aiga blunt: why and how select approaches to critical writing should foster deep knowledge creation...

02 | 37 Gibson | AIGA: Blunt

Michael R. Gibson

Graduate ProgramsCoordinator: Design Research michael.gibson @unt.edu

940.565.3621

The University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design Department of Design

Design Research Center Dallas, Texas

www.art.unt.edu/designresearch center/

Why and how select approaches to critical writing should foster deep knowledge creation in visual communication design

Why and how


Ummmm… Golly, butUmmmm… Golly, but that was an obnoxiously long title!

Portions of my discourse today may compel you to argument. Before you begin, remember to: 1. contextualize/ frame your contentions

2. operationalize a central theme as your argue

3. provide viable evidence/well- articulated rationales to support your claims (i.e. argue rather than merely assert; analyze/explain rather than merely report)

4. provide concrete examples re: WHY and HOW I/portions of this presentation are misleading, poorly reasoned, structurally incongruent, over-focused…


Broadly and briefly—Broadly and briefly— an outline of this presentation by sections

1. Overview: an analysis of national data sets 2. Five rationales for utilizing critical writing to catalyze critical thinking in contemporary visual communication design

3. Expanding the context of what critical writing processes that examine contemporary visual communication design can achieve

4. Making critical writing about design and designing a vital, ongoing learning experience in contemporary visual communication design

5. Preparing future design educators to empower their students with critical writing

What’s not being taughtWhat’s not being taught re: writing in/about/of design in contemporary U.S. university- level design programs


Section 1

~ 13% of the over 300, NASAD-accredited, undergraduate, graphic design programs dedicate coursework to some form of writing related to design or designing.


~ 6% of the >700 university-level, undergraduate graphic design programs sanctioned by at least regional accreditors dedicate coursework to writing related to design or designing.


Section 1


†A detailed explanation of what it means to “mean-

ingfully address” these types

of writing in a university-level

design program will be presented later in this discourse.


Section 1

Writing about · the outcomes of designing,

· the critical thinking that guides design processes,

· the social, techno-logical, economic, environmental and political factors— the “S.T.E.E.P.” factors—that affect and are affected by designing

are meaningfully addressed† in less than 50 undergrad-uate programs that contain “graphic design,” “visual communication design” or “com-munication design” in their titles.



Section 1

There are ~1,100 undergraduate programs accredited by NASAD or a regional accreditor that utilize “graphic,” “communication,” or “visual” ahead of “design” in their titling. <4% dedicate courses to writing in/about/of design.



Section 1

Of the undergraduate design programs that now emphasize “interaction design”or “web design” as emphasis areas in their curriculums — >650 are at least regionally accredited— <5% dedicate courses to writing in/about/of design.



Section 1

There are ~180 at least regionally accredited graduate programs that utilize “graphic,” “communication,” “visual,” “interaction,” “social,” “user experience” or “innovation” ahead of/associated with “design” in their titling.

< 20% of these dedicate courses to writing in/about/of design that do not involve a thesis or dissertation.

SO— SO—


all the evidence presented in the last six slides indicates that

critical writing in/about/of design and designing is not integral to most American collegiate design programs.

GOSH!GOSH!12 | 37

Gibson | AIGA: Blunt

That’s really stupid, especially in light of the fact that

> 80% of other U.S.-based collegiate majors integrate critical writing into their curricula.

WELL,OK… BUT, STILL,WELL,OK… BUT, STILL,


why should emerging designers learn to write critically in/about/of design?Design and designing are so different than Anthropology, Marketing, Information Science, Education, Counseling…


Section 2

Five rationales for utilizing critical writing to catalyze critical thinking in contemporary visual communication design

Five rationales

one A.Designing a few more cool posters and websites is not a particularly effective means to help transform undesirable situations that involve urban decay, poor education, shrinking natural resources, classicism and malnutrition…

Facilitating these types of changes requires understanding the contextual factors that affect the real lives of those living in these situations. Well-articulated critical writing informs these types of understandings, and accounts for the voices of multiple stakeholders/partipants.


Section 2


Five rationales

one B.The domains of business, technology, culture, and public policy are becoming more intertwined with each other and with design. This new paradigm requires that designers cultivate the habits of mind and abilities toconfront a diverse array of challenges that are:

·long-term· complex systemically and organizationaly

·multi-faceted

Writing critically prior to and during design processes will be necessary to plan, convince, articulate and argue on behalf of.


