F U L L P A P E R P R E S E N T A T I O N S

8:30 AM Introduction to GLIDE’10 by Adream Blair-Early (Presenting from USA)

Adream Blair-Early teaches graphic design at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she is working to develop cross-disciplinary design research initiatives. Her research interests include developing principles of interaction and digital wayfinding, exploring the role of design in addressing information poverty and the visualization of medical information for non-English speaking audiences. Her research has been presented at both the national and international levels and her work published in internationally ranked peer-reviewed publications.

8:45 AM Choices: Identifying potential pitfalls and windfalls in collaborative projects (keynote presentation) by Audra Buck-Coleman (Presenting from China)

Abstract: Colleges and universities today increasingly emphasize globalization and collaboration, and with good reason: Collaborative learning can improve students’ confidence and enthusiasm, it can offer a broader body of knowledge than is possible in a single classroom, and its (usually) increased diversity can generate heightened awareness for others as well as more complex thinking skills, especially when addressing multifaceted issues. However, collaborations with more partners do not always offer more rewards nor does diversity necessarily increase with the distance between students’ homes. Audra Buck-Coleman is a principal investigator and original co-author of Sticks + Stones, a multi-university collaboration of graphic design students. Through Sticks + Stones Audra has facilitated in-country (USA) and international pedagogical projects with more than 100 students. Based on research and personal experience, this presentation will address potential achievements and shortcomings of cross-university collaborations.

Audra Buck-Coleman is an Assistant Professor of Design at the University of Maryland, College Park. She holds an MFA in design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a Bachelors of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Over the course of her professional career, Buck-Coleman has written, art directed, curated, designed, authored, and directed numerous design projects, including Sticks + Stones, an international multi-university collaborative graphic design project that investigates stereotyping and related issues. Her professional design work has been exhibited across the United States and abroad and has been recognized by AIGA, the professional association for design; the American Advertising Federation; Graphis; HarperCollins; the University & College Designers Association, among others. Buck-Coleman’s professional work resides at the intersection of design, journalism and pedagogy. Her work covers topics such including cancer, homelessness, sustainability, and humanitarian efforts for Haiti earthquake relief. Her most recent design work has focused on the social impact and ethical considerations of the design practice; these concerns permeate her design research as well as her design pedagogy, most notably with Sticks + Stones. Buck-Coleman most recently collaborated on the 2010 Sticks + Stones project, which asked students from China, Turkey, Germany and the United States to gather in Berlin for a symposium addressing issues of stereotyping and immigration. More than 110 students from diverse areas of the United States and the world have participated in the project since its inception. The project and related topics, including ethical design pedagogical and collaborative considerations, have been presented at conference locations around the world including the 2009 Icograda IEN Conference in Beijing and several locations in the United States including the 2007 College Art Association’s conference in New York and the 2008 AIGA Design Education conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Buck-Coleman has also written works about the project including an article that appeared in a special issue of Visible Language entitled “Global Interaction in Design.” Buck-Coleman was selected for the prestigious 2008-2009 CTE-Lilly Teaching Fellows program at University of Maryland and was awarded Teacher of the Year by the Birmingham Advertising Federation in 2006. Before joining the faculty at University of Maryland, Buck-Coleman taught at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Prior to teaching, she worked as a newspaper designer and editor at the St. Petersburg Times in Florida and as an art director for a local magazine.

9:30 AM Design for Development: Participatory Design and Contextual Research with Indigenous Maya Communities by Maria Rogal (Presenting from USA)

Abstract: design for development (d4d) is an initiative where, I, along with my graphic design students, work together with people from marginalized indigenous communities— in the southern Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Yucatán—and other disciplinary experts to develop solutions to problems we mutually identify and research in context. A major part of this research process is to learn about the lives of our project partners, all marginalized Maya who are highly skilled but have historically lacked access to capital required to bring their projects to market. Learning about disciplines also involves learning about cultures and contexts, which we begin at the partner site in Mexico as part of a participatory and responsible research practice. Of significant focus is the fieldwork component that empowers all participants to connect, exchange, collaborate, innovate, and create. It is a learning opportunity for all project participants working to create a more equitable world.

