Results tagged “design education” from :: ( CRIT ) :: DESIGN BLOG ::

November is bountiful with thanks, turkey AND design! Be sure to sign up before these great events get sold out. We'll be giving away tickets, so stay tuned and check back. Do you have more events to add to our roll-call? Email us!

///// EXHIBITION

How do the new forms of mobile media, networks, information and communication systems inform the architecture of an urban space? Does computing influence our behavior with the city? Organized by the Architectural League of New York, this exhibition will explore the evolving relationship between ubiquitous computing, architecture and the city.



TOWARD THE SENTIENT CITY
Through November 7, 2009
The Architectural League
7 East 7th Street
New York, NY
Click here for details


///// EXHIBITION

In & Out of Amsterdam: Travels in Conceptual Art is an exhibition of 75 works by ten American and European artists relating to travel and the city of Amsterdam focusing on Conceptual art practices between 1960 and 1976.

IN & OUT OF AMSTERDAM
Through November 09, 2009
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street
New York, NY
Click here for details


///// EXHIBITION

Letterforms transformed into beautiful prints, patterns, products, installations and sculptures is a striking counterbalance to their regular rigid typographic confine. This exhibition honors House Industries's oeuvre to conquer mediocrity and their passion for creating type as the objects they have become.




TYPE AS OBJECT
Through Friday, November 20, 2009
Type Directors Club
347 West 36th Street, Suite 603
New York, NY
Free exhibit
Click here for details


///// EXHIBITION

MoMA played a leading role in the definition and dissemination of "Good Design", a concept that took shape in the 1930s. This installation presents collection that illuminate the primary values of "Good Design" with iconic pieces by Charles and Ray Eames and Hans Wegner alongside unexpected items, such as a hunting bow and a plumb bob, an iron, a hamper, a rake, a cheese slicer, and Tupperware.


WHAT WAS GOOD DESIGN?
Through November 30, 2009
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street
New York, NY
Click here for details


///// EXHIBITION

Expressive lettering and hand-typography is an emerging trend these days that was first started by Herb Lubalin with his groundbreaking work for Avant Garde, Eros and Fact. View selected posters, original sketches, magazines, motion graphics, and more by internationally recognized graphic designers like Marian Bantjes, Deanne Cheuk, Rick Valenti, and Herb Lubalin that will illuminate Lubalin's influence on contemporary graphic design.

LUBALIN NOW
Through December 8, 2009
Opening Reception Thursday, November 5, 2009 6:00—8:00PM
The Cooper Union
41 Cooper Gallery
New York, NY
Free exhibit
Click here for details


///// EXHIBITION

The future of ink on paper is investigated through this collaborative exhibition between Parsons and the Royal College of Art, London.

Possibilities of customized digital art and design are displayed, alongside limited edition prints by a number of notable artists and designers who play with the notion of technology.



CONTROL/PRINT
Through Sunday, December 20, 2009 Open 12:00—6:00PM
Parsons School for Design
Saint Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery
2 West 13th Street
New York, NY
Free exhibit
Click here for details



///// FAIR

The annual IFPDA Print Fair is unique among the world's major art fairs for its focus on fine prints. Over eighty members from Europe and North America will exhibit works across a wide range of specialties, from old master to contemporary, including Japanese fine prints from all periods.





IFPDA PRINT FAIR
November 5—8, 2009
The Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue
New York, NY
Click here to buy tickets


///// TALK

Stuck in print? Learn how to make a smooth transition into web with basic theories and practices of designing for the web from web designer Kevin Barnett of NYMag.com, faculty of MFA Interaction Design and graphic designer Rebecah Hodgson of Blurb, Etsy, Creative Director of Norton and annual report extraordinaire, Nicholas Felton of Daytum.com.



PRINT TO WEB 101
Thursday, November 5, 2009, 6:30—8:30PM
Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle
New York, NY
Click here to register


///// GAME

If you've ever wanted to be on the Price Is Right, but except instead of Plinko and bidding on a brand new car while clutching onto Bob Barker you imagine yourself playing typography trivia alongside the likes of Paula Scher, Louise Fili, Jonathan Hoefler and others, then COME ON DOWN! Tons of fun, fonts, raffles and prizes to be had.



