An early post for Week 10

Hi everyone this is a very early post for Week 10 - including the new lecture that I would normally release on Monday morning. Why? Well next week I will be working in Beijing installing two interactive design works at one of the major museums for Beijing Design Week and I anticipate that it may be difficult for me to jump the Great Firewall of China and post to you. Hence the early release.

First, a note I was surprised to receive emails for a few people this week indicating they had not received access to the blog - I of course responded with invitation but it is really important that at this late stage everyone is connected to the blog and participating.

Week 10's lecture has a focus on experimentation in publication design. As stated in it's abstract Breaking Rules Well:

is intentionally fairly conversational in tone and more than a little philosophical at points but aims to provide a range of useful considerations and insights you might employ when faced with the task of composing a layout. Some are obvious, some less so.  It is said by many designers that there is not one perfect way to design a page that is well composed. This is self-evident you may think - and to at least some extent you are right. The task behind developing a well- composed layout is often made difficult by a dearth of good content - or, the other extreme, too much material that you must use. Bad photography, limited access to typefaces, a difficult client - or simply you are having a bad day...Creativity can be an imprecise art...

Please note the Discussion Points and activities for Studio Research at the end of the lecture. They include:
Studio Research and Discussion:
Discussion Point: Reflect on your perspectives and your position on the relevance of typographic conventions and traditions in contemporary publishing contexts. Discuss your views in the context of relevant examples. Post your response to the Studio Blog.
Studio: Group to select by vote the design concept/grid that will be adopted for Project 2.
Self-directed: Students to keep a daily account of their involvement in the group production team in order to reflect on the processes undertaken and their role in the project.

For additional viewing relevant to this (one of the more interesting lectures of the course) I think that one of the more interesting innovators in graphic design and publication is David Carson. There's an enormous (and growing) amount of material online about Carson who has become hugely influential. Most recently I think this interview/presentation about Carson is worth a look. It's quite long but offers a lot of insight into the designer and his unique approaches to the page. Enjoy.


David Carson Q&A from OFFSET on Vimeo.