Teaching graphic design

Approaches, insights, the role of listening and 24 interviews with inspirational educators

Sven Ingmar Thies (ed.)

» book extract (issuu.com)

The book is for

• design educators
• design students
• practising designers

This book describes

• sustainable teaching practice
• how to give learners their own experiences and discoveries through active listening
• how learners and educators can improve through shared reflection

This book offers

• an insight into teaching parameters for a more conscious approach to teaching and learning
• 24 interviews with educators from Austria, China, Germany, Japan, the UK and the USA
• 12 selected project briefings
• recommendations for your first day in class

Interviewees

All interview partners offer inspiring insights into their method of teaching – into the way they act and communicate with others. While some things differ culturally, others do have a lot in common.

Their answers also provide further ideas for everyday graphic design practice which entails communicating with, asking and listening to people as well as making carefully considered decisions.

• Katrin Androschin – Strategic Design, Berlin
• Masayo Ave – Sensory Experience Design, Berlin
• Paulus M. Dreibholz – Typography, Vienna
• Fritz Frenkler – Industrial Design, Berlin
• Nikolaus Hafermaas – Transmedia Design, Pasadena
• Brigitte Hartwig – Communication Design, Dessau
• Jianping He – Poster Art and Visual Language, Hangzhou
• Michael Hohl – Design Theory, Dessau
• Gesche Joost – Design Methods, Berlin
• Katsuya Kato – Design Basics and Media, Tokyo
• Ruth Mateus-Berr – Didactics, Vienna
• Kei Matsushita – Visual Communication, Tokyo
• Johanna Pirker – Game Design, Game Development and Social Media Technologies, Graz
• Rathna Ramanathan – Typography and Graphic Communication Design, London
• LeeAnn Renninger – Expert in Adult Learning, New York
• Ichiro Saga – Typography and Design History, Tokyo
• Stefan Sagmeister – Graphic Design, New York
• Kashiwa Sato – Design Thinking, Tokyo
• Yasuhiro Sawada – Graphic Design, Tokyo
• Mathilde Scholz – Integrated Design, Dessau
• Matthias Spaetgens – Conception, Vienna
• Erik Spiekermann – Information Design, Berlin
• Takeshi Sunaga – Information Design, Tokyo
• Toshio Yamagata – Graphic Design and Design Management, Tokyo

About the author

Sven Ingmar Thies

Born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, Sven Ingmar Thies studied graphic design at Braunschweig University of Art and completed his final thesis in Tokyo and Yokohama.

Since his time at university, he has focused on a holistic design approach that seamlessly connects to other design disciplines, other specialist areas, or even to handicrafts. This conviction was intensified further by two professional engagements at Henrion, Ludlow & Schmidt in London, where brands were holistically developed, and at Kitayama Institute in Tokyo, where he learned about the interplay between architecture and design during a two-year postgraduate scholarship.

Besides being involved in project-related work for brand agencies Enterprise IG (today, Superunion) and Landor (today, Landor & Fitch), he founded Thies Design in 1998 which develops tailored brand experiences for enterprises and institutions.

In addition to his professional activities, Sven Ingmar Thies has taught graphic design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna’s Class of Ideas since 2011.

thiesdesign.com

All notes, references and recommended reading mentioned in the book are listed below. (Please note that we are not responsible for the content of any linked website.)