THE TYPE IS RIGHT
Monday, November 9, 2009, 6:30—8:30PM
Galapogos Art Space
16 Main Street
Dumbo, Brooklyn
Click here to register


///// WORKSHOP

Bring your laptop and take part in this hands-on workshop lead by Catharine Taylor (Adverganza) to maximize your brand through blogs and social networking platforms.

CATHERINE TAYLOR: SOCIAL PLATFORMS
Monday, November 9, 2009, 5:00—8:30PM
The Art Directors Club
106 West 29th Street
New York, NY
Click here to register


///// COFFEE

Start your morning off with an engaging conversation with In-House Design guru, Andy Epstein over delicious Mud coffee, muffins and croissants.

BREAKFAST CLUB
Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 8:00—9:30AM
Mud Café
307 East 9th Street
New York, NY
FREE EVENT
Click here to RSVP



///// LECTURE

MFA Design Criticism Department presents conceptual artist Martin Beck to discuss the methodological aspects of working with design history from an artistic perspective.

SELECTED FOR THEIR IMPLICATIONS
Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 6:00—8:00AM
136 West 21st Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY
Free lecture
Click here for details


///// TALK

The most innovative and interesting work is often found within self-initiated, personal projects. Explore a breadth of work from London-based designers, Tony Brook and Adrian Shaughnessy who started their own publishing house, and will be talking about their first book, Studio Culture, an exploration of the secret life of a design studio, among other projects.



THE DESIGNER AS PUBLISHER
Friday, November 13, 2009, 8:00—9:30AM
Bumble & Bumble
415 West 13th Street
New York, NY
Click here to register


///// FOOSBALL

Do you have what it takes to battle out in the 6th Annual World Graphic Design Foosball Championship among 70 other teams for the coveted one-legged challenge cup trophy?

WGDFC
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Art Directors Club
106 West 29th Street
New York, NY
Click here for details or to register a team


///// FORUM

Design for social change has become a hot topic across all business models. Yes, you can indeed build a career while changing the world. Engage with designers like Bill Drentell of Winterhouse Studios and Design Observer, Paula Scher of Pentagram, Mark Randall of World Studios and Blake Mycoskie of Toms Shoes, who drive social and political change through their work.



DESIGNISM 4.0
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Art Directors Club
106 West 29th Street
New York, NY
Click here to register


///// TALK

Get out of your comfort zone and discover the design and art of food styling. See the work of the world's leading food photographer, Mitch Feinberg, food stylist and recipe developer, Victoria Granof, essayist Tacey Rosolowski, and award-winning sommelier, Andrew Bradbury. Hosted by New York Times restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, this round-up of seasoned foodies will undoubtedly titillate your taste buds.


THE DESIGN OF FOOD PRESENTATION
Friday, November 20, 2009, 8:00—9:30AM
Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th Street
New York, NY
Click here to register


///// TALK

ADC Young Guns presents selected winners to showcase their work at the Apple Store in SoHo. This month's speaker is Justin Cignac. Gignac (jee-nak) is an artist, entrepreneur and freelance art director living in New York. After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in 2002 he held full time jobs at Ogilvy, Fallon NY and Toy. In early 2007, Justin left full-time agency life to focus on his artistic endeavors, but still dabbles in the ad world as a freelancer. Gignac was part of the ADC Young Guns 5 class of winners, honored in 2006.

JUSTIN GIGNAC
Monday, November 23, 2009, 6:30—8:00PM
Apple SoHo
103 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012
Free talk
Click here for details

Design commentary is everywhere—blogs like Core 77 and Design Observer, magazines like STEP, Print, Eye, Metropolis, I.D, Dwell, Surface, etc.—and while the core of design criticism still resides in the niche design-centered market, it’s being exposed to a wider spreading reach like the New Yorker, BusinessWeek's blog about design and innovation, and the Design section in the New York Times.

Launched in 2008, the SVA MFA Design Criticism program aims break down the insular and alienated designer-to-designer dialogue by drawing the roots of design criticism deeper into history and the general public.

Heading the department is Alice Twemlow, a seasoned writer in the design field, as well as a former director of numerous AIGA conferences and events. Her academic background is an ideal foundation for her current role: she earned an M.A. in Design History at the Royal College of Art and Victoria & Albert Museum, where she’s currently completing a Ph.D. in the History of Design. Appropriately enough, her dfissertation focuses on design criticism in the U.S. and U.K. from the 1950s onward.

