Edward Tufte Conference

ET, as friends call him, addressed the crowd of perhaps 400+ people. He had an air of confidence but a humble smile while shaking hands in the first two rows. Most of the attendees were older business men and women who most likely work in the Silicon valley. I felt a bit out of place sitting in my biz-cas ensemble among sardine packed rows. My collared shirt, that I ironed in my sterile hotel room, was itching my neck.  Behind me, a woman watched in slow mo as coffee covered her new books. I looked around and imagined what my life would be like if I fit into this crowd. The nine to fivers who work to invest in modest midsize homes while fretting over retirement. They came in groups of colleagues and chatted about deadlines and meetings. I should take Tufte’s lead, who by the way makes a boat load of money with these conferences, and become an absolute expert at something. I would hold a conference where tech savvy college grads, rejected from the apple store, set up power point slides while ditzy girls with penciled in eyebrows register the suckers, 300 bucks at a time.

Tufte has made quite a name for himself in the world of informational graphics and the presentation of data. At each break, a line of at least 20 waited eagerly to have one of the four included books signed in silver felt tip. I remained in my seat and pretended to do the assigned reading.  With registration, we were given a cute cardboard box of his books and an 11 by 17 handout in his signature Gil Sans font. The assigned reading was required before the official start time of 10am but I was just too hyped up to focus after that free Styrofoam Starbucks coffee.

I have been interested in Edward Tufte for about a year now. M. Price, my prof for exhibit design at UCLA extension, recommended Envisioning Information for an assignment. Seen here. With the student discount the conference was a pretty good deal, I got a lot out of it.

During the conference Tufte’s main point was that we can consume much more data than most people expect. Highly dense graphics that use multi-levels of information are much more engaging than the excessively designed bar charts and graphs included in Microsoft Office. In viewing a graph that is dense, each person will search for the content of interest, thus the designer releases the authoritarian need to lead people through the exploration process. This forced exploration is often referred to as the painfully tedious, “Slow Reveal.”  You know,  those slow power point presentations with paragraphs in bullet form. Instead, if a person searches through information to make personal associations, this data will most likely be more memorable. Each person must use their own cognitive style to scan the information.  Tufte says “ there is no such thing as information overload, there is only bad design. Reduce the clutter”

Simple rules to follow:

• Never put information in boxes

• Always annotate

• Use gray linking likes

• Reduce optical clutter by calming down thick lines (mind the figure ground activity by using light lines)

• Find a good font and stick with it : Gill Sans/ Trebuchet

• Develop a sense of what is relevant (become a good sorter because 95 % of published material is junk)

• No matter how beautiful your interface design is, there should be less of it

• Mind the Quality, Relevance and Integrity of the content

• Fundamental design principles and solutions should arise from cognitive tasks and content not from the trends of software

Tango with Cows

A new exhibit was recently installed in the Getty Research Institute. Robert Checchi, the lead designer and my boss this quarter, has been working on this exhibit since last January. Typically it takes a year of planning for a show of this size. The new exhibit, Tango with Cows, explores the book art of the Russian futurists before the communist revolution of 1917. Parallels can be drawn to the Italian futurist movement where Marinetti (the founder) called for a reinvention of all the arts, propelled by modernization, technology, science and fast automobiles. However, the Russian Futurists where more concerned with examining and reinventing magnificent traditions of language and Russian antiquity. The curator, Nancy Perloff, writes “poets and painters sought to express the dialogue between the ancient and modern, past and present, and sacred and secular that characterized modern Russian culture.” Read Nancy’s essay here.

So now that you have a sense of the history, lets talk design. When you enter the GRI (at the west end of the museum), you will see a large poster covering the windows. Upon entering the building, a floor graphic extends towards the door continuing up the wall to meet the playful handwritten title. The title wall helps to set the mood for the exhibit while introducing the audience to the graphic identity before diving into the art.

Tango with Cows Title wall

The floor graphic wraps around the corner and into the gallery. Here is the introduction panel. Notice the offset paper. This was printed in house to save money because the floor graphics were about ten thousand dollars to produce.

A proper introduction.

