contributed by Lorraine Nicoletta

For my recent presentation, as a part of the Clever Claver lecture series, I focused on the worlds of graphic design and architecture. Both influence each other, and also inspire my own work.

Throughout my education at MICA and abroad, I have collaborated and designed side-by-side with architects and urban planners to create unique structures and systems. Together we were able to take our projects to a new level because architecture and graphic design are two forms of communication not bound by the constraints of a culture or language – they set  and break standards in different ways and give the public something new to experience, ponder, and interact with.

I gave the example of Times Square, New York. This area is dominated by advertisements and signage hanging onto every surface, creating new facades for the buildings, and altering the way people interact with the area. Now the public’s interaction with Times Square has been altered again when designers and architects created the Tkts booth which includes a bleacher style seating where pedestrians can sit and take in the stimulating landscape. Though it is just a place to buy tickets for Broadway shows, designers created an interactive structure, rather than just take up more space in the city.

I concluded my presentation with something my professor abroad (an architect)  always said which was, “To participate, and create in diverse groups creates a condition of intense joy that is shared.” While abroad I spent the semester collaborating with architects and designers from all over the world. Working with this group of like-minded people who each had a unique set of skills different from my own did create the “joy” my professor spoke of. Together we were able to spread the “joy” past the group and the project into the community where the project was based. Together, we were able to create an environment that interacted with all the senses, and movement of the community through the design of the actual structure, which was then strengthened with the support of design.

By imitating each other, together graphic design and architecture are able to speak on a massive and miniature scale getting the public’s attention at all levels.

Lorraine Nicoletta is a senior graphic design major, environmental design concentrator from New York.

Contributed by Heather Kohlberger

The ’12 seniors are currently working to install an undoubtedly fantastic and impressive collection so be sure to stop in to enjoy another year of MICA GD’s pride and joy!

Friday, May 11–Monday, May 14, Special gallery hours: Friday, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday–Monday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. 
Campuswide, Reception: Sunday, May 13, 1:30-5 p.m.

The 2012 Commencement Exhibition highlights works by nearly 400 emerging artists in the undergraduate class of 2012. By transforming the College’s permanent galleries, hallways, classrooms and open spaces into one expansive gallery space, each student is able to show a substantial body of work.

contributed by Greg Cole

Field trip day was a nice experience for juniors to explore the range of design studios in Baltimore. The entire junior class split into small groups, with different tours for each. Thanks to all of our generous hosts: FastSpot, Orange Element, Mission Media, Planit, Spur, B Creative, Ashton Design Associates, Exit 10, and GraphTec.

Touring through the design studios Fastspot and Orange Element gave me a good feel for the work environments and atmosphere of their spaces. The employees of both studios came across as a team, and it was great to see. After visiting the studios, our group traveled to GraphTec where we received a tour of their printing company. The machinery was quite impressive and learning about their functions was very informative. Seeing firsthand what is involved in mass producing printed work became very real to me.

Greg Cole is a junior design major from Maryland.

Experiencing magic at Spur Studio

Baltimore’s own David Plunkert will offer a free public presentation
April 9
12-1pm
Brown 320

poster design by sophomore Kacie Mills

MICA welcomes internationally recognized artist, writer and urban planner Candy Chang, who will visit campus to deliver a presentation and conduct a workshop with students to install an interactive piece in Station North.

Free public lecture:
Thursday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Falvey Hall
1301 W. Mount Royal Ave, Baltimore

Students, to sign up for a workshop, email Brockett to join the waitlist.

Combining urban planning, street art, and graphic design, Candy Chang transforms simple objects like stickers, stencils, and chalkboards into powerful tools that spark conversations in public spaces around the world. In her talks, she poses new strategies for civic life and inspires listeners to think differently. Through personal stories from her childhood to the present, she illustrates how seemingly disparate experiences in countries from Kazakhstan to South Africa to Finland have come together to incite fresh perspectives and form a coherent philosophy. Carefully crafted for each audience and cultivated from her own evolving questions, Candy’s provocative and intimate talks explore the power of introspection in public space and what we can learn from our collective wisdom.

Candy Chang is an artist, designer, and urban planner who likes to make cities more comfortable for people. She believes that the design of our public spaces can better reflect what is important to us as a community and as individuals. Named a “Live Your Best Life” Local Hero by Oprah Magazine, she creates projects that spark conversations in public space to improve our neighborhoods and our personal well-being. As a TED Senior Fellow and an Urban Innovation Fellow, she has been recognized as a leader in developing new strategies for the design of our cities in order to live our best lives.