Twemlow is driven by her vision of design criticism for the masses—an overall democratization of the language and subject matter. The two-year curriculum helps students to hone their ability to evaluate and explain an object, idea or experience and use their research to write and discus the ways it connects to society in general. The final deliverable is a public conference—planned, organized and presented by the students themselves. Each student’s 10-minute presentation is a condensation of a 10,000-15,000 word piece of extended critical journalism.

This fall will mark the second year for the program, so CRIT sat down with co-chair Alice Twemlow for a follow up interview to get her perspective on how the first year went, her thoughts on the inaugural class, and the surprises she encountered along the way.

On the first year:
As Twemlow recounts, “It’s been absolutely fantastic. It was so exciting to have students arrive and fill the empty seats. You can craft the most interesting, intellectually rigorous program but if the students don’t come and step up to the bar, it’s a failure. These students are extra special because they’re the first year, and with their pioneer spirit, they’ve tackled everything I’ve given them and even more. It’s exceeded my expectation.”



On student diversity:
Twemlow paid particular focus to diversity in shaping the first class of D-CRIT students, and as a whole, they represent a wide range of ages, academic training and cultural backgrounds. Some students came straight from undergraduate programs, while others were mid-career professionals who decided to recalibrate their careers by learning more about writing and design criticism. There were students who were practicing designers, and others who came from humanities backgrounds like English, Philosophy, History, Art History. Moreover, Twemlow exclaims, “it’s a lovely international mix”, with students coming from Dubai, Portugal, Singapore, Vienna. All students have to come from the level of practicing writers and be fluent English speakers, as all work is done only in English.

On students without a design background:
Although non-design students are given a crash course in design history, terms and vocabularies involved in design references all students are required to focus their studies on industrial design and architecture—the academic foundation of the D-CRIT program.

Twemlow welcomes non-designers, explaining, “design criticism doesn’t have to come from within design. It gets more interesting when people look at it from all different angles. We need design to be opened up, and explored and interrogated by people from outside. I would hate everyone in this program to come only from a design background. That would be boring. We want as many backgrounds and interests represented to make sure the discussion is as rich and interesting as possible.””

On the D-Crit Design Conference:
The graduating students are expected to write a 10,000-15,000-word piece of critical journalism piece, including an application/dissemination of their thesis (a book, an exhibition, a podcast, etc), and finally, condense it all to 10-minute presentation, which they’ll give at the final conference. The goal is to produce professionally academic writing that’s both densely researched, but also written in an intensely engaging narrative, structured around characters, much like a feature story in the New Yorker.

As for the thesis topics—quite a few are film-related. One student is looking at use of design and specifically typography and lettering in Goddard films, while another focuses on the relationship of design criticism and science fiction.

Other thesis topics include an exploration of locally-rooted design in Brazil; an investigation into the cultural and political implications of the Keffiyeh and the way it has been exploited as a fashion accessory.

Twemlow expects the character of the conference will be a mixture between academic symposium and popular conference, “I’m hoping it will become something the New York design and journalism communities will want to come to every year”.

To help the class with thesis preparation, Peter Hall, a design critic and senior lecturer in design at the University of Texas at Austin, will spend the second week of December in the classroom, assisting the program’s first graduating class with their thesis projects. As part of Hall’s residency at SVA, he will also be giving a talk entitled Writing Design History: Problems and Provocations, which will be open to the public.

On the public’s response to the program:
There seems to be a perception amongst some sections in the design community that the word criticism means that you are critical and derogatory about work. What the D-CRIT program hopes to do is bust this stereotype and help the public understand that criticism is a form of analysis. The point of the analysis of a subject is to expose a larger social issue.

According to Twemlow, the notion of design criticism is often misunderstood: “It’s not about whether the kerning is good or bad. Rather, it’s how does this piece of design impact society? That’s the question that we’re looking at. Why does it matter?”