This is where you will pick up a brochure. It is printed in black and white on a thin yellowish, off white paper. Three staples bind 4, 2 sided pages of text that introduces each artist with a small thumbnail of their work. Originally the brochure was going to have a time line and information from the text panels but due to budget this was cut down.  The aesthetic of the brochure is supposed to emulate the small books created during the Russian futurist movement. After the brochure was printed there were some concerns about the brochure looking cheap. The exposed stables and thin yellow paper was used to represent the scarcity of resources for these artists during the turn of the century. The curator thought it looked like a kinkos xerox copy. Using additional colors may have been an easy remedy for the “cheap” look however this would add significantly to the printing costs. When budget is concerned, clear priorities must be established. During the final stages of installation someone noticed that the exhibition were not included. Robert quickly typeset a stamp and had it created in a matter of days. Each of the 15,000 brochures were hand stamped by a volunteer in a green color keeping in line with the movement.

Brochure in hand, I walked into the small, dimly lit gallery, and took my first photo. As usual, the flash went of and my face burned with embarrassment. I muttered my apologies and the guard called me out and exclaimed that these are valuable pieces of work; sorry doesn’t cut it. Isak the guard, a Russian immigrant who has been in the states from 30 years was knowledgeable and eager to talk to me about the exhibit.  He pointed out on the back of the ‘Handheld Facsimile’ books that there is a price. Isak showed me one book, printed in 1912, that read 70 K (or Kopeeks sp?) which is roughly 70 cents. We got to talking about the facsimile books in the gallery and he was convinced it was the real thing. I was skeptical but he pointed out the thickness of the paper and the saturation of the black ink. I couldn’t believe that the GRI would set out the real books for everyone to thumb through and drool over. The books had such a likeness to the real ones behind glass cases that Isak and I were fooled until I read the label. I later asked Robert about the books imagining that he spent hours making the facsimiles but in actuality the GRI imaging services was responsible. THis department is in charge of photographing the work for designers.

The real book behind plexiglass.

The handheld facsimile.

Thick yellow pages look worn and aged.

My only frustration with this exhibit was the interactive screens that were not functioning. Perhaps the software was too complex or the images were too big because the screens would freeze. In addition, I felt like the design of the software was a bit busy and not so user friendly or intuitive. Many of the visitors would overlook the screens and the audio devices. Robert mentioned that one of the most difficult aspects of this exhibit was creating the mount for these screens. The mounts have to be the perfect height for most visitors and they must be simple enough not to grab too much attention. The work should be the star of the show. For this reason, Robert chose to keep the graphics on the floor rather than on the walls. Exhibits can get busy pretty quickly and then you will lose the audience without a clear hierarchy of information.

This was a successful exhibit that communicated effectively. Some questions to keep in mind might be:

How can a clear hierarchy of information be created for people to enter into the show at various depths?

How can the structure of the mounts be invisible and understated?

Where can a designer scrimp on budget without the majority of the audience noticing?

How can interactive pieces be more engaging, intuitive and user friendly?

How can compromises be made to please both the designer and the curator?

An Exciting Day of Teaching

Two weeks ago I checked out two of our new ArtsBridge Cannon cameras for the students’ poster project. When I announced the plan at the beginning of class there was excitement and determination to get the best photos. We broke them down into pairs and Brittany helped the students with photography outside while I started the posters on illustrator with the rest of the class. They are still slow to start and get situated in the program. I have noticed that they still ask the same questions over and over. It seems like they are not remembering the program from week to week. Each time they come in they have to relearn how to make a new document and they still don’t know where they need to save their files. I realized as I was running around the room to help each student that I truly need brittany’s help to teach these kids the program. It is physically impossible to help all of them. I just don’t want any of my students to feel lost and neglected.

Here are the posters they came up with this last week:

Student Work

A font has a family? I didn’t make this too clear in the lesson plan but most of the students are now grasping the importance of hierarchy. I used these examples as an aid.

A Dynamic Composition

What is a serif?

Using various point sizes to create a journey for the eyes:

Here is the student work:

Denis is one of the most talented students. He really grasps the tools and he navigates the illustrator environment with ease.

Rocio has some troubles with layering the text blocks. But she has a great eye for color.

type…og…raph…eeee

The students shuffled into the computer labs for the 6th week of our residency. This week I focused on beginning typography. It was a lot to tackle and I was afraid that the students would be overwhelmed by the complexities of letterforms and combining fonts. I used thinkingwithtype.com as the main resource. It lays out the basics simply and to the point. I also passed around Ellen Lupton’s book. I find that the students respond well to visual images on the projector. They are mesmerized by the screen and seeing animations. Perhaps this is because they are constantly on youtube or in front of the tv. They usually don’t respond to handouts but they are always willing to show off their reading skills to the class. When we read out loud I fear that the students do not understand the concepts because they are more focused on reciting the English correctly. Something to be learned from this is more visuals and less handouts/hardcopies.

