Special Topics in Design \\ University of San Francisco Art + Architecture \ Spring 2012

Design + Social Change

Designers and visual communicators can be culturally aware by creating work that is socially responsible and influences positive change in society. Designers in the forefront of social change are currently using their design-thinking skills to develop and execute their own solutions to social problems-pushing the boundaries of what design can do. This course will demonstrate to students the power of design to leverage their sense of humanity and ability to fashion a more humane and just world.

Students will be assigned specific historical events or social movements to research and reveal relevant examples of how design can sway public opinion, organize, inform, protect and restore the environment. The course will survey an array of visual styles, communications and design projects that date from the turn of the century to the present in the form of artistic posters, non-commercial advertisements, web sites, outreach and political propaganda. Students will also enage with San Francisco based design firms that are socially responsible, local artist / activists that incorporate design into their propaganda and learn how the work they do is making a positive and significant impact on the world.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students will develop a critical understanding of the political, economic and social underpinnings of design and social responsibility by reading and responding to theoretical texts that provide political, economic and social frameworks to analyze the production of design and social change

2. Students will chronologically sequence selected movements in history in which design has influenced social change by reading historical texts. Students will learn to identify features of design and social change by visiting socially conscious design firms and organizations in San Francisco.

3. Students will learn to identify and analyze the growth and development of the concept of design and social responsibility across various world cities and regions by reading texts and researching web sites and participating in class lectures and discussions.

4. Students will learn to compare and contrast design projects and social change by reading and interpreting texts and participating in class lectures and discussions. They will learn how to use critical thinking as a key skill in interpreting their social world.

5. Students will learn to articulate and defend their judgements through a studied, engaged, and informed process of reflection as well as action. Students will develop focused research questions and compose substantial arguments in response to those questions by incorporating extensive independent library research, field observations and documentation.

Syllabus + Schedule

Opening Talk

Student Online Journals

Required Readings

Week 02 - Monday February 04
Design is about democracy / introduction by Rick Poynor

When Ken Garland published his First Things First manifesto in London thirty-five years ago, he threw down a challenge to graphic designers and other visual communicators that refuses to go away. As the century ends, this brief message, dashed off in the heat of the moment, and signed by twenty-one of his colleagues, is more urgent than ever; the situation it lamented incalculably more extreme.
Assign Project 01: Survey of the History of Design + Social Change Timeline
Timeline Examples:
09/11
Adobe History
the Border

Week 03 - Monday February 11
“Good Citizenship”, Katherine McCoy, Citizen Designer: Perspectives on
Design Responsibility, Edited by Steven Heller and Véronique Vienne

“Collectivism in the Decade of Greed”, Maud Lavin, Clean New World—Culture, Politics and Graphic Design

“Obey the Giant: Life in the Image World”, Introduction, Rick Poynor

Week 04 - Monday, February 18
NO CLASS PRESIDENT’S HOLIDAY

Week 05 - Monday, February 25
Present research for Project 01 - Organize production strategy
Discuss relevance of this type of documentation, diagram, chart, timeline.

Write introduction / exhibition announcement for Taller Tupac Amaru @ Thatcher Gallery

What are the goals for this experience?

design _empower

Freedom = Autonomy

Week 06 - Monday, March 04
Present Project 01
A Survey of the History of Design and Social Change Timeline

silence

plastic_choking

Brilliant guerrilla stunt in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A giant plastic six-pack ring is tangled on a wildlife sculpture at the corner of Georgia & Thurlow.

Week 07 – March 11
NO CLASS Spring Break

Week 08 – March 18
Work on Timeline: Project 01 - Deadline for completion?
Visit Thatcher Gallery - Review Exhibition and write down three questions for the artists
Design Panel Questions for Taller Tupac Amaru presentation

Assign Readings:
Radical Media: Rebellious Communication and Social Movements, “Mind Bombs: Woodcuts, Satirical Prints, Flyers, Photomontage, Posters, and Murals”, pages 158–180
Travels in Pornotopia, Citizen Designer, Rick Poynor, pages 58–63

Project 03 Brief

Justseeds.org
Obey Awareness

Week 09 – March 25
Review Timeline - 11:45–1:45
Taller Tupac Amaru - Visiting Artists Lecture
McLaren Conference Center 250
2:30 – 3:30 PM

Join Oakland-based printing collective, Taller Tupac Amaru, as they discuss 10 years of radical printmaking. Artists include: Jesus Barraza, Melanie Cervantes and Favianna Rodriguez. The talk will be followed by a reception in the Thacher Gallery.