Twemlow’s hope is that the program will help shape a more keen understanding of design and its significant implications among the general public. For this reason, conversation with the public is a key aspect of D-CRIT. These conversations take the form of scheduled readings at the KGB bar, weekly Tuesday night lectures; and, of course, the final conference—all of which are open to the public. In addition, Twemlow hopes forming connections and collaborations within institutions like the MoMa and the School of Architecture at Columbia University will add new dimensions to her own viewpoint and experience.

On post-graduation jobs:
While some graduates may want to focus on writing as full-time/freelance writers and editors, others may take the radio/podcast route. Other post-graduate pursuits might include museum curation at, say, the Cooper Hewitt, or as a strategic design consultants at a company like IDEO. Several students from the department’s inaugural class are already bringing their critical skills to print and online design publication: John Cantwell wrote about Trump Tower for Design Observer; Frederico Duarte contributed to Icon; Emily Leibin penned “Future Advancement” for Surface; Alan Rapp wrote for Dwell; and Angela Riechers’ work appeared in Voice: AIGA Journal of Design.

As Twemlow explains, “We can only speculate about their future careers at the moment, but I think they’re all incredibly bright, they’ve been taught incredibly well, and they’ve come in contact with so many people, I have utter confidence that they’ll go on to get fabulous jobs.”

The first year’s biggest lesson:
Being the first year of a completely unique program (the only Design Criticism program in the United States), the biggest challenge was being flexible with the framework of the program and accommodating the individual idiosyncrasies and the different personalities of all the students—everything from cultural backgrounds, to interests, to levels and knowledge of design. It didn’t come as a surprise to learn the biggest lesson was dealing with control: “When real messy people come into the mix, it explodes your neatly defined diagram, and that’s fantastic because you learn so much from that. Otherwise how boring would that be?”

Her advice, “be open to change, it’s ok if something changes completely. The incredibly valuable input comes from all the people, not my black and white schematic, and I’m enjoying it intensely.”


FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:

SVA MFA Design Criticism Website

D-CRIT Student Work:
John Cantwell on Design Observer
Angela Reichers on Design Observer
Frederico Duarte in Icon magazine
Emily Leibin in Surface magazine
Angela Reichers on AIGA
Chappell Ellison, winner of Winterhouse Award for Design Writing & Criticism

 
D-CRIT Events
Peter Hall’s Writing Design History talk
December 8, 6 – 8pm, at MFA DCRIT, admission is free
DCRIT Readings at KBG Bar
SVA MFA Design Criticism Lecture Series: Fall 2009

As the second installment of this series I bring to you another Polish poster design enthusiast, Lara McCormick. Lara grew up in Berkeley, CA, went to UCLA for undergrad and moved to New York City where she earned a MFA in design at the School of Visual Arts. She is currently teaching at SVA (undergraduate and Continuing Ed), and freelances. Lara believes in social and environmental responsibility in design and stresses this to students and clients. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that her favorite color is green.

I met Lara through SVA and have enjoyed talking to her about her experiences as a design educator. Her interest in Polish poster design has become integrated into her teaching and her thoughts on the matter are something I am pleased to share with you...

Crit: What initially interested you in Polish poster design?

Lara McCormick: I took a weeklong workshop with James Victore, and he spoke with exuberance about the movement. I fell in love with Tomaszewski.

Crit: How and why are you incorporating Polish poster design into the classes you are teaching?

LM: Why: Because the posters are done by hand (mostly) but graphical in nature, and use the technique of coding (incorporating hidden anti-establish messages into the design). It's nice to get students off the computer.

How: In the graphic design course I teach, one of the assignments is to create a poster for the play hamlet, inspired by Polish poster designers. I show the work and we have a discussion about each poster. Then they begin their projects.
[Student posters shown above. From left: Mika Tarkela, Jessica Jaffe, Stephanie Thorpe]

Crit: How are the students responding and is it being reflected in their work?

LM: The students end up creating posters using paint, pencil drawings,
water color. Typography is rendered by hand in some cases. If they
want to use digital type it can only be Helvetica. The students enjoy
the freedom from the constraints of the computer, and working with
tangible materials.

Some of their work makes social and political statements. Others are
beautifully rendered. The work usually ends up in their end of the year
portfolios.

Crit: Why do you think studying Polish poster design is beneficial to design
education overall?

LM: It's part of design history. An intersection where fine art and graphic design meet.
Drawing on work from the past is a great inspiration for the work we
design today.

