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COMMUNITY
AND SOCIAL DESIGN BREAKOUT SESSION
Garland
Kirkpatrick, Moderator
An enthusiastic group turned out for this late morning session. The three panelists offered different approaches to both defining and engaging community through design education.
Candice Lopez of San Diego City College presented inspiring projects that teach social and cultural values through "Service Learning" strategies. These projects involved using environmental graphics to transform blighted areas in local San Diego communities. It is important to note that many of the students who participated either resided or were raised in those communities. One ongoing project targeted the ubiquitous electrical transformer boxes, which are heavily tagged and function as stations for drug trafficking. The drab boxes were repainted with bold and colorful designs, which transformed them into "Screaming Objects d'Art." To date her group has designed over 200 boxes, and to her credit she has enlisted the help of local graffiti artists and muralists. This project was a vivid illustration of how visual design can offer aesthetic value while helping to deter crime.
Cheryl Beckett of the University of Houston described how the bi-annual AIGA conference offers a tremendous opportunity to move "beyond the classroom" and into the broader professional community. She presented two examples of student projects stemming directly from social issues raised at the recent "Voice" and "Las Vegas: Cult and Culture" conferences. The "Mouthpiece" project involved designing and facilitating the social and political agendas of different campus organizations. Another project entitled "Transpositions" involved designing posters using imagery from her classroom's journey to and from the Las Vegas conference. The projects coupled with the AIGA events promoted a greater social and political awareness in her students.
Frank Baseman of Philadelphia University presented examples from the "The Tolerance Project", a student poster design competition offered within the Philadelphia AIGA chapters. Ten finalists were chosen from 300 entries and their posters were produced and displayed in bus shelters around the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Each poster made an eloquent visual "Designer" statement around the theme of "Tolerance". Frank touched on his experiences navigating the complex politics involved in using municipal public venues. The poster project was a collaboration effort between local AIGA chapters, AD agencies, and the Philadelphia transit authorities.
The panelists discussed how their understanding of community shaped the project outcomes. Candice underscored the importance of involving community in the design process, and how these efforts are necessarily collaborative. Cheryl pointed to the central role of design education in helping designers become more aware of different communities and their issues. Frank spoke of the unlikely collaborators he found in both the public and private sectors. In discussion it became clear that by getting community members to play a role in the design process the results have a greater impact. These successful outcomes attest to that.
Any definition of community will invariably include building mutual relationships. The three presenters gave glimpses of what that collaboration might look like. It was also encouraging to see designers actively working with constituencies outside of the design community. An obvious point but worth repeating, can design ever really be successful without the involvement of those who in the end have to live with it?