Degree Type

Thesis

Date of Award

2008

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts

Department

Art and Design

First Advisor

Sunghyun Kang

Second Advisor

Lori Brunner

Third Advisor

Paula Curran

Abstract

Living in the fast-paced and ever-changing corporate world of today, it has become very easy for society---including designers themselves---to forget or confuse the identity and intrinsic cultural value of the graphic designer. Flaws such as these do not just suffocate the credibility of designers, but ultimately put the cultures they represent through visual artifacts in a very fragile position. As graphic designers, we are significantly responsible for interpreting and reinterpreting these cultural messages into visual vernaculars suitable for specific target audiences. This research explores how graphic design educators can improve and maintain the designer's integrity through social, cultural, and educational learning paradigms. By emphasizing the importance of cultural sensitivity in the classroom from the beginning, educators can more effectively---and more efficiently---increase the value of graphic design as a social and cultural facilitator.;The basis of this study is to form a new comprehensive approach in design education using activity theory to promote cultural consciousness in the graphic design curriculum, a crucial step toward creating a more fluid and dynamic designer-to-culture and culture-to-designer relationship. This dialogue is represented in a new pedagogical model that can be applied to any design curriculum, which is developed through class observation, qualitative surveys and interviews, creative instruction, and integrative learning paradigms.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-16689

Publisher

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/

Copyright Owner

Renee J. Meyer

Language

en

Proquest ID

AAI1454660

OCLC Number

268786277

ISBN

9780549686385

File Format

application/pdf

File Size

117 pages

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