Notes and references

1. Williams, Raymond (1976): Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (Reprint 2011), Routledge
2. Aynsley, Jeremy (2014): Graphic Design. In: De Bondt, Sara; de Smet, Catherine (eds.), Graphic Design: History in the Writing, Occasional Papers, p. 22
3. Simon, Herbert A. (1969, 1996): The Sciences of the Artificial, MIT Press, p. 111
4. iF Design Foundation (2021): Designing Design Education, av edition, p. 21
5. Baumgartner, Ekkehart (2021): The Thinking Hand. In: iF Design Foundation (ed.): Designing Design Education, av edition, p. 137
6. Lawson, Bryan (1980): How Designers Think, Architectural Press, p. 43
7. Papanek, Victor (2019): Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change (3rd edition), Thames & Hudson, p. 4
8. Bast, Gerald (2018): Die Kultivierung von Ungewissheit. In: Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien (ed.): Digitale Transformationen, Brandstätter Verlag, pp. 14ff
9. Projector Institute (2018, 24 April): Interview with Michael Wolff, https://prjctr-institute.medium.com/interview-with-michael-wolff-4626d901af22
10. The Cooper Union (2021, 6 December): Intercultural and decolonial: exploring frameworks for typographic practice with Rathna Ramanathan (video document), Herb Lubalin Lecture Series, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLU6L3fDMAE
11. World Economic Forum (2020): The Future of Jobs Report 2020: Infographics, www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/in-full/infographics-e4e69e4de7
12. Garland, Ken (1962), cited in Shaughnessy, Adrian (2012): Ken Garland Structure and Substance, Unit Editions, p. 55
13. Cohen, David K. (2011): Teaching and Its Predicaments, Harvard University Press, p. 4
14. Postman, Neil; Weingartner, Charles (1969): Teaching as a Subversive Activity, Dell Publishing, p. 66
15. Ambady, Nalini; Rosenthal, Robert (1993): Half a Minute: Predicting Teacher Evaluations From Thin Slices of Nonverbal Behavior and Physical Attractiveness. In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 431–441
16. Hattie, John; Yates, Gregory C.R. (2013): Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Routledge, ch. 4
17. Hattie, John; Yates, Gregory C.R. (2013): Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Routledge, ch. 4
18. form Design Podcast (4 April 2022): Sammeln als Haltung – Alexander von Vegesack über seinen Lebensweg als Objektbesessener (podcast), form Designmagazin, https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/alexander-von-vegesack-ich-hab-mich-einfach-in-objekte/id1533806115?i=1000556195321
19. Amelang, Manfred; Bartussek, Dieter (2001): Differentielle Psychologie und Persönlichkeitsforschung, Kohlhammer
20. Hattie, John; Yates, Gregory C. R. (2013): Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Routledge, pp. 93ff
21. Anderson, James (9 March 2016): 10 teachers’ tips for wannabe fashion students, i-D Magazine, https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/j5849y/10-teachers-tips-for-wannabe-fashion-students
22. Weber, Matt (2016, 19 October): Harvard EdCast: I Wish My Teacher Knew (podcast, interview with Kyle Schwartz), Harvard EdCast, www.gse.harvard.edu/news/16/10/harvard-edcast-i-wish-my-teacher-knew
23. Shaughnessy, Adrian (2013): Essays Scratching the Surface, Unit Editions, pp. 263f
24. Groys, Boris (2009): Education by Infection. In: Madoff, Steven Henry (ed.): Art School (Propositions for the 21st Century), MIT Press, p. 27
25. Kornfeld, Stella; Meisel, Celeste; Scheer, Melanie; Scholz, Mathilde; Wilke, Hannes (2021): perMA – Prototyp einer neuen Lernkultur, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, www.perma-dessau.de, p. 80
26. Hollis, Richard (2015): Principles before Style: Questions in Design History. In: Heller, Steven (ed.): The Education of a Graphic Designer (ebook), Allworth Press, p. 171
27. Rogers, Carl R.; Farson, Richard Evans (1957): Active Listening, Industrial Relations Center, University of Chicago
28. Nichols, Michael P.; Straus, Martha B. (2021): The Lost Art of Listening (3rd edition), The Guilford Press, p. 10
29. Shaughnessy, Adrian (2012): Ken Garland Structure and Substance, Unit Editions, p. 56
30. Koudenburg, Namkje; Postmes, Tom; Gordijn, Ernestine H. (2011): Disrupting the flow: How brief silences in group conversations affect social needs. In: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 47, issue 2, pp. 512–515
31. Westerkamp, Hildegard (2001, 1 January): Soundwalking, www.hildegardwesterkamp.ca/writings/writingsby/?post_id=13&title=soundwalking
32. International Council of Design (2020): Professional Code of Conduct for Designers, www.theicod.org/storage/app/media/resources/ICO_Professional_Code_of_Conduct.pdf
33. Rogers, Carl R. (1995): On Becoming a Person, Houghton Mifflin Company, p. 17
