Category Archives: Design

Professional Practice

I’m teaching the Professional Practice class this term at City College of San Francisco and would like to get some input from my graphic design and digital media production friends and colleagues on how you run your businesses. Please share your input here on the blog. The textbook is the Graphic Artists Guild’s Pricing &…More

Learning to Design a Cherokee Syllabary with Mark Jamra

I just caught this very interesting talk on TypeCulture’s Facebook page on designing an indigenous American syllabary via the Cherokee language whose written language is almost 200 years old. Fascinated as my mother’s maternal grandfather was Cherokee. I love looking at writing systems outside of the Western cultures. For this talk, Mark Jamra references the…More

Looking at process in User Experience

In my last post, I talked about my quest into the world of User Experience (UX). Process is at the core of any endeavor, and most certainly UX. As a graphic designer, I’ve been intrigued to see how process looks in this area. As users, when we encounter interfaces, we often are left to our…More

Thanking Mary Thorsby and Nikki May

Thanking the wonderful content strategist and writer Mary Thorsby and  great graphic designer and creative Nikki May for their incredible talk with the Portfolio class today on how to present oneself professionally online and offline.    They covered writing the critical content for the portfolio and resume well and distinctively, and presenting ones best work.…More

Brainstorming Alone

A nice article at How Design outlining a 9-step process to brainstorming alone. Here are the first six (6). You can find all via the link at the end. Brainstorming alone often feels, to paraphrase Churchill, like standing in a bucket and trying to lift yourself by the handles. It can be a lonely and…More

Delivering Concept via Conveyance and Theme

Today’s talk in the Multimedia Content + Form class. In the visual media world, concept is illustrated through the use of conveyance. Conveyance is the delivery method of meaning or mood from the thing observed to the observer. Conveyance is relative. Meaning it is dependent upon the our understanding of the cultural learning(s) of the…More

Rise of Graphics for Social Justice Issues in the US

Though the production of graphics for social justice issues, primarily as posters or street art has not diminished much in Europe, Latin America, and Africa, it has lost its prominence in the US. Given this fact, it was nice to read today’s The Daily Heller: Triggering Concern About Guns. To see a full array of…More

Multimedia Content and Form Class Today

Student peer commenting on the final project. I have begun to integrate a peer commenting exercise in my classes as a valuable tool to help students “get out of their boxes” and expand their perspectives by engaging each other around the projects and work. This exercise is received well and students truly become engaged and…More