OCAD workshop 2015-16

It's been (shockingly) four years since my last entry. The reason that I suddenly remembered this blog is that, winter classes being over,  I began thinking about workshop, the course formerly known as thesis. In the years since May 2012, not that much has changed. I have continued teaching thesis/workshop, typography and type design classes, as well as the (now online) history of typography Although my area of expertise is without doubt typography, few of my workshop students have concentrated on mainly typographic projects. Students who do well in my class are group-focused and production-oriented (class participation and attendance are very important, as are weekly presentations of work).

This is essentially a research class, and research in the sense we refer to it is communicable, and requires documentation and writing. Your research might focus on design methods, on design technologies, design philosophies, design techniques. Christopher Frayling's Research in Art and Design is a good overview of the different approaches that work in my class.

• The research question is an important framing device for exploration.

These are some of my approaches to and ideas about workshop:

• I try to foster a very cohesive and collaborative atmosphere.  I have all students sit together, and ask for input from all on all. Activities require students to interact with each other.
• I don't think that the workshop class should be limited to class hours. I am generally in my office and available at 100 McCaul weekdays from 10 to 6 except when in class or in meetings. (This includes the summer, which is a good time to run workshop ideas by me.) 
• If you have a vision and initiative, I will support you. But I will not tell you what you should do. 
• I believe that graphic design should communicate, and that your project should communicate original ideas in original ways. I am not very interested in style-focused or straightforward commercial applications. This doesn't mean that I don't like practical work; communication is by definition practical. But doing a good job of something that has been done before is not enough for a full year project. 
• Your work should make the audience see and think in a way that they haven't before. I work best with original and exploratory ideas on big subjects. My students have tended towards material exploration, with relatively few doing onscreen/projection work, but this is not a requirement...more a tradition that has developed over the last four years.
• My class is neither specifically a preparation for practice as a junior level designer, nor a preparation for postgraduate education. Your interests could be in design or postgraduate education, but the skills required for a junior level design position (software skill, ability to follow instructions and emulate styles) are not a focus of this class. However:
• There is an academic aspect. I ask for a 2,500 word literature review essay that gives context for your work. I also expect extensive documentation of work process (writing and image).

Questions to ask yourself before choosing your final workshop class and direction.
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• What do you care about?
• What are you interested in?
• What are you good at?
• What would you like to get better at?
• What do you intend to do after graduating?
• What is your initial research question?
• What readings / existing work are the framework for your work?  

As I said, I am generally available at any time through the year if you want to discuss this further.