34. Strack, Fritz; Martin, Leonard L.; Stepper, Sabine (1988): Inhibiting and Facilitating Conditions of the Human Smile: A Nonobtrusive Test of the Facial Feedback Hypothesis. In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 54, no. 5, pp. 768–777
35. Maidel, Romina; Behrends, Jakob (2012): „Design muss sich als Disziplin positionieren“. Volker Albus hebt die Bedeutung des Schreibens hervor (audio document). In: Sprache für die Form, no. 1, www.designrhetorik.de/design-muss-sich-als-disziplin-positionieren/
36. Hattie, John; Yates, Gregory C. R. (2013): Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Routledge, pp. 187ff
37. Fried, Carrie B. (2007): In-class laptop use and its effects on student learning. In: Computers & Education, doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2006.09.006, www.winona.edu/psychology/media/friedlaptopfinal.pdf
38. Glaser, Milton (2001, 11 November): Ten Things I Have Learned, Part of an AIGA Talk in London, www.miltonglaser.com/files/Essays-10things-8400.pdf
    Amongst others, Milton Glaser also designed the ‘I love NY’ and DC Comics logos and was the first graphic designer to receive the National Medal of the Arts, which is the highest honour awarded to artists and patrons of the arts by the United States Congress.
39. On cybernetics:
    – Wiener, Norbert (1948): Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, MIT Press
    – YouTube (2016): Paul Pangaro: What Is Cybernetics? (video document), www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oad8Ro8j_fE
    On cybernetics and design:
    – Dubberly, Hugh; Pangaro, Paul (2019, 1 January): Cybernetics and Design: Conversations for Action, www.dubberly.com/articles/cybernetics-and-design-conversations-for-action-v2.html
    – Glanville, Ranulph (2014): How design and cybernetics reflect each other. In: Proceedings of RSD3, Third Symposium of Relating Systems Thinking to Design, 15–17 October 2014, Oslo, Norway, http://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/2053/
    On cybernetics and teaching:
    – Michael Hohl combined the processes of cybernetics and design with other perspectives and ideas and translated it to teaching. Together with Mathilde Scholz he developed the concept of transformative teaching. Kornfeld, Stella; Meisel, Celeste; Scheer, Melanie; Scholz, Mathilde; Wilke, Hannes (2021): perMA – Prototyp einer neuen Lernkultur, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, www.perma-dessau.de
40. Polanyi, Michael (1966): The Tacit Dimension, Doubleday & Company
41. Schön, Donald A. (2016, 1983): The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Routledge
42. Design Council (2019, 17 May): Framework for Innovation: Design Council’s evolved Double Diamond, www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/skills-learning/tools-frameworks/framework-for-innovation-design-councils-evolved-double-diamond
43. Norman, Don (2013): The Design of Everyday Things, Basic Books
44. Auping, Michael (2007): 30 Years: Interviews and Outtakes, Prestel, p. 16
45. Weibel, Peter (2018): Dinge und Daten. In: Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien (ed.): Digitale Transformationen, Brandstätter Verlag, pp. 262–264
46. Kornfeld, Stella; Meisel, Celeste; Scheer, Melanie; Scholz, Mathilde; Wilke, Hannes (2021): perMA – Prototyp einer neuen Lernkultur, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, www.perma-dessau.de, pp. 105–110
47. Freire, Paulo (2005): Pedagogy of the Oppressed (30th anniversary edition), Continuum, p. 87
48. Dreibholz, Paulus M. (2016): Reading Form – A Call for Conscious Design; Vienna (Gaffa Editions)
49. Dreibholz, Paulus M. (2010): MAtters Transcript; London (Gaffa Limited); pp. 9–10
50. Ward, Henry (2012, 2 November): Interview with John Baldessari. www.henryhward.com/interview-with-john-baldessari
51. This interview was preceded by a lecture given by Sven Ingmar Thies on the subject of ‘German Design History and Education’ followed by a podium discussion with Yasuhiro Sawada and Toshio Yamagata at Tama Art University Tokyo on 5 December 2019.
52. Lloyd-Jones, Teleri (2020, 3 November): Dr Rahna Ramanathan announced as our new Dean of Academic Strategy, www.arts.ac.uk/colleges/central-saint-martins/stories/rathna-ramanathan-new-dean
53. www.ted.com/talks/leeann_renninger_the_secret_to_giving_great_feedback
54. This interview was preceded by a lecture given by Sven Ingmar Thies on the subject of ‘German Design History and Education’ followed by a podium discussion with Yasuhiro Sawada and Toshio Yamagata at Tama Art University Tokyo on 5 December 2019.
55. Kornfeld, Stella; Meisel, Celeste; Scheer, Melanie; Scholz, Mathilde; Wilke, Hannes (2021): perMA – Prototyp einer neuen Lernkultur, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, www.perma-dessau.de
56. In visual art, horror vacui (Latin for ‘fear of empty space’) refers to the desire to fill the entire surface of a space or an artwork with detail (cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_vacui(art)).