Event coordinated with their exhibition, “Taller Tupac Amaru: A Decade of Radical Printmaking” on display in Thacher Gallery from March 17 to April 16, 2013.
taller tupac amaru -thatcher gallery

Week 10 – April 01
Complete the production of Project 01
Survey of the History of Design + Social Change Timeline
Collaboration!
Embracing Popular Culture / Favianna Rodriguez / Taller Tupac Amaru

Regarding Project 03–
“The trends in graphic design are proving that the practice is no longer limited to simply layout, type, and discrete artifacts. Critical and divergent thinking, transdisciplinary collaboration, as well as the call to design working for social good (rather than the expectations of consumption) are reshaping and expanding the practice. How can graphic design education, and specifically curriculum, engage students in these new practices as well as create experiences resulting in real outcomes outside of the idealized confines of the classroom?
Joshua Singer, Designer / Writer

Week 11 – April 08
Review timeline - COMPLETE the project
submit research for grades. / Grading Rubric Project 01

Grading for Course
Thought Papers – 100 pts [7 assigned / publish on line journal]
Project 01 – 100 pts.
Project 02 – 100 pts.
Class participation – 50 pts.
Online Journal - Publication: Thought Papers + Projects 01 & 02 – 50 pts.
Total for course: 400 pts.

100 – 94% A, 93 – 90% A-, 89 – 87% B+, 86 – 84% B, 83 – 80%
B-, 79 – 77% C+, 76 – 74% C, 73 – 70% C-, 69% and below D

With regard to letter grades: The grade of “C” is satisfactory. It is not poor performance.
If a student receives this grade they have put forth a reasonable amount of effort and attained acceptable [average] results. A “B” grade shows the student has pushed beyond the average; they have understood the needs of the project and addressed them; they have employed their learning and have crafted successful solutions to the papers and presentations assigned. Students receiving a “B” have reached a level which clearly exceeds “competency” The “A” is reserved for students who have attained excellence. They have, in fact, exceeded the expectations of the project’s tasks put before them. Additionally, interest, enthusiasm, energy, and passion for the course content and the learning process have been displayed.

Research and Present a case study from one of the following:
the Gap and Social Responsibility

Living Principles

Fast C0-Exist

Project H

AIGA: Cause + Effect

Presentation of Project 03 Proposals / Writing the Creative Brief
Background — what is the background of the project? Why is it being done
Target audience — what do they already think about this subject? Is there anything that should be avoided?
Objectives — what is to be accomplished? How will this be measured and success understood
Single message — what is the one thing to tell the audience? What is the single thing they should remember about the offering? How will they believe what we say
Mandatory elements — mandatory elements such as the client’s logo, address, phone number and so forth.
Deliverables — what is to be used to give the audience the message? What is the best way or place to reach this audience?
Timeline — how soon is this needed? When is it expected to be done? How many rounds (revisions) will this project undergo?
Budget — how much can be spent to get this developed? Is there any budget needed to publish/flight the creative?
Approvals — who needs to give the “okay”?

Assigned Reading:
Why Beauty Wards off Obsolesence

Prepare concept for Project 02 - Wearable Billboard / Collect T-Shirts for printing
Bring artwork for cutting out via stencil /
Tools: x-acto knives, cutting boards, straight edges, pencils, erasers, paper to test prints on.

Events:

AIGA Studio Tour:
Hattery
Wednesday, 10 Apr 2013
6:00pm - 8:00pm
414 Brannan St
San Francisco, California 94107 Map

AIGA Members: $20
Non-Members: N/A
Student Members: $20
Student Non-Members: N/A

RSVP Now »

Week 12 – April 15
Project 02
Jesse Palmer / Slingshot
Kathryn Shearman / Positive Studios / Kazoo Studios
Screen Printing Workshop / Wearable Billboard

Project 02 / The Visible Word and Social Change / Radical Papers and Visual Communications

12:00–1:00 p.m.

Jesse Palmer / Slingshot - 45 minute presentation / 15 minutes questions?

1:15–3:30 p.m.

Kathryn Shearman / / Positive News / Kazoo Studios
Introduce Project 03- The Wearable Billboard

the Wearable Billboard Screen Printing Workshop /

Assign Social Media / Message Propagation Exercise

Pictures of images from Facebook / organized into a printable zine.

Week 13 – April 22

Kathryn Shearman / Positive Studios / Kazoo Studios / Zine /

Wearable Billboard Workshop Part 02

Week 14 – April 29
Alice Bybee / AIGA: Cause + Effect / Ironcreative
Present Project 03

Week 15 – May 06
Present Project 03

Compostmodern Reslience / March 22-23, 2013 / San Francisco

Design to Improve Society and the Environment

Explore design’s role in creating a more resilient world, with some of the world’s leading designers, entrepreneurs, scientists, architects and more. Fast-moving, reasonably priced, and loaded with actionable, inspiring insights, Compostmodern is a can’t-miss event for anyone interested in the cutting-edge of sustainability and design.

