this is not a design blog

My final thesis presentation will be multi-modal, combining an installation that encapsulates the social design provocations that I have implemented, and will include a book documenting my process, methodology, research, documentation and analysis of my individual projects. The physical form that my thesis will take is the most ambiguous part of my process at this time. It is the most difficult question to answer as my projects are still developing. Form must honor content. The final form will not reveal itself until my process is well under way and I begin to compare and contrast my individual projects against my initial thesis question. Only then will I develop a form that honors the arc of my thesis development and execution. At this time, I intend to produce both a book and create a gallery installation to showcase my work. The physical form the installation takes will be wholly dependent upon the subject and form of my final projects. The installation will be user-centered and feature my thesis book as an aspect, not the focus, of my final presentation. Where possible, the actual design objects and site-specific installations will be featured in my thesis show.

For one of my projects, I will utilize the yellow gator board signs that realty speculators post on vacant buildings as the medium for my message. As they are currently utilized, these signs tacitly signify economic hardship, disparity, neighborhood decline and dangerous living situations. In many ways, these signs demoralize those that are forced to live with them. The signs act as a constant reminder of the death of these city neighborhoods. I intend to subvert their tacit messaging by replacing the message on them. I will screenprint a series of messages that actively encourage the reader to make their own judgement upon the intent of the message makers. For instance, Johns Hopkins has been accused of “blockbusting” in Baltimore to exploit real estate loopholes, and I would like to create a binary poster system that relates to the idea of optimism versus pessimism in terms of neighborhood gentrification. These will be installed in appropriate city locations and fully documented. I also plan to explore the notion of Subversive Positivism as was coined by the “everything is ok” campaign created by Mine SF. This theory of design activism distorts context in a way that forces those that encounter it to re-evaluate how they engage with their environment. This is my ultimate goal for all of my design exploration in my thesis.

My thesis book will not merely present the results of my design interventions. I will feature my methodology, documentation, and reflection upon each individual project. It will be academic and a design object, and it will be a guidebook for me as I move forward beyond my graduate experience and implement and explore design activism in my professional career.

First Person:
I will strive to create design that matters. I will engage and provoke my audience. I will utilize the appropriate means for the problem at hand. I will not forget who my audience is and why and I am designing for them. I am ready to start the conversation; to become part of the solution instead of contributing to the problem.

Second Person:
As a graphic designer, you are responsible for the effect your work has on society. Utilize your professional practice to contribute to, not detract from, ongoing social discourse. Encourage and foster a climate of change instead of a stagnant and unengaged approach. Be willing to address social issues such as poverty, crime and standard of living in your work.

Third Person:
According to the First Things First Manifesto, designers should put their problem-solving skills to a more worthwhile use by addressing urgent cultural and social issues, instead of devoting their time and energy primarily to advertising, marketing, and branding.