Recommended Reading

Online sources

• AIGA (2017, 21 August): AIGA Designer 2025: Why design education should pay attention to trends, https://educators.aiga.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/DESIGNER-2025-SUMMARY.pdf
• Bennett, Audrey G.; Vulpinari, Omar (eds.) (2011): Icograda Design Education Manifesto 2011, Taipei/Montreal 2011, www.theicod.org/storage/app/media/resources/Icograda%20Documents/IcogradaEducationManifesto_2011.pdf
• Integrierte Qualitätsoffensive in Lehre und Studium (2016): Methodensammlung: Für Dozierende der Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, www.hhu.de/fileadmin/redaktion/Lehre/Hochschuldidaktik/Downloads/Methodenbuch_Stand151216.pdf
• Davis, Meredith (2016): ‘Normal science’ and the changing practices of design and design education. In: Visible Language, vol. 50, no. 1, https://journals.uc.edu/index.php/vl/article/view/5913
• DERC (2020): Charting the Future of Design Education: A Report by the Design Education Review Committee, http://designsingapore.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/DERC_Report_v2_updatedJune2020.pdf
• Dubberly, Hugh (2004): How Do You Design?, Dubberly Design Office, www.dubberly.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/ddo_designprocess.pdf
• Facione, Peter A. (2020): Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts (updated edition), www.insightassessment.com/content/download/1176/7580/file/whatwhy2018.pdf
• IDEO (2013): Design Thinking for Educators: Toolkit, available at: www.ideo.com/post/design-thinking-for-educators
• Iguchi, Toshino; Suga, Yasuko (eds.) (2017): Design Education beyond Boundaries: The Second Asian Conference of Design History and Theory, Saitama University, https://acdht.com/download/2017/all_corol.pdf
• IIT Institute of Design (ID) (2020): Lead with Purpose: Design’s central role in realizing executive vision, https://id.iit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IIT-ID-Pathways-Report-2020.pdf
• Queen’s University (n.d.): Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (online course), www.queensu.ca/teachingandlearning/modules/home.html
• Singh, Sapna; Sanders, Liz; Irwin, Terry; Stappers, Pieter Jan; Lotz, Nicole; Bohemia, Erik (2016): The Future of Design Education. In: Lloyd, P.; Bohemia, E. (eds.), Future Focused Thinking – DRS International Conference 2016, 27–30 June, Brighton, United Kingdom, https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2016/conversations/12

