Nicole Roberts MFA Thesis Visual Component Artwork - Savannah ...

introduction
Since William A. Dwiggins first coined it in 1922, the term ‘graphic design’ has
witnessed a definitive expansion from its origins of exclusively printed communications.
Its perception has evolved from a mere craftsman’s trade to a multifarious “professional
craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force.” 1 How we perceive design has evolved
in tandem with the expeditious advancements in communicative technology and the
globalization of business in a continual expansion. Twenty-first century graphic design
is no longer a luxury commissioned by billion dollar conglomerations, or exclusively
found tucked away in highbrow museum galleries. Design is now a household term
for the average consumer, however loosely understood. With this increased public
awareness comes increased public demand. Leading professionals learn to adapt quickly
in the field, continually learning and implementing new methods and technologies as
consumer demands arise. All too frequently, it is the collegiate design schools that are
slow to respond to this continuous learning curve. Some progressive graphic design
departments revisit their curricula often to incorporate new industry advancements, while
others stumble upon the politics of academia, preventing their good intentions of timely
refinement. Many hold fast to the form-based Bauhaus teachings, while others embrace
the complex postmodern concepts and tools of what is now termed the “information era.”
Proactive educators learn new software and have begun to reinvent the balance of teaching
technical skills with teaching critical thinking. 2 Graphic design historian – Philip Meggs
denounces, “While many schools are busy manipulating form, the profession is busy
manipulating minds. American design education has drifted toward European modernism,
while American graphic design has maintained a pluralistic pragmatism. Students often
suffer an intense culture shock after graduation, for they have been taught to be form
manipulators, while the profession demands that they become message makers.” 3
1 AIGA: The Professional Association for
Design, “About AIGA,” AIGA, http://
www.aiga.org/content.cfm/about-aiga
(accessed January 31, 2010).
2 Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips,
Graphic Design: The New Basics
(New York, NY: Princeton Architectural
Press, 2008), 5.
3 Philip Meggs, “Pedagogy vs. the Real
World,” from AIGA Journal of Graphic
Design, vol. 4, no. 1, 1986, in Meggs:
Making Graphic Design History, ed.
Rob Carter, Libby Meggs, and Sandra
Wheeler (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 2008), 75.
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