By the end of the residency my main goal is to have the students critiquing the design that consumes their world. We can create a dialogue in class and during critiques to entice this new way of thinking critically about graphic design. If they start observing enough design then eventually they will be successful in creating their own pieces. So far the students are hesitant to speak their opinions. Brittany’s idea of showing three posters before the class starts is so effective. The students are fresh and full of energy during the first few moments of class, we can use this energy as momentum to get the students conversing comfortably about graphic design.

Final Idea: Create a Font Family Tree along with their own family tree

Who the hell is she

At the end of March, during Spring Break. I traveled up the coast. It was a much needed escape to Santa Barbara, Big Sur and San Francisco. The spring rains brought the bluest skies and the greenest grass, this visual candy allowed me to completely forget all my projects and my teaching residency that had previously consumed 10 weeks of my life.

So coming back to Millikan jr high last wednesday was a bit of a shock for me and the students. After 2 whole weeks the students had this “oh yeah I remember you” look on their faces. For as much as I think about them and worry that they are interested in my assignments it is amazing how they can truly care less. It seems like they live from moment to moment persuaded and guided by the people around them. They are consumed with their own lives, friends and homework. They have every right to be completely self absorbed because it is such a difficult time developmentally.  I just wish I had had a wise art teacher to help me put everything in perspective back in jr. high.

So in an effort to connect the ELL book, Highpoint, with my own lesson plan, I went through the unit that they are currently studying: exploring new frontiers with Lewis & Clark. My goal is to have the students explore the new frontiers in their lives and create a book of their learning process in my class. Last wednesday we focused on visualizing 3d terrain in a 2d form on illustrator. It may sound complex but it was quite simple and enjoyable. I had the students draw a box to represent their home. Some of them created a floor plan while others just put a triangle on top of their box. I then asked them to draw another box to represent Millikan. Now with these two representations of places that they spend most of their time, I asked them to imagine the path they take to school. They were the draw the path of their journey from home to school. This is where the kids went crazy. They added landmarks and cars and trees. They created their own little world. Each peace was a unique reflection of their daily journey. Aside from being able to effectively use the tools to create landmarks the students were able to visualize their journey. This is an important skill to have. They need to be confident as they navigate through the world. Ms. Rahamin will do a follow up lesson relating their maps back to the Lewis and Clark maps.

In other news, I just got the approval from mr. christian moeller (prof for video 2), to create a documentary at millikan. I argued, with a trembling voice, that I wanted to expose the students school and home life in an artistic/abstract documentary style video taking inspiration from the long haunting school shots of Gus Van Sant’s film, Elephant.

I went out to the Millikan carnival on Thursday with a tripod and xl1 (that i had to carry all around campus after renting huh). There was high fructose corn syrup energy in every corner of the school. I was so overwhelmed, I had no idea where to began filming. At first I felt so intrusive, especially when the “popular” kids were giving me “who the hell she” looks. Well I guess I could have replied with “so girls, can I film your who the hell is she looks to become the catalyst for a healthy discourse in my UCLA design for video class where we will critique your insecurities within the larger social constructs of society.” Better not go there, right? I did get some interesting out of focus footage. You see, I am still new to this whole filming thing and there are so many buttons and meters and doodads on that camera that I would rather just push the on button and start rolling. So that is what I did and the quality is sub par.

As I was falling asleep that night I had visions of how this film will work. I don’t want it to look cheesy like a home movie. I want the kids to show their personalities and determination. At this age they are going through so much stress while trying to develop an identity. It is particularly difficult for the ELL kids who are enrolled in separate classes and deprived of the art electives. I was talking to one student, Kevin, as he helped carry around my tripod. He told me with a smile that he was interested in art, design, and acting. He said this with so much confidence and bravado. He added that he needs to get his grades up in ms. R’s class and that he hopes his hard work in my Wednesday design class will help. At that moment I wanted to give him all of the strength and knowledge to succeed. I asked if he would be interested in coming out to UCLA to shadow me throughout the day. I want to see all of them succeed. I want them to understand that they have a leg up on all the people who only know how to speak English. And if they have trouble communicating their ideas and opinions in English they can be master visual communicators.

So here is the idea for my film:

• Take photos of each student with a consistent background.

• Have students typeset an “I am ____ (strong, beautiful, smart)” statement over their photo.

• Have the students hold up their poster as they say this statement in the language they speak at home with their parents.

• Splice each of these shots with images of the students going about their life at school, showing their role in the social constructs of the school.