Maria Rogal is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Florida. She created design for development—a collaborative initiative with entrepreneurs in rural communities in southern Mexico, students, designers, and other disciplinary experts that integrates design research, teaching, and practice—to explore how we can use design, in its broadest sense, to positively shape the human experience. She received the AIGA Design Research Grant (2008), a Fulbright-García Robles Scholar Grant (2006–2007), and a Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Grant (2007). Online: www.design4development.org &www.mariarogal.com.

10:00 AM Research on Signboard Communication in Asia under the Integration of Green Design and Visual Typography by Dr. Li-Hsun Peng and Chia-Hsin “Justine” Hsueh (Presenting from Taiwan)

Abstract: Due to the uprising attention to environmental protection issue, in recent year, the environmental consciousness was accepted by the general public, and gradually had become a trend. This study examines the environmental issues and green design concepts in the Post-Modern era in Asia. In many past situations, environmental effects were ignored during the design stage for new products and processes. We realize that signboards are one of the major components of a city landscape in most Asian countries. Visual typography of signboards becomes an inevitable task nowadays. However, there is a widespread phenomenon that signboards are very confusing and lack of planning as we can see today. Thus, the main purpose of this research is to integrate green design concept and visual communication into signboard designing by way of application. By researching and categorizing the formats and display of the signboards, the research will take Taiwan as the core case to investigate and document the unique landscape. By using the Bricolage as the main methodology, and the use of Phenomenography, Phenomenology as our research theories, through an analysis of papers and cases, we hope designers can learn to recognize and value the environmental criteria and guidelines for green materials, manufacturing, and quality. In fact, signboard communication is not defined in any absolute sense, but only in comparison with other alternatives of similar function.

Chia-Hsin “Justine” Hsueh is currently a Ph.D Student of Graduate School of Design Doctoral Program, from National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C. After graduating from high school in Taiwan, she went to the United States for her college education. She earned degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies (Specializing in Art and Management) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Then she graduated from National Taichung Institute of Technology, Taiwan in 2008 after two years of Master’s study in commercial design. Her research interests include visual communication, fashion culture and cultural implications in Postmodernism Theory. She has presented her papers at a couple of conferences: Global Chinese Industrial Design Forum and Conference, International Conference on Creative Life Design in Taiwan both in 2009. She also presented in Design on E-Learning Conference 2010. Next, she will present at the 2nd Global Interaction in Design Education Conference and the 2010 International Conference on the Image in the United States this year. She is now a part-time lecturer both in the Graduate School and Department of Commercial Design at National Taichung Institute of Technology in Taiwan as well as in the Department of Commercial Design at ChienKuo Technology University in Taiwan.

10:30 AM Towards a Global Design Taxonomy by Susana Barreto (Presenting from Portugal)

Abstract: Global design is a recent phenomenon that can be understood as design targeted at a global audience, which aims to be exhibited and consumed by different cultures. Hence, a key question is: how can graphic designers globalize graphic design in an ethical manner without giving rise to breakdowns in communication and threatening cultural diversity? I conducted a pilot study to address this question in which I used an interpretative analysis of global design images, combined with interviews, questionnaires and statistical data. My pilot study addressed these issues through a cross-disciplinary approach, which was grounded in graphic design but embraced the subject areas of anthropology, marketing, philosophy, cultural studies and politics. Although some authors argue that it is just not possible to globalize graphic design, it is improbable that globalization and global design will vanish. Therefore, we are not facing a question of whether or not to produce global design, but of how we should carry out global design in a professional and ethical manner. Overall, this paper advances a conceptual understanding of global design and the different forms and categories it embodies: standard, multicultural and localization. Finally, it concludes by suggesting possible approaches graphic designers might pursue in acting globally, aiming to define future directions for more professional and ethical global graphic design practice.

