Category Archives: Design Matters

Noted: MIT’s Next Lab Course/Project

I inadvertently stumbled upon MIT’s Next Lab project’s web site as I was trying to correct an incorrect link a friend sent. What an interesting project. Their mission partly states: “. . . believing that the global dissemination of knowledge will rapidly bring well-being to those who need it most. . .The Next Lab project…More

Will Design Students Find Work After Completion of Studies?

GD Studio 1 students are doing great work. They’re really a good bunch. I’m starting to wonder, given the current state of the economy, what future in graphic design do they have. Most certainly, students must be great designers, demonstrating fully, their understanding of the design fundamentals and their application. They also must be well…More

How Valuable Are Old-School/Traditional Design Skills Today?

Inspired by LinkedIn’s Communication Arts Group’s discussion forum post:”When you learned to work on a computer, did you take classes or teach yourself?”, I want to pose the question: How valuable are traditonal design skills like thumbnailing (preliminary sketches and verbalization), and marker and paper comping? Are they still being used today? Are they being…More

Designing Cross-Culturally

Oftentimes, I hear the need to design for a cross-cultural audience. Given that the world, has become a “small” place relatively speaking, and pop/current culture seems to manifest similary thoughout this world (example: jazz/hip hop/literature/fashion), I’m asking myself, what is a cross-cultural audience?More