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

EXPECTATION 5 | multi-disciplinary approach
The opportunity for pedagogical change is found
in fusing cross-platform coursework, above and beyond
that of offering elective general education courses. As
the French philosopher Michel Foucault once said,
“Design becomes powerful only when it enters the
domain of other discourses.” 19 Graphic design programs
must not only recommend, but also require and foster
collaborative design projects with other programs of
study outside of the graphic design department. In
this instance, graphic design students will work on
environmental graphic design projects in collaboration
with architecture students; portfolio classes will harness
the expertise of photography majors; brand identity
studios will reach out to industrial, interior and fashion
design classes. The result of such collaborative efforts
is two-fold – architecture students, for example, will
gain knowledge outside of their traditional curriculum,
such as principles of typography. In return, graphic
design students will become more astute with design for
the built environment, learning human scale, differing
materiality, and three-dimensional rendering techniques.
The result is conclusively favorable from each side.
These collaborative design experiences will educate
all students involved (not just graphic designers) to
be versed in the language of various disciplines, thus
empowering them to apply a myriad of methodologies
to future design process.
It is undeniable that design pedagogy of the
twenty-first century is now more multifaceted than ever
before, and it is up to educators to ensure curricula is
globally cohesive. International design critic – Igildo G.
Biesele indicates, “the totality exists in the first place
through an interdisciplinary cooperation, which, when
the structure of the syllabus is appropriate, can also
find its expression in the individual [graphic design]
courses.” 20 Curricula must begin to incorporate not
only the essence of the ever-changing message, but also
its capability to pull from relative ideologies such as the
permanence of architectural structure, the ergonomics
of industrial form, and the psychology of human
behavior within a virtual environment. Progressive
educators are mindful of these concerns and some
programs have already made gradual pedagogical
changes. Rhode Island School of Design’s Professor
Nancy Skolos reports, “We recently incorporated
more strategic thinking into our senior studio in order
to prepare students to work across many media.”
Multi-disciplinary, collaborative design coursework
will facilitate students to bridge the gap between the
intangible design concept, the tangible sense of identity
on paper or on screen, and the sense of place within
the built environment. 21 Professional graphic design
processes have evolved from singular tasks to multidisciplinary
agents of change; graphic design education
must follow suit to ensure the all-inclusive competence
of a new generation of designers.
Eliminating liberal arts would
be detrimental to a student’s
ability to draw inspiration
from many different areas.
David Short, MFA Candidate
Savannah College of Art & Design
Atlanta, Georgia
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