The Sadie B. Feldman Residency in Visual Communications brings graduate students in the Center for Art Education and undergraduates in the Graphic Design Department together to explore growing creative capital within public education. Student participants in the workshop will explore the power of design thinking to re-imagine public education and define new curricular plans for K–12 students.

contributed by Emily Ragle

March 23 marked the opening of the first of three installments of Off The Rails: The 2012 MICA Thesis Exhibition. The show features the work of six graphic designers: Eric Mortensen, Aura Seltzer, Jenny Kutnow, Cameron Zotter, Jinhwan Kim, and Alice Hom, installed in the Meyerhoff and Fox 3 Galleries until March 31.

Though Eric Mortensen has only recently been hired as a designer at NASA, his obsession with all things astronomy dates back to his childhood, so it only makes sense that his exhibition simulates a weeklong space mission. Anchor-1, as Eric has dubbed his space capsule, is fully branded, and Eric’s mission is streamed to gallery gawkers and online followers alike courtesy of Ustream. A week in solitary confinement in the gallery sounds like it would be rough, but don’t worry: Eric is fully equipped with a 5-pound bag of Haribo Gold Gummy Bears.

Aura Seltzer’s thesis brings romance and fun to the task of pairing typefaces. Type Connection is a web-based project that imitates a dating service, but Aura’s type pairings make eHarmony feel like cacophony. She focuses on five prolific typefaces and uses four different strategies to find potential companions for each. The pairings are employed in beautiful typographic compositions that serve to demonstrate the compatibility of the type matches. The project lives online at www.typeconnection.com and is a great resource of type history and terminology.

Not unlike Eric, Jenny Kutnow’s personal experience played a significant role in informing her piece. With a background in furniture design and architecture at RISD, Jenny discovered a void where graphic design meets architecture and chose to fill it with her own design, writing, and research. Though her book is a work in progress, Jenny displays her research in a compelling way. You’ll find working spreads of her book, fascinating textual excerpts, and a mind-blowing title wall.

The three projects shown on the 3^rd floor of Fox share a common thread of questioning conventions. The first example is Cameron Zotter, who has discovered that challenging the traditional function of various tools is an integral part of the process of many artists and designers. Graphic Design Hacking is a book that examines existing instances of hacking in design and simultaneously asks readers to introduce this method to their own work. Cameron not only offers a sneak-peek into the first chapter of the book, but also showcases several of the tools he has personally “hacked”.

You could easily consider Jinhwan Kim a hacker. Dissatisfied with the objects and appliances that we encounter daily, he poses a series of “What if”s to viewers in regard to making these products more functional and efficient. With this inquisitive, innovative spirit, Jinhwan was able to reimagine, redesign, and reprogram an analog clock. Not quite reinventing the wheel, but pretty close. The piece is especially thought provoking and inspiring to designers who thrive on solving problems in new ways.

Across the hall from Cameron and Jinhwan, Alice Hom has constructed a visitor’s center of sorts to portray the focus of her thesis. Tourlandia thoroughly ponders the appeal of tourism and the traditions that are associated. Alice challenges her viewers to consider why certain things like souvenirs, sightseeing, and “blending in with the locals” are so validating. The map thoughtfully reveals conventions of tourism that deserve to be challenged. “If I hate other tourists, do I also hate myself?” “Why do I want to bring home a mini-version of this place?” Tourlandia promises to stick with every wanderlusting person who visits.

I can’t recommend this exhibition highly enough—you will walk away stimulated and inspired to create. Though the current show comes down in just a couple days, we can look forward to two more installments of refreshing thesis work in the coming month.

Emily Ragle is a senior graphic design major from New Jersey.

It’s going to be awesome !
(and its on Friday)

Rick Lowe of Project Row Houses will present a lecture, March 27 at 12pm in Brown 320. Enjoy!

(Thanks to Colin Dunn 12, for designing the poster and Kyla Fullenwider MASD12, for organizing)

Don’t miss the closing reception of the Globe Poster Exhibition at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
March 20, 5:30–8:30
with cash bar, raffle, and one-of-a-kind art made here in Baltimore!

A presentation by
Edward Boatman

We Are All in This Together
Conversations on Engaging Community and Place-Based Practice

Tuesday, March 6
12-1pm in Brown 320

Sponsored by MICA’s Office of Community Engagement and curated by Kyla Fullenwider. Poster design by Colin Dunn.