Susana Barreto is a graphic designer and a Postdoctoral fellow at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London; currently teaching at the Master of Image Design at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto in Portugal. Susana’s background is in graphic communication, and she has worked both as an academic, and a design practitioner in Portugal, Macau, and in England. Susana’s research interests are focused around the role of culture in graphic communication, cross-cultural design, globalization, and design ethics.

11:00 AM Designing Collaborative Development: Lessons from interdisciplinary teaching and learning by Fabiola Berdiel and Cynthia Lawson (Presenting from NYC, USA)

Abstract: The faculties of international affairs and design of a university in New York have been working together since 2007 on the international program DEED: Development through Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, and Design. The course “Designing Collaborative Development” prepares students to complete summer fieldwork in collaboration with communities in need. This paper focuses on this course and an international program in Guatemala as a central case study and argues that for a valuable and responsible immersive experience to occur there needs to be a lot of beforehand preparation with each student. Such preparation focuses on particular practitioner skills, but most importantly, students need to prepare for unexpected challenges and to be resourceful and reflective of their practice. The paper includes the history of the class and the program; the course’s pedagogical methodology, and the successes and challenges of a multi-disciplinary classroom (for both students & faculty), where social sciences and design frameworks are explored side by side, resulting in innovative multidisciplinary approaches to project design, needs assessment, program development, project implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.

Fabiola Berdiel is an educator, project manager, and sustainable development practitioner. She is co-founder of DEED: Development through Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, and Design at The New School. Fabiola has a B.A. in Sociology and Pedagogy from Sarah Lawrence and a Masters in International Affairs from The New School. She has over twelve years international field experience in planning, managing, and implementing socioeconomic development projects and capacity-building initiatives. She has worked and conducted research in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Namibia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Senegal, Israel, Ireland, and Spain. Currently, she coordinates the International Field Program and is faculty at The New School’s Graduate Program in International Affairs.

Cynthia Lawson is a digital artist, technologist and educator. Her research is in the areas of integrative and interdisciplinary education, educational technology, and media experimentation. She has taught in United States, Guatemala, Colombia, Dominican Republic, and Japan. Her artwork has been internationally exhibited and performed. Cynthia’s writings have been published and presented at a variety of conferences, online journals, and books, including New Media Poetics published by MIT Press. She has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá) and a Masters in Interactive Telecommunications from New York University. Cynthia is currently Assistant Professor of Integrated Design in the School of Design Strategies at Parsons The New School for Design, and an active member of Madarts, an arts collective in Brooklyn, NY.

11:30 AM Technologies of Research and Teaching in the Pacific by Dr. Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul and Dale Fitchett (Presenting from New Zealand)

Abstract: This paper engages in a series of questions arising from the potentials and pitfalls of using digital technologies in teaching and research in Pacific communities. As will become clear, we were unable to answer these questions during our recent projects in the Cook Islands (Dale) and Samoa (Tina). We are colleagues working together in the Department of Postgraduate Studies of the School of Art and Design, AUT University, and our projects were framed by the conditions driving university strategies in Aotearoa/New Zealand: the imperatives of the knowledge economy and the increasing globalisation in the Pacific. Technologies, be they the specific practices involved in distance learning and teaching, or those driving design collaborations or research through digital means, always correspond to “technologies of the self” (Foucault). These technologies’ formation is significantly influenced by lasting discrepancies in the global flows of information, technologies, people and capital. Research and teaching are inevitably caught up in this predicament. Two case studies (of a Master of Art and Design programme delivered in the Cook Islands and a research project in Samoa/Germany about traditional art and architecture in the globalised leisure industries) provide tangible contexts for this paper. They will propel a wider discussion of cross-cultural collaborations in indigenous and economically disadvantaged communities in the Pacific.

Dr. Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul is Associate Professor of Spatial Design at the School of Art and Design, AUT University, Auckland. Her research interests cluster around thresholds and interfaces in design, architecture, theory, and everyday life across cultures. Recent publications include “‘A warm gray fabric lined on the inside with the most lustrous and colourful of silks’: Dreams of airships and tropical islands,” “Tillers of the soil/travelling journeymen: Modes of the virtual,” “At a Loss for Words? Hostile to Language? Interpretation in Creative Practice-Led PhD Projects” and “Take me away. In search of original dwelling.”

