Fairy Tales

The tools–as happened so often in the past–are changing with the relentless advance of technology, but the essence of graphic design remains unchanged. That essence is to give order to information, form to ideas, and expression and feeling to artifacts that document the human experience.

The need for clear and imaginative visual communications to relate people to their cultural, economic and social lives has never been greater. As shapers of messages and images, graphic designers have an obligation to contribute meaningfully to a public understanding of environmental and social issues. Graphic designers have a responsibility to adapt new technology and to express their zeitgeist by inventing new forms and new ways of expressing ideas.” Philip Meggs

Conceptual Foundation

Historically, graphic design has served this ‘essence’... From it’s roots in the caves of Lascaux through the Victorian era, cultural values, needs and the evolution of humanity are evidenced, and in part, a result of visual communications practices.

Post Industrial Revolution, the ‘essence’ of graphic design experienced a significant practical shift from the essence described by Meggs. First transitioning to a business practice, to a technological practice, to an advertising/consumer.

For the remainder of the quarter, we will return to the ‘essence’ of graphic design and

through a methodological practice explore ways “to give order to information, form to

ideas, and expression and feeling to artifacts that document the human experience.”

to discover new forms and new ways of expressing ideas.

The relationship between cultural values and experiences to visual communication dates back to the first visual documentation of the human experience in the cave paintings of Lascaux. Relationships to the evolution of humanity, development of literacy and representations of cultural values are evidenced throughout the history of graphic design/visual communications. At its essence, graphic design has always been about telling stories.

In Exploration2, you will extend “seeing differently” beyond the investigation of ordinary objects and unrelated words. In this exploration, you will assess the original cultural, social, and value initiatives behind classic fairytales. Based on this analysis, you will develop new artifacts that use these existing ideas to create a new narrative that speaks to a contemporary audience’s cultural, economic, and/or social lives.

Outcomes:

After completing this exploration, students will be able to:

• assess the original cultural, social, and/or value purpose(s) that informed the classic fairytale

• implement sophisticated methods of research, investigation, and assessment in an effort to discover ways to assign new meaning to existing narratives.

• define a design opportunity that exploits narrative associations made between content and a contemporary audience.

• create rough design executions that investigate design opportunities identified through a process of creative play

• integrate the ideas of a classic fairytale to create a new narrative that speaks to a contemporary audience’s cultural, economic, and/or social lives

• synthesize feedback from their peers and professor, revising visual executions accordingly

• create a refined design solution that integrates the ideas of existing content to create a new narrative that speaks to a contemporary audience’s cultural, economic, and/or social lives

Process:

Discover:

• Identify 3 – 5 classic fairytales that you would like to investigate.
• Analyze the original cultural, social, and/or value purpose(s) that informed each fairytale.
• Based on your assessment, choose the fairytale that you intend to creatively, innovatively, and meaningfully relate to the cultural, economic, and social lives of a contemporary audience.

Respond:

• Develop a design narrative (Due: May 5) that articulates how you intend to relate your chosen fairytale to a contemporary audience. Consider your design narrative to be a flexible document, particularly its how component. Still, it is important to be thoughtful and to commit to the what, who, and why aspects of the narrative. Your narrative should include, but is not limited to:

• What you want to say: Describe your communication intention and its relationship to the fairytale you selected.
  
• Who you want to say it to: Describe your intended audience.
  
• Why you want to say it: Describe how this opportunity presented itself through your exploration and why this communication is significant to the intended audience.
  
• How you will say it: Describe possible forms that the communication may take.
  

Resonate:

• Work towards the development of your design narrative through application of creative process. Exploration of multiple working directions for further development is expected. Work in progress should be shared classes, 14, 15 and 16.

Revise:

• Create well-developed comps. Work in progress shared classes 17 and 18.

Reveal: Present final. Due Class 19.