In this seminar we will explore contemporary positions in communication design and discuss its future places in society and industry. The course is an exercise in critical thinking to understand the transformed and expanded nature of globalized visual culture in the 21st century and how design has shifted. Through panel discussions, lectures, and workshops led by industry leaders, researchers, and New School faculty, students will be invited to discuss the cultural landscape of communication design and understand its practices and contemporary working methods. Topics include: counterculture, service design, designer as author, digital craft, social justice and visual narratives, digital storytelling, and digital product design. The diversity of visiting professionals will promote critical interaction with opposing viewpoints as well as provide networking opportunities for students. Students will collaborate in groups to write an essay inflected by one of the lectures or panel discussions that will be published as a microsite.

In this seminar we will explore contemporary positions in communication design and discuss its future places in society and industry. The course is an exercise in critical thinking to understand the transformed and expanded nature of globalized visual culture in the 21st century and how design has shifted. Through panel discussions, lectures, and workshops led by industry leaders, researchers, and New School faculty, students will be invited to discuss the cultural landscape of communication design and understand its practices and contemporary working methods. Topics include: counterculture, service design, designer as author, digital craft, social justice and visual narratives, digital storytelling, and digital product design. The diversity of visiting professionals will promote critical interaction with opposing viewpoints as well as provide networking opportunities for students. Students will collaborate in groups to write an essay inflected by one of the lectures or panel discussions that will be published as a microsite.