P2: ROUNDS
Identify a social issue, cause, or opinion that interests you and begin compiling relevant research. For next class you should have:
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Research Reader: Start a document or file to summarize, link, and track relevant research materials. This should include articles, books, data sources, visual references, interviews, or case studies. Each entry should have a brief annotation (1–3 sentences) explaining its relevance to your project. Use this space also to collect initial data points, observations, and personal reflections.
The Research Reader is a living document that will evolve as you gather and refine materials. It serves as both a citation log for your research and evidence for your design decisions throughout the project.
For next class; find and log/journal atleast 50 things including:
> 2 essays/readings (annotated by you) about your topic
> 1 personal narrative or interview related to your topic
> images and other visual material relevant to your topic
> visual imagery related to your topic
> kinetic material pertaining to your topic (video, clips, sound)
> design references (inpsiration, interactions, stylings, mood, etc...)
- Data Set of 25: Curate and physically present a selection of 25 key research items in a salon-style display on your desktop or pinned to a panel. Print out images, texts, colors, textures, and visual references that articulate your topic’s key insights and themes. This should include a preliminary survey of design approaches and inspirations that may inform your project. This exercise encourages tactile engagement with your research, helping you identify connections and directions for your campaign.
Create a 28-page zine that explores your Topic through a combination of text and images. This zine should be printed and ready to show at the start of class.
Additional:
This sprint is meant to get you making, quickly. The zine format allows you to present a sequence of mini-stories (or facets) about your topic. Think of each page or spread as an opportunity to highlight a specific data point, insight, or visual experiment.
Embrace an analog and experimental approach here: you might include hand-drawn charts, diagrams, sketches, collage elements, or found photography alongside brief written narratives or quotes. The goal is not to produce a polished, perfect booklet, but to use making to research/understand your Topic in a tangible form.
By quickly filling 28 small pages, you’ll generate a wealth of material and visual ideas to inform your later, more advanced deliverables. Focus on clear communication of information for each page: reflect on the project references and consider how data can be presented in playful and embodied ways. You can design this digitally or go cut-and-paste (e.g. with paper printouts and then scan it).
Expectations:
- 28-pages including covers
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24 images paired with 24 texts
- considered paper, printing, binding
A Note on Production Logistics:
Designers can use production to inform starting strategies. So, I encourage you to first think through the production needs to start.
For example, how many sheets of paper will be needed (min/max) to print a 28-page zine? Studio printer? Xerox? What size is paper and what can your chosen printer handle? Should it be bound, and if so, how do you intend to bind it? A saddle-stitch? A coil? A sewn edge?
A 28-page zine typically means seven sheets of paper folded in half. One of these sheets should be used for a cover. That leaves six sheets, or 24 pages, for content. This might inform (e.g. give restricition) for how you layout content and printer choice. Thinking through this information, along with your design approach and inspiration, should be used to inform the how (e.g. digital), where (e.g. InDesign), and what size (e.g. 5x8") of your design process and project setup.
Design a large-scale A1-size (23.4 x 33.1") in poster that brings ‘awareness to a key insight’ related to your Topic. Whereas the zine allowed for an exploratory, multi-faceted narrative, the poster forces you to focus on a detail and deal with design at human-size scale.
Ask; what is the most essential fact or takeaway about your issue that the public needs to know? What visualization or graphic treatment will best grab attention and convey that point at a glance?
Your poster should function as an awareness piece or advocacy graphic that could be put up in a public space to inform viewers and spur them to think or act. You might rework a compelling chart or image from your zine to be much larger and more refined for this format. Data visualization can be part of the poster (for instance, a bold graph or series of diagrams) or more illustrative/conceptual. Aim to make the viewer feel the significance of your data.
Expectations:
- A1 Poster
- considered printing/craft
Micro Timeline:
- for R 3/20 : 10 scaled sketches + production plan
- for T 3/25 : Tile Printed Draft
- for R 3/27: Final Poster Printed and hung for start of class
A Note on Production Logistics:
Be economical and thoughtful about printing and producing your poster. A plotter is quite expensive and not always the best solution. Think through this first.
