Student Work

C Studio II: Designing Communications for Interactions: Connecting History

Tagged as: Communications, Interaction Design, Sophomore, Undergraduate
Our design history is rich with people, places, things, and movements that greatly influence the ways that we teach, practice, and enjoy design. Similar to present day class cohorts, historical ‘visual visionaries’ shared backgrounds, interests, and approaches to design, creating synergies that were often magical and highly impactful.Early in the spring 2016 semester, sophomore communication design students at Carnegie Mellon were tasked with uncovering important connections among key people. Each student explored one person in depth, making note of interesting tidbits, while investigating influences on present day design practices. The class found commonalities among the people they were studying, which led them to map connections on a wall of the studio using sticky notes.The students then set out to share their discoveries. They each wrote a biography that articulated the importance of the person they studied. Each biography served as a core component of a multi-faceted story that was constructed using text and images. While learning about grid systems, typography, and composition, students wove together layers of information to form three spreads of this book and a website that highlights key aspects of their focal person.The students’ efforts culminated in a rich design history book and a set of websites that features twenty-two 'visual visionaries'. These communication pieces not only feature important facets of our design history but also provide a glimpse of what the students find relevant to their current practice of design.

Jan Tschichold by Natalie Harmon	Connecting History by Christie Chong	Connecting History by Lily Fulop
Connecting History by Bettina Chou	Connecting History by Carolyn Zhou	Connecting History by Faith Kaufman
Connecting History: Josef Müller-Brockmann by Sara Remi Fields	Connecting History by Anqi Wan	Connecting Histories: Paul Rand by Lily Kim
Connecting History by Steven Ji

C Studio II: Designing Communications for Interactions: Connecting History

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