Section 2


Five rationales

two.Designers who can articulate their thinking in writing learn the difference between tactical thinking (i.e., how to do it), and strategic thinking (i.e., why it should by done one way and not another, and what might need to change in a designed system to foster different perceptions or behaviors).

Writing processes allow designers to deepen and broaden understandings re: · how organizations function across and between sections and levels

· how design decisions affect experiences and operations


Section 2


Five rationales

three.Writing effectively helps designers function as consensus- builders among diversely populated groups that span disciplines and social arenas. Designers who can’t utilize writing to build and sustain deep knowledge:

· limit their opportunities to work with people outside design who do this routinely

· limit their opportunities to blend their knowledge with knowledge from other disciplines

· limit their ability to argue to support claims re: performance, makeability, sustainability, etc.·perform rather than contribute


Section 2


Five rationales

four.Knowing how to write critically can and does help designers forge and sustain fruitful, collaborative relationships that cross disciplinary boundaries.

Contemporary projects that require meaningful contributions from designers will require us to:

·explain rather than report ·justify courses of action ·defend decision-making· validate claims based on evidence derived from well-formulated, operated and analyzed research processes.

· think about what we are thinking about


Section 2


Five rationales

five.Knowing how to write critically helps designers transform surface knowledge into deep knowledge. Writing to fuel thinking requires getting beyond the level of writing required for mere documentation or the communication of information.

It allows those who study, teach and practice design to: ·transform skills into abilities · transform information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom· transform knowledge about critical thinking into knowledge of critical thinking

THINK,WRITE, RE-THINK, THEN DO

articulating the need for designers to learn to argue rather than merely assertUsing evidence to support your claims = less B.S.

THINK,WRITE, RE-THINK, THEN DO


Expanding the context re: what critical writing processes that examine visual communication design can achieve

Expanding the context

Both critical writing and designing tend to be iterative and inductive in nature:

both involve working from the ground up to organize and operationalize data streams, rationales, and experiential knowledge into well-structured concepts/systems of concepts.

Critical writing informed by critical thinking informs designing by allowing designers to:

· deploy the right kind of thinking at the right time

· recognize the need to examine the deep structure of a problem

· formulate strategies to actually do this well

Section 3


Expanding the context re: what critical writing processes that examine visual communication design can achieve


“ Making the move from assertion to argument” means:

getting from “can’t you see how cool this looks” to

“ after analyzing how 14 people who used our prototypical web interface used its primary nav elements, we’re confident that the way we’ve designed their

basic configuration will work well for most other users.”

Learning to support claims with evidence gleaned from data, or that is supported by well-articulated rationales or that is based on a critical review of the work of others allows designing and its outcomes to be validated by means not governed solely by subjectivity.

Section 3


Expanding the context of what critical writing processes that examine visual communication design can achieve


Design and designing informed by critical writing affords opportunities to examine both intent and affect.

This process can yield useful and usable insights when it operates as failure analysis.

When planned and operated as a written approach informed

by critical thinking, this method can afford designers and their collaborators diverse means to identify and assess “what isn’t working and why” within a given component, product, system or community.

The new understandings that emerge from this can then be used to frame and guide future design processes.


Section 3

Expanding the context of what critical writing processes that examine visual communication design can achieve


Writing about how what was once deemed “successful” or “desirable” has devolved to be deemed “a failure” or “less than desirable” can help designers: · better understand the context within which the designed artifact/system/experience is used or consumed

· better understand who—within a particular audience or user group—wields the greatest influence re: determining what constitutes failure or success

· help designers and their collaborators determine “what not to do” if they wish to positively transform a particular designed artifact/system/experience.


Section 3


DEFY THE TYRANNY OF THE PORTFOLIO!

DEFY THE TYRANNY OF THE PORTFOLIO!

So much of what emerging designers need to know and need to know how to think about won’t result in “portfolio work.”