SOME OF THE SPEAKERS YOU’LL HEAR FROM:

EVE BLOSSOM

Eve Blossom, Founder Lulan Artisans
CHERYL HELLER

Chair, MFA Design for Social Innovation, SVA
WENDY MACNAUGHTON

Illustrator, Graphic Journalist
PAUL POLAK

Founder, D-Rev Design Revolution
MADELEINE LANSKY

Psychoanalyst, Sustainability Consultant
EZIO MANZINI

Design Strategist, Founder DESIS Network
HOWARD BROWN

Sustainability Consultant, Co-Founder of dMass
JULIE KIM

Senior Producer at Hot Studio
DAVID MCCONVILLE

President, Buckminster Fuller Institute
CHERYL DAHLE

Founder, Future of Fish
ALEX GILLIAM

Founder, Public Workshop
JEFF BARNUM

Co-Founder of Reos Partners
JOHN BIELENBERG

Founder, Future Partners
JOHN THACKARA

John Thackara, Founder Doors of Perception
JON KOLKO

Founder, Austin Center for Design

http://www.makeyourmomproud.com/525Atlas/timeline.html

Spring 2012
Online Journals

Project 01 / [click on title to download .pdf]

Sarah Ruiz / Femicide in Ciudad Juarez

Adriana Parada / Adbusters

Chris Chappelle / WWII Propaganda

Alex Orvell / Shepard Fairey

Kristin Scarpa / Survey of Internet Browser Design

Alexa Michael / War on Drugs

Wrenn Okada / Over Fishing + Diminishing Populations of Fish

Kelsey McLaughlin / Women’s Liberation

Isaac Fine / NRA + Gun Control

Stephanie Giu Chun / Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign

Nicolett Susanna Sziatinszky / War Propaganda: Vietnam + Iraq

Gabrielle M. Scharaga / Occupy Movement

Project 01 / Grading Criteria

Spring 2012
CLASS PRESENTATIONS + VISITING DESIGNERS

01.25.2012

02.01.2012

Screen Printing with Stencils / Creating Low-Tech Propaganda Workshop
Kathryn Lynn Shearman + Kazoo Studios / Visiting Artist

02.08.2012
Richard Kamler and Robert Atkins in Conversation
Thurs, Feb 2 and Wed, Feb 8, 2:30-3:30 pm
McLaren 250, USF (at Clayton)
http://www.usfca.edu/library/thacher/

02.15.2012

02.22.2012

02.29.2012
Project 01: Survey of the History of Design + Social Change
Student Presentations

03.07.2012

Design + Social Change / Visiting Artist Lecture
EMORY DOUGLAS

3/7/2012 1:00:00 PM to 3:00:00 PM
Location: McLaren Bldg
Room: MC 251
University of San Francisco

Emory Douglas / USF Art + Architecture

poster by Iris Lerch and Chris Chappelle

Potluck Picnic with Emory Douglas / USF students on Lone Mountain
Presentation / Artist’s Talk

03.14.2012
SPRING BREAK

USF Equal Justice Society / Creative Justice Art Show

03.21.2012
Project 01 - Presentations
Generosity City Artwork Production
Discussion of Thought Papers / Emory Douglas Presentation

03.28.2012
GENEROSITY CITY - Screen Printing Workshop with Kazoo Studios
discuss web site for class project

Project 02 / [download project brief]

Project 02 / [download grading criteria]

04.04.2012
Joshua To/ BruteLabs
http://www.brutelabs.org/vision.html
“BRUTE LABS uses design and technology to create sustainable social entrepreneurship. Our small, all-volunteer team has launched 11 projects around the world and across a broad spectrum of causes; from cyclone relief in Myanmar, to clean water wells in Ghana, to a bio-diesel project with Stanford. Our open source altruism has also garnered multiple design awards from AIGA and Adobe as well as partnerships with local businesses, the city of San Jose, Google, Nike, Facebook and many more.”

Work on Project 02 / Thought Paper 09
Turn in outline

04.11.2012
Guest Lecture:: Courtney Quirin / Wildlife Preservationist / Artist
Courtney uses GIS [Geographic Information Systems] to determine scarcity of various species then publishes silk screened propaganda to generate awareness to the endangered animals.

04.18.2012
New Leaf Paper / Sustainable Graphic Design
Jeff Mendelsohn speaks about the transformation of the book publishing industry with the use of recycled papers and the process of de-inking post-consumable paper products.

04.25.2012

http://labs.tomorrowpartners.com/designers-social-entrepreneurs-and-storytellers-designing-change/

http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201204231000

The Center for Tactical Magic
http://www.tacticalmagic.org/
“The Center for Tactical Magic engages in extensive research, development, and deployment of the pragmatic system known as Tactical Magic. A fusion force summoned from the ways of the artist, the magician, the ninja, and the private investigator, Tactical Magic is an amalgam of disparate arts invoked for the purpose of actively addressing Power on individual, communal, and transnational fronts. At the CTM we are committed to achieving the Great Work of Tactical Magic through community-based projects, daily interdiction, and the activation of latent energies toward positive social transformation.”

TCM
IRIS AND TCM / DEFINING MAGIC

TCM / USF DESIGN + SOCIAL CHANGE