12:00 PM Designing Educational Media that Support Indigenous and Vernacular
Knowledge Systems (Keynote presentation) by Ron Eglash

Abstract: The term “indigenous communities” refers to traditional societies; typically those that had the bad luck of being at home when European colonists arrived. Their knowledge systems include sophisticated adaptations to challenging ecosystems, and can be modeled by computer simulations, such as fractal models for African architecture. Vernacular knowledge systems include the practices that low-income urban groups develop, such as graffiti and breakdance. These too can be simulated by computing. Such simulations of indigenous and vernacular knowledge systems can be profound educational tools for the children of these communities, and may even offer professional design opportunities. However a great deal of caution must be used by designers working with these groups, since this process can exploit their cultural capital or violate their cultural norms. This talk will describe the work we have carried out with these groups and the efforts we have made to ensure that the outcome is beneficial to them and guided by their own priorities.

Dr. Ron Eglash received his B.S. in Cybernetics, his M.S. in Systems Engineering, and his PhD in History of Consciousness, all from the University of California. A Fulbright postdoctoral fellowship enabled his field research on African ethnomathematics, which was published by Rutgers University Press as African Fractals: modern computing and indigenous design, and recently appeared as his TED talk. He is currently a Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he teaches design of educational technologies and graduate seminars in social studies of science and technology. His “Culturally Situated Design Tools” software, offering math and computing education from indigenous and vernacular arts, is available for free at www.csdt.rpi.edu. Recently funded work includes his NSF “Triple Helix” project, which brings together graduate fellows in science and engineering with local community activists and K-12 educators to seek new approaches to putting science and innovation in the service of under-served populations.

12:45 PM Introduction to asynchronous presentations and closing remarks

P O S T E R P A P E R P R E S E N T A T I O N S

An African Bicycle for Women: A design task in a multicultural, interactional context (a keynote poster paper) by Qassim Saad (Presenting from New Zealand)

Abstract: Interdesign-2005 in South Africa addressed “Sustainable Rural Transportation, Technology for Developing Countries,” a challenging problem for developing countries, especially their rural communities. The mainstream of design practices now addresses sustainability and seeks ways to use design knowledge and practice to achieve optimal sustainable solutions. In line with this direction, Interdesign-2005 initiated practices to incorporate the active participation of rural village people to understand their needs and desires and then fulfill these by creating sustainable solutions. These practices seek solutions to the needs of sustainable rural transport, while also promoting job creation, with the aim of improving the quality of life for those in rural communities in Africa. This practical example has continued to progress. In 2006 the new designs for vehicles were built and tested, the goal now is to construct the first workshop for production. This study examines these cooperative efforts between national and international designers in advancing this practical example, demonstrating the role of design and cultural practices in sustainable development. It is also a reflection on how my involvement in this context has contributed to my practice as a designer and researcher.

Qassim Saad is senior lecturer, and academic leader of product design at the School of Design, Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand. He has worked as an industrial design educator and professional designer in the furniture industry in Iraq and Jordan. He is also a PhD candidate in industrial design at the School of Architecture and Design, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology-RMIT University, Australia. His research relates to design’s wider practices and its role in promoting sustainable development for developing countries. He has published articles, presented papers, and made designs with emerging creative design tools that aim to improve the quality of life for the wider communities in developing countries.

Designing Socially Inclusive Educational Resources by Gloria Gomez (Presenting from New Zealand)

Abstract: Only in recent years I have started to critically analyze the work I do as a design practitioner and researcher. No matter how large or small is the project we contribute our design skills to, what we design impact people’s lives at cognitive, motor and social levels.

By applying user-centred design principles to the development of an educational product, I stumbled at the doors of the concept “inclusive design”. A designed product becomes inclusive, if a design process considers the common functional capabilities of all the people who will be interacting with such product. By analysing an educational product using gender-and-identity concepts, I found out that my design process was informed by feminist design thinking. The literature says this type of thinking has more to do with the sensibility that women bring to design than a 60’s feminist perspective. That sensibility is reflected in a design process that considers 1) the softer aspects of design (e.g. ergonomic, ease and balance in-use) and 2) the social aspects of the impact of design.

