Looking at things strangely

Defamiliarisation as a design approach for media literacy education

Design has long been proposed as a pedagogic form for understanding broader societal issues. Academic literature does not suggest existing research designed specifically with the intention of using defamiliarisation, especially in a design context, to overtly educate media literacy participants themselves. [Design & media continues here…]

Summary of design research article about graphic design and design thinking

Design Thinking: Standing on the Shoulders of… Graphic Design!

Rethinking design research and Buchanan’s four orders of design, in relation to graphic design research and design thinking. Prominent design discourse or advocacy in the domain of design thinking rarely depicts graphic design consistently or with sufficient rigor and understanding about the field’s role in the development of design studies.
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Summary of the article titled ‘What a funny looking video’

Using allegorical representations of technological change to reflect on future digital communication and design challenges

This paper presents a reflective examination of challenges to design and communication from the current digital revolution, using the prism of a 1980s television advertisement for the Yellow Pages.
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Article about re-thinking Design Thinking pedagogy within higher education

Abstract from Responsible Design Thinking: Informing future models of cross-disciplinary design education

This article provides a critical commentary of Design Thinking education and proposes a new model for incorporating responsibility within these teaching and learning practices. [continues here…]

Paper about graphic designers, artificial intelligence & automation

Abstract from Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence: interdisciplinary challenges for designers in the search for research collaboration

The introduction of electronic publishing, multimedia, the web and social media have influenced and presented challenges for graphic design. Now the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) features within graphic design software enables practitioners to automate many design processes. [continues here…]

Recently published article about the graphic design brief

Abstract from ‘What’s the brief?’ building a discourse around the graphic design brief

“What’s the brief?” is an everyday question within the graphic design process. Moreover, the concept and importance of a design brief is overtly understood well beyond design practice itself – especially among stakeholders who work with designers, as well as clients who commission their services. As will be shown in this article, a design brief is often an assumed and expected physical or metaphoric artefact for guiding the creative process. [continues here…]

Recently published article about graphic designers resistance toward the term ‘graphic design’

Abstract from Terminology and Design Capital; Examining the Pedagogic Status of Graphic Design through Its Practitioners’ Perceptions of Their Job Titles

Graphic design has long been hampered by its indeterminate educational disciplinary status, resulting in it being subsumed within wider visual arts studies. Arguing that this permeates into professional practice, this article explores the ambivalence of professional graphic designers towards the term ‘graphic design’ itself. [continues here…]

Recently published article about researching graphic designers using performative methods

Abstract for Re-performing Design: using dramaturgy to uncover graphic designers’ perceptions of stakeholders

Graphic design, as a specific research discipline, has been largely underrepresented in academia, with the literature suggesting this is partially due to difficulties in researching its professional practitioners. [continues here…]