Crit:  Are there specific applications of design that could greatly benefit from
influences of Polish poster design?

LM: I think it enforces the beauty of using your hands, hand-lettering. It
is an important tool in the designer toolbox. I encourage all my
students to create work that is tactile. I wish the posters
(advertisements) we see all around us today were beautiful and not so
obvious and obnoxious.

Crit: What, if any, trends seen in Polish poster design do you feel are
appearing in current design culture?

LM: Hand-lettering in bold black strokes.

Crit: For designers who may not have been exposed to Polish poster design
already, where do you think is the best place for them to start?

LM: I would start by researching the Polish poster movement, so that you
get an idea of where it came from.

My favorite polish poster artist is Henryk Tomaszewski, definitely check his stuff out. Talk to other designers about polish poster design.

CRIT: Where do you think your interest in Polish poster design will take you
next?

LM: I'm currently coordinating a student exhibition of their work. Maybe
the other design professors who see it would be compelled to have me
do a workshop for their class on polish poster design, who knows!

In this two part interview series we will look at post WWII Polish poster design through the eyes of two design educators who share a passion for this provocative and inspiring period in history. This week I bring you an interview with Andrea Marks and next week Lara McCormick.

This fascinating aspect of design history is often overlooked in the typical American design education and holds great value to be studied, which is why I wanted to present these two voices in hopes to spark curiosity in our readers.

I should also point out that sadly, while not planned, this series comes following the passing of one of the greats of Polish poster design, Franciszek Starowieyski. A man of vast accomplishments who inspired many. (His Teresa Desqueyroux poster is show below.)

We will begin by meeting Andrea Marks, graphic design professor and program coordinator at Oregon State University. Andrea produced and co-directed, with Glenn Holsten, the documentary Freedom on the Fence which tells the story of poster design in Poland from WWII through the fall of Communism. It was at a screening of this film back in 2006 at my alma mater, Oregon State University, that I was first introduced to the art of Polish poster design. I also had the privilege of studying under Andrea during my undergraduate years and am very happy to introduce her to you...

CRIT: What first attracted you to Polish posters?

Andrea Marks: There were two aspects of the Polish poster that I was intrigued with. I should qualify here that I am specifically referring to posters following WWII through the fall of Communism. The first aspect was the visual power they had. These posters were visually very different, yet all possessed wonderful visual and conceptual qualities. The second aspect that pulled me in was the story itself. 
I was interested in learning more about how these wonderful cultural posters came to be seen on the streets of Warsaw, Krakow and other Polish cities. I was immediately captivated by the story that these powerful posters were not only produced during Communism, but actually flourished during this time period. As one artist said, “Communism was a fertile ground for poster making” and that is really an interesting thesis to explore. 

I was also interested in capturing the voices of the artists, many who were well into their 80s, as a way to preserve this very important part of art/design history.

CRIT: What is currently happening with your film, Freedom on the Fence?



AM: Here is a short history of the making of this film. In 1997, I had a Polish student in my class and she introduced me to Polish posters through books she had. She and I discussed the fact that the posters, announcing films, theater, opera and other cultural events were no longer produced in the same numbers as they were, prior to the fall of Communism. I thought this was an interesting story and one I wanted to pursue through the medium of film. This was 1998.

In the subsequent 10 years, I chipped away at this project, making three trips to Poland. I consider this a ‘passion project’— that is a project that you feel very strongly about for one reason or another and you work on it as long as it takes to get it finished. The film is now completed, aside from the purchase of final archival footage and it is hopeful that the funds for that footage will be raised by late spring. I have screened the film at many national and international venues, including AIGA events, film festivals and schools. 

I never imagined this film would be so well received by such a wide audience. I did imagine that designers and artists would find the story interesting, but I have shown it to high school students and senior citizens and all find something inspiring in the story. I think the film is particularly exciting to see when it is shown in conjunction with a Polish poster exhibition. This past January, I screened the film at Drexel University in Philadelphia. They have recently acquired a huge collection of Polish posters, and had a terrific exhibition that accompanied the screening.


Crit: What was the transition from design to documentary film making like?