This poster summarises the concepts above described and explains how and why the features of my educational product impacted the science and literacy educational experiences of children and teachers in three preschool classrooms in Australia and the United States. The user-centred shift in the research and development of design products can be useful to those interested in approaches to implement socially inclusive learning environments.

Gloria Gomez has a PhD in Design from Swinburne University of Technology, and a Bachelor degree from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. She is an Educational Designer at the University of Otago in New Zealand where she currently lives. Her expertise in visual and interaction design mainly contributes to the advancement of educational research and practice, with some non-educational projects being undertaken as part of her design consultancy for companies such as OceanBrowser Ltd., Mercy Heart Centre, and Integrative Health Trust Otago. She has worked in multidisciplinary projects in her home country Colombia, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Through these experiences, she has developed research interests in and writes on multiple areas, including user-centred research, childhood and adult education, e-learning and instruction. You can find more about her at www.gloriagomez.com

B L O G G E R S

Connecting Values: Teaching Sustainability to Graphic Designers (a keynote blog) by Eric Benson (Blogging from USA). Discussion is available at http://www.re-nourish.com/?l=lab

Abstract: Design educators whom are passionate and motivated to teach sustainable principles and methodologies to their students, must first recognize and accept that “sustainability” is a political term. In fact the interest in sustainable design and living is the educator’s politics, and possibly not a value the students hold. This discrepancy sometimes results in a divestment by the student(s) in the learning process. It is therefore important to discuss the students’ values and goals they have as a designer/individual in order to demonstrate how sustainable issues can be intertwined with their own values and specifically to the students’ ambitions and goals professionally. This strategy can help eliminate apathy, and pushback within the class and help empower the desire to integrate sustainable methodologies into their own work.

Eric Benson is an award-winning designer, educator at the University of Illinois, published author, activist and international speaker on sustainable design theory and practice. He received his BFA in graphic and industrial design from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1998 and his MFA from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006 (with a concentration in design and social responsibility). His work professionally has been focused on creating enriching digital experiences on the web and environmentally friendly print and packaging material. Benson has provided digital and print work for such clients as: Credit Suisse First Boston, MADD, Texas Instruments, Toyota, the Vanguard Group, and Whole Foods Market. His research is available at www.re-nourish.com, which is the industry’s first truly independent online toolkit for sustainable graphic design. By providing reliable, accessible sustainability tools untethered to commercial interests, Re-nourish empowers graphic designers to implement sustainable decision making in their day-to-day work, helping sustainable graphic design become what design is, not merely what it “could be.”

Redefining the cultural boundaries in the design processes by Michele Y. Washington (Blogging from USA). Discussion is available at http://culturalboundaries.com/wordpress/

Abstract: In my classroom I ask my students to think beyond there own beliefs and to expand the dialog of what globalization and culture means as applied to their ideation and design thinking. I’ll include a few examples of mindmapping/billboarding in relationship to the Glide10 ongoing discussion.

Michele Y. Washington is interested in researching the impact of cross-cultural design and users of products, and how designers can best utilize research to more effectively address ethnic communities, as well as the role architecture, urbanism, visual and material culture, and fashion plays in our every day lives. Michele maintains a design consultancy the office of michele washington where she focuses her research on community-based non-profit groups and cultural institutions. Previously she worked as a designer and art director, for such publications as The Chicago Tribune; The New York Times; Business Monthly, Essence, and Self. She also teaches in the Graduate Exhibition Design Program at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She has served on the board ofthe AmericanInstitute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), New York chapter, and currently serves on the advisory board of XCD Cross-Cultural Community, and the AIGA Design Journey.

Currently she is pursuing a second Master’s at the School of Visual Arts, in Design Criticism. Contact Michele: flow9 [at] mac [dot] com.