A well-crafted tile print is more than sufficient for this project stage. A tile-printed approach might also inform your design approach (e.g. one A1-poster is made up of four A3-sized posters). An “OCÉ” print at FedEx print centers is b/w only, but it is in a large format and pretty cheap. Etc...
Produce a short motion piece (interstitial/bumper series OR PSA commercial spot) that brings your topic to life and incites action or emotional response. The content should include a call to action or an implied prompt for the viewer to care and act. Building on your poster’s key message, this deliverable asks you to use time-based media to engage your audience. You might create an animated infographic, a kinetic typography clip, a public service announcement (PSA) style video, or a social-media-ready motion graphic suite.
Expectations: A Series of Interstitial Bumpers
OR a PSA Commercial Spot
- Intersitital/Bumpers: series of 3–5 microanimations (5–10 second) intended to appear before/after content or as a sequence on social media. Defining this will dictate approach (e.g. MTV, 16:9).
- PSA Commercial Spot: a short form animation (20-30 seconds) that would appear during a commercial content break.Defining this will dictate approach (e.g. Super Bowl, 16:9).
Micro Timeline:
- for T 4/01 : Storyboard/Key Frames (printed out)
- for T 4/08 : Rough Cut
A Note on Production Logistics:
Continuing the theme, your deliverable format (e.g. interstitial or PSA) should dictate format and tool. Due to the short timeline, I recommend working with tools you are familiar with. Adobe After Effects is a default choice for motion graphics; but Google Slides/ PowerPoint /Keynote can be used just as creatively to animate sequences. Some students have created frame-by-frame drawn animations or stop-motion using simple techniques. Feel free to get creative. Keep it simple and impactful: focus on one or two key insights related to your Topic and tell those stories over time.
Develop a single-page interactive website or digital tool that serves as the capstone for your project. The interactive format allows the audience to engage with your Topic actively. Scrolling through a web page could reveal a Topic in stages. Clicking on icons or data points could link or reveal more info. Interacting with a critical code tool could personalize or reveal new insights on a Topic. Think of it as taking your poster or animation and adding layers of depth and interactivity packaged in a participatory and responsive digital experience.
Expectations:
Keep it to one page or a single-screen application to stay focused. You don’t need to code a complex multi-page site; instead, concentrate on a clear interactive narrative. I recommend working with a tool that is respectful to the timeline, and suggest you have basic familiarity with whatever you choose.
Some approaches you might consider:
- A scrolling story (“scrollytelling”) where text and images/graphics animate or update as the user scrolls (CMS platforms or basic JavaScript can do this). For content, using a key article (or podcast transcription) would be advised.
- An interactive infographic/dashboard where users can click buttons or toggles to reveal different datasets or comparisons relevant to your topic. (Figma might be good here)
- A custom tool that interacts with the participant and shows a data-driven result or personalized feedback. (Processing, DrawBot, or something like p5js would be good here.)
Micro Timeline:
- for T 4/15: Plan, Wireframe, Flow
- for R 4/24: Interactive Prototype ready to share
A Note on Production Logistics:
Use whatever tools you have at your disposal: if you have web coding skills (HTML/CSS/JS), you can code it from scratch or using libraries; if not, consider using design software like Adobe XD or Figma to prototype the interactions and then embed/link any real data visualizations. There are also template-based web publishing tools (e.g., Cargo, ReadyMag, Squarespace, or GitHub Pages for those who code) – just ensure the end result is accessible as a URL or playable demo. We want everyone in the class (and instructors and potentially external reviewers) to experience your project as an interactive user.
You will complete Project 2 in time for Design Week and prepare to present your work from the semester. Use this week to refine and finalize your work from Design Studio 4, ensuring clarity, cohesion, and a polished execution.
Your cohort is responsible for the showcase. You may collectively decide how to present your work, whether through posters, room arrangement, inclusion of elective or personal projects, etc. For the showcase, I recommend that your cohort decide on a room layout that transforms the studio into a gallery/science fair-style setup that encourages informal conversation and peer engagement.
All work should be installed by 1:00 PM for an internal ‘soft opening.’ Be ready to welcome visitors between 1:30 and 2:30 PM. During that hour, you are expected to be present to share and discuss your work.