Books

• Aicher, Otl (2015): analogous and digital (2nd edition), Ernst & Sohn
• Bayne, Siân; Evans, Peter; Ewins, Rory; Knox, Jeremy; Lamb, James; Macleod, Hamish; O’Shea, Clara; Ross, Jen; Sheail, Philippa; Sinclair, Christine (2020): The Manifesto for Teaching Online, MIT Press
• Berzbach, Frank (2013): Die Kunst, ein kreatives Leben zu führen. Anregung zu Achtsamkeit, Hermann Schmidt
• Brookhart, Susan M. (2017): How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students (2nd edition), ASCD
• Buchholz, Kai; Theinert, Justus (2007): Designlehren. Wege deutscher Gestaltungsausbildung, Arnoldsche Art Publishers
• Burkhardt, Christoph (2017): Denkfehler Innovation. Warum Fehlentscheidungen oft der Grund für Fortschritt sind, Springer Gabler
• Carr, Nicholas (2010): The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, W. W. Norton & Company
• Cross, Nigel (2007): Designerly Ways of Knowing, Birkhäuser
• Davis, Meredith (2017): Teaching Design: A guide to curriculum and pedagogy for college design faculty and teachers who use design in their classrooms, Allworth Press
• De Bono, Edward (2016): Lateral Thinking, Penguin Random House
• Dewey, John (1916): Democracy and Education: An introduction to the philosophy of education, Macmillan
• Dewey, John (1934, 2005): Art as Experience, Penguin Books
• Dobelli, Rolf (2012): Die Kunst des klugen Handelns, Hanser
• Dobelli, Rolf (2014): The Art of Thinking Clearly, Harper Collins
• Dubberly, Hugh; Pangaro, Paul (2019): Cybernetics and Design: Conversations for Actions. In: Fischer, Thomas; Herr, Christine M. (eds): Design Cybernetics: Navigating the New, Springer
• Freitag, Andreas (2015): Von Marken und Menschen. Arbeit, Führung und das gute Leben, Hermann Schmidt
• Frenkler, Fritz (ed) (2020): The Report. Industrial Design at the Technical University of Munich, Technical University of Munich, Faculty of Architecture
• Frutiger, Adrian (1981): Der Mensch und seine Zeichen, Fourier Verlag
• Gladwell, Malcolm (2006): Blink! The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Penguin Books
• Grenny, Joseph; Patterson, Kerry; McMillan, Ron; Switzler, Al; Gregory, Emily (2022): Crucial conversations. Tools for Talking When Stakes are High (3rd edition), McGraw Hill
• Hara, Kenya (2015): Ex-formation, Lars Müller Publishers
• Heiz, André Vladimir (2012): Grundlagen der Gestaltung, Niggli Verlag
• Hohl, Michael; Scholz, Mathilde (2020): Theorie designen: Ein neues, partizipatives Lehrformat für Designtheorie im ersten Semester. In: Park, June H. (ed): Designwissenschaft trifft Bildungswissenschaft, kopaed, pp. 30–39
• Hollis, Richard (2012, 2017): Writings about Graphic Design, Occasional Papers
• Kahneman, Daniel (2012): Thinking, Fast and Slow, Penguin Books
• Klaus, Katja; Bittner, Regina (eds) (2019): Gestaltungsproben. Gespräche zum Bauhausunterricht, Spector Books
• Kries, Mateo; Klein, Amelie; Clarke, Alison J. (eds) (2018): Victor Papanek: The Politics of Design (exhibition catalogue), Vitra Design Museum, Victor J. Papanek Foundation, University of Applied Arts Vienna
• Kroeger, Michael (2008): Paul Rand: Conversations with Students, Princeton Architectural Press
• Laurillard, Diana (2012): Teaching as a Design Science: Building Pedagogical Patterns for Learning and Technology, Routledge