AM: Well, I knew that in order to make this film, I needed to collaborate with someone who knew how to make a film. Fortunately, my friend Glenn Holsten, a very talented, independent filmmaker in Philadelphia agreed to work on the project with me. The collaboration with Glenn was great and we both had a similar vision of what the film could be. I really wouldn’t have been able to make the film without Glenn’s guidance and experience. 

I think design and film making both come down to storytelling. Instead of writing an article or designing a book about these Polish artists, I chose film and sound as the medium. There was new technology to learn, the real challenge was how to take a 50 year period in history and summarize it in 40 minutes. Once I transcribed the many interviews, we edited sections and began shaping the story. I developed a “look and feel” for the film, with the goal of flooding the film with as many posters as possible.  


The fact that it was a foreign film added another layer of complexity. I applied for many grants, both from my university and external grants for funding and received enough money to make a preliminary research trip to Poland. This trip was important and we spent 2 weeks traveling to various cities in Poland to meet with artists and hear their stories. We brought a very low end camera, and made short videos. In a sense, this was a bit like initial sketching in a design project. Following that trip, I worked on plans for the next trip, in which we would do the final filming of the documentary. Unlike a design project, which can be completed in a relatively short time, a film, even a 40-minute film, can take a much longer time to complete and I wasn’t used to that. Granted, 11 years is a very long time, even for a film, but there are inherent complexities in film that are not present in design. 


All of my interviews were done with a translator I hired in Poland and then I had to transcribe all interviews on paper. It was an incredibly tedious process that took dozens of hours, but it was the only way I could view the various voices and understand how to string these voices together to tell a story.

CRIT: What are some of the new discoveries about Polish posters that you made in the process of making the film?

AM: Not sure I made any new discoveries about Polish posters, as all of it was new to me. It was poignant to hear the artist Wiktor Gorka talk about how advertising, such as billboards was worse than some of the Social Realist art created under Communism. That was something I didn’t find written in journals or books. I am sure that none of the artists would like to live under Communism again, but those that were commissioned to design posters (and there were many), were paid very well and could make a living as poster artists.

CRIT: Being a design educator yourself, what do you feel are the most beneficial aspects of incorporating the history of Polish poster design into a graphic design curriculum?

AM: As cliché as this may sound, I think the story of the Polish poster shows the strength of the human spirit. The way this is done happens on several levels.

On one level, these posters can be viewed for their pure, imagistic beauty. Students are typically very inspired by the visual strength of the Polish posters. I think the fact that they were drawn and painted, including the typography, speaks to the students of today. For many students, the idea of working “off” the computer on a poster is a bit of a revelation.

The next level is the content of the posters. Though these are for the most part cultural posters, announcing theater, film, opera, etc., the message on the poster is never literal. In fact, the posters are wonderful examples of how not to be literal, as they use metaphor, irony, satire and humor in very clever ways.  

The third level is examining the history and how the time period played a pivotal role in the development of these powerful posters. One might say that the added constraints of Communism and the fact that each poster had to go before a censor board pushed the artists to dig a little deeper.


CRIT: How are the students you come in contact with responding to Polish poster design and is it being reflected in their work?



AM: Each time I show the film to students, from high school to college age, the response is similar—they love the images. They usually ask where they can purchase these posters and I can see they are inspired. 

After seeing the film, I have had students tell me they are much more interested in working by hand—bringing more painting and drawing into their work. I do think the Polish posters show students that much can be done off of the computer. 

I also think Polish posters are a great example for students to see how metaphor and satire can work in communicating a message. When we ask students to capture the essence of something visually, Polish posters are great examples to show.

CRIT:  What is the next thing you hope will happen in the study of Polish poster design?

AM: I think it would be interesting to explore contemporary Polish poster design. That is something I was not able to do in my time in Poland. Whenever another generation is developing their history, the challenge is how to develop a new voice. The artists of the 50s and 60s were mainly trained as painters, and so there is a lot of drawing and painting in the work. Students studying at the Warsaw Academy of Art today have new technologies they are working with. I am curious as to how the past influences what is being done today.

Go here to learn more about Andrea’s film, Freedom on the Fence.

Visit us next week for the second installment of this interview series featuring Lara McCormick, freelance designer and graduate of the SVA MFA Design program who is currently teaching at SVA’s undergraduate and continuing education program.