine Arts and Design 19
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