• Lidwell, William; Holden, Kritina; Butler, Jill (2003): Universal Principles of Design: a cross-disciplinary reference, Rockport Publishers
• Madoff, Steven Henry (ed) (2009): Art School (Propositions for the 21st Century), MIT Press
• Maeda, John (2006): The Laws of Simplicity, MIT Press
• Malsy, Victor; Teufel, Philipp; Gejko, Fjodor (eds) (2007): Helmut Schmid: Gestaltung ist Haltung / Design Is Attitude, Birkhäuser
• McNiff, Shaun (1998): Trust the Process: An Artist’s Guide to Letting Go, Shambhala Publications
• Moggridge, Bill (2007): Designing Interactions, MIT Press
• Nonaka, Ikujiro; Takeuchi, Hirotaka (1995): The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press
• Olins, Wally (2014): Brand New: The Shape of Brands to Come, Thames & Hudson
• Oswalt, Philipp (ed) (2019): Hannes Meyers neue Bauhauslehre: Von Dessau bis Mexiko, Birkhäuser
• Pfeffer, Florian (2014): To Do: Die neue Rolle der Gestaltung in einer veränderten Welt: Strategien, Werkzeuge, Geschäftsmodelle, Verlag Hermann Schmidt
• Selwyn, Neil (2019): Should Robots Replace Teachers?: AI and the Future of Education, Polity Press
• Stanier, Michael Bungay (2016): The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever, Box of Crayons Press
• Tenorth, Heinz-Elmar (ed) (2012): Klassiker der Pädagogik (2nd edition), C.H. Beck
• Watzlawick, Paul (1983, 1993): The Situation Is Hopeless, But Not Serious: The Pursuit of Unhappiness, W. W. Norton & Company
• Weinbaum, Alexandra; Allen, David; Blythe, Tina; Simon, Katherine; Seidel, Steve; Rubin, Catherine (2004): Teaching as Inquiry: Asking Hard Questions to Improve Practice and Student Achievement, Teachers College Press
• Weinschenk, Susan M. (2011): 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, New Riders
• Welzer, Harald (2013): Selbst denken. Eine Anleitung zum Widerstand (6th edition), S. Fischer
• Westover, Tara (2022): Educated: A Memoir, Random House
• Wick, Rainer K. (2009): Bauhaus: Kunst und Pädagogik, Athena Verlag
• Wood, Luke; Haylock, Brad (eds) (2020): One and Many Mirrors: Perspectives on Graphic Design Education, Occasional Papers
• Wyss, Ruedi (ed), Binder, Ulrich (2013): Gestaltung der Grundlagen: Aus dem Gestalterischen Propädeutikum der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Niggli Verlag

All of the above links were accessed on 7 March 2023.

Press

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Details

Title:
Teaching Graphic Design
Approaches, Insights, the Role of Listening and 24 Interviews with Inspirational Educators

Editor:
Sven Ingmar Thies (concept, author, interviews)

Interviewees:
Katrin Androschin, Masayo Ave, Paulus M. Dreibholz, Fritz Frenkler, Nikolaus Hafermaas, Brigitte Hartwig, Jianping He, Michael Hohl, Gesche Joost, Katsuya Kato, Ruth Mateus-Berr, Kei Matsushita, Johanna Pirker, Rathna Ramanathan, LeeAnn Renninger, Ichiro Saga, Stefan Sagmeister, Kashiwa Sato, Yasuhiro Sawada, Mathilde Scholz, Matthias Spaetgens, Erik Spiekermann, Takeshi Sunaga, Toshio Yamagata

Copyright year:
2023

Publisher:
Birkhäuser, Basel
Volume in the series Edition Angewandte (University of Applied Arts Vienna)

Pages:
288

Language:
English

Format:
150 × 228

Price:
€ 42,-

Paperback:
ISBN: 978-3-0356-2600-1
» order at birkhauser.com

Electronic:
ISBN: 978-3-0356-2602-5
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