Making critical writing in/of/ about design and designing an essential, ever-evolving learning experience

ever-evolving

Three key goals to meet re: writing in/of/about design and designing

The first involves incorporating critical writing in a given curriculum; the next two describe what must occur during these learning experiences.

one.Design students need to be immersed in critical writing experiences that operate either as:

a. dedicated course sections, or

b. specific assignments that form fundamental aspects of dedicated course sections


learning experience

Section 4


ever-evolving

two.Design students must gain basic knowledge from critical writing experiences re: how to:

a. identify scenarios within which a given artifact/system/ experience is enhancing or reducing usefulness, usability, perception, sustainability, reception,

consumption, reproduction, reproduction, data analysis, data interpretation, etc.

b. engage in the critical thinking necessary to: ·formulate essential research questions ·gather pertinent information 27 | 37

Gibson | AIGA: Blunt

learning experience

Section 4


ever-evolving

two (cont’d). ·methodically distill and organize this information ·rationally deliberate it and analyze it ·construct well-reasoned, broadly informed conclusions as a result of having done all of this that broadly informs how design/ing affects real people in the real world.

three.Design students must be familiarized with how to operate distinct critical methodologies to analyze and evaluate particular artifacts/systems/ experiences, etc. so that useful, usable insights can be gained and (perhaps) validated and shared.


learning experience

Section 4


ever-evolving

three (cont’d). a partial listing of these critical methods: ·formally/empirically guided approaches ·genealogically guided approaches ·approaches that are guided by how a particular zeitgeist affected/was affected by design

·approaches that examine how particular rhetorical strategies/frameworks affect and are affected by designing ·approaches to criticism that are guided by how particular ethical philosophies/belief systems affect/are affected by designing


learning experience

Section 4



learning experience

Section 4

Critical writing can inform and catalyze critical thinking to foster the development and sustenance of what behavioral scientists call “domain knowledge.”

Domain knowledge accounts for a wide variety of concepts, issues, factors and agents are interrelated in a system or network.

It allows us to better understand why and how particular sets of political, social, technological and economic circumstances and beliefs inform attitudes around water usage, banking, the use of military force, etc. It also allows us to do things like use “common denominators” to solve specific types of math problems.



learning experience

Section 4

Using concept maps and other diagramming methods to kickstart the acquisition of domain knowledge can also kickstart the critical writing process Visually depicting complex networks of social, economic, technological, environmental and political relationships can make them much easier

to critically analyze and understand patterns within.

In this way, the activities of mapping can help frame a strong foundation for critical writing, as well as guide its argumentative structure. At UNT’s Design Research Center, we often use analog methods for concept mapping…



learning experienceDomain knowledge can help visual communication designers when what they are challenged to create— for example, an ad campaign for running shoes—must account for issues such as · the nature of the communication network across which the campaign will be transmitted

· how the messaging strategy that underpins the campaign either reflect or counter the social or cultural aspirations of particular groups

· how the combination of imagery and language in the campaign fuels or defies belonging or exclusion



learning experience

Section 4


ENABLING FUTURE DESIGN EDUCATORS

ENABLING FUTURE DESIGN EDUCATORS

Visual gestalt formation + typography + front-end coding underpinned by using writing to fuel critical thinking

Preparing future design educators to empower their students with critical writing


Preparing future design educators

There are students in your undergrad programs who value question posing and asking more than they value “getting the answer right.” They’re your students who are most comfortable with ambiguity, and who are also adept at working inductively to generate hypotheses rather than hard solutions.

For them, critical writing is a means to inform their design decision-making, as well as to socially, economically, politically and technologically contextualize their understanding of what design affects and is affected by.

These are people who need to be encouraged to pursue paths in design education.

Section 5




These are the kinds of undergraduates who evolve into eclectically informed graduate students who evolve into design educators who know how to: · cultivate and effectively deploy theoretical knowledge to guide methodologies and methods for designing supported by evidence-backed claims

· write about doing this in ways that help fuel opportunities for themselves and their students to work with a diverse array of collaborators as essential project partners

· write about doing this in ways that meet the standards of scholarly rigor of disciplines outside design

Section 5




Because well-framed, eclectically informed, well- articulated critical writing can guide deep thinking and expand domain knowledge, it needs to be taught be people who are broad- and nimble-minded enough to

· help diverse groups of students identify and frame issues worthy of analysis and evaluation

· be able to teach others to formulate and utilize a review of literature as an essential knowledge-building endeavor · help these students develop and extend their essential inquiries and arguments

· understand iterative writing processes well enough to help others develop their own

Section 5