Siobhán Murphy

Agenda

• Three outputs from MA research

• Beyond the MA

Paradigm

Art = mode of expression

Design = mode of communication

(it has a job to do)

What is design?

“Graphic designers apply what they have learned about

physical, cognitive, social, and cultural human factors to

communication planning and the creation of appropriate

form that interprets, informs, instructs, and persuades.

Graphic designers use various technologies as means

for creating visual form and as an environment

through which communication takes place.”

National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)

What is design?

Design = problem solving

Graphic communication-

problemDesign

=solving

(form +

function)

Book of Kells, ©Board of Trinity College

Scribes as Designers

Before the seventh century Latin was read aloud,

partly due to the convention of writing in a long

continuous stream of letters without spaces

separating words.

ITWASNECESSARYTOSOUNDOUTWORDSTOMAKE

SENSEOFWHATWASBEINGREAD.

Scribes as Designers

Irish scribes devised methods of making the

written language more comprehensible

– one of these was the word space.

This gave rise to faster, more efficient reading,

which did not need to be sounded out.

Scribes as Designers

“The origins of rapid, silent reading lie in the

scribal techniques and grammatical teachings

that developed in Ireland and England in the

seventh and eighth centuries.

The first separated Latin manuscript books in

Western Europe were Irish…”

(Saenger, 1997, pp. 83)

Scribes as Designers

“After the Semitic invention of the alphabet,

the invention of the word is the single most

important invention that I know.

…the word appears to have been invented in

Ireland in the first half of the seventh century.”

(Noordzij, 2005, pp. 45)

Output 1 – hypothesis

Identify Irish medieval

scribes as designers.

An island people

made islands of words.

Why is this important?

There is a dearth of Design Scholarship.

This research represents an advancement

of knowledge within the field of

Design History, specifically within an

Irish Design History context.

Beyond the MA

Publish – Design journals

Design seminars and conferences

Palaeographic / Historical societies

Output 2 – exhibition

Exhibit that will distill this information,

inform, and make people look at how

the written word performs

as a medium.

Beyond the MA

I assisted with designing the identity and

promotional campaign created for

last year’s exhibition.

A more detailed report is available here.

Output 2 – exhibition

Emerging technologies:

• Digital Publishing Suite

• Generative typography

• Conductive Ink (brings digital capacities to print).

Why is this important?

The emergence of digital devices has led

to an increase in screen-based

or online reading.

Long-form or deep-reading

print vs. screen-based

Screen-based deep reading

Loss of:

• Speed

• Comprehension and Context

• Serendipity

• Sense of control

• Immersion and continuity

Screen-based deep reading

Result: User is more removed from

content

(Ownership,

physical barrier)

Caused by: Loss of tangibility

and increased

distraction

…A communications problem

Output 3 – Interface design

An opportunity to make the

written word a more efficient medium.

Proposed interface design for more

efficient screen-based deep-reading.

Beyond the MA

Scope for collaborative,

inter-disciplinary research project

at PhD level.

In summary

Output 1:

Identify Irish medieval scribes as designers.

Publication, seminars, conferences.

Output 2:

Typographic installation using emerging technologies

Exhibition

Output 3:

Proposed design for screen-based, deep-reading interface.

Further research project

References

National Association Of Schools Of Art And Design Handbook 2012-2013,

Retrieved 10/10/2013

from:http://nasad.arts-accredit.org/site/docs/Handbook/NASAD_HANDBOOK_2012-

13.pdf

Noordzij G. (2005) The Stroke: Theory of Writing, Hyphen Press, UK.

Saenger P. (1997) Space Between Words: The Origins of Silent Reading.

Stanford University Press.