A Hectic Week

Ten weeks of hard work is coming to a close. Classes are wrapping up and people are preparing for their finals. There is a different energy on campus these past couple of weeks. In the design labs kids scurry in and out of the print lab with worried faces because they wait until 15 minutes before class to print out their work for crit. I can be accused of doing the same. This year however, I gave myself plenty of time to finish my projects and I didn’t lose a wink of sleep. I find that when I start losing sleep I just don’t produce good work, my relationships suffer and my health goes downhill.

Getting an early start is valuable for a project because you give your ideas some time to sit in the back of your mind as you go about daily activities. Then out of the blue some magnificent associations pop into your head and you have a creative solution for your project. Similarly many people say that their best ideas come to them in the shower. Why is this? I think it is because you give your thoughts a rest and you push them to the back of your mind, you allow yourself to be in a relaxed state completely tuned out from the world. You may not dirrectly be thinking about a problem but all of a sudden a solution hits you. I love when that happens. I am curious to find out what the next step is for most people. Do they come up with the solution to a problem by experimenting? Or do they work it all out in their head before they get started. For this last assignment I tried to visualize the outcome in my mind while setting supplies and materials. I thought about every detail. In the end the final looked pretty clean but i did have some unexpected soltions that worked well.

So how does a teacher find creative solutions to difficult teaching situations? I have had some trouble with this question as I am a new teaching artist. Every situation seems like a blindfolded trial run. It is difficult to know how much I should prepare because in truth the students run the class. I respond to their wants and needs. If they are frustrated with certain tools in illustrator then we take the time to go over them. If the students are intrigued with a concept then we spend more time with it. This kind of teaching allows the lesson plan to suffer. Then I start to worry that I am not teaching to the state standards or upholding the mission of ArtsBridge.

Take for instance Ms. R’s class. There are about 20 eager ELL kids, most of whom are not so computer savvy. They ask questions and they have wonderful excited energy. They come into class and start our directed adobe illustrator lesson. As they get started they become confused about the difference between the black arrow and the white arrow. Instead of moving the box they draw more boxes over one another. Some of them get frustrated, but they are learning how to navigate through a complex program and I am so proud of them. I have been using illustrator for four years and it I still find it frustrating. But here is the main problem: linking our residency with Ms. R’s lesson plan. After a short debrief last Wednesday we realized that ms. R was frustrated because we have not been taking into account what these students need to be learning. So over break I am going to look over the 8th grade ELL book, High Point. This will give me some time to make creative solutions to the students’ learning material.

Here are two students’ work from wednesday:

Getting Loud

I cup my hands around my mouth and project throughout the classroom. I need them to settle down before we can move on. It was tough, as I explained in my previous post but I am getting louder. At the end of the class my voice is strained and hoarse.

Here is the thing. My residency focuses on how we can express our opinions without words. I can use graphic design and the power of image to scream my opinion. The best part about engaging this voice is that no one will judge what I am saying by the color of my skin, my gender or my age. Power. This is why I use bright colors, striking images, thick appealing fonts and powerful language to express my opinions.

Week 2: Am I getting through?

I just don’t know if I am getting through to them. In some instances the students are intrigued and ready to learn but today they seemed so disengaged. It is so frustrating.

Ms. R’s 1st period was fun. We were introduced to about 30 English Language Learners from all over the world. Their families are from El Salvador, Lebanon, Venezuela, Mexico, and Romania. Each student stood up and proudly declared where they (or their immediate family) was born. I tried to remember each name. They made name tags so we can now call on them without saying hey you. While doing the name tag exercise I told them to pay attention to the letterforms. I showed them that the letters must be equal height with the same spacing (kerning). I think they are catching on. We reviewed our presentation from last week and most of the kids remembered the main points of our lecture.

Our assignment for the day was to explore how we can use image to communicate our identity. Each student made a drawing of a symbol or icon. We then had a test to see if they could recognize their classmates’ drawings. It was surprising to see how engaged they were. They completed the exercise with a writing assignment where they answered: How can you communicate who you are through image? Why is it important that we can communicate a message while letting our identity be unknown?

This is an important question in discovering how to have a voice through poster design. These students(6th-8th grade) can be “heard” in places where they might otherwise be dismissed based on their age, race, class or gender. Graphic design has the power to communicate regardless of these barriers.

For homework we asked the students to find two articles (that they feel strongly about) and bring in summaries. They will use these articles to create a poster design. Next week we will be in the computer labs with illustrator. We will begin the task of teaching this complex program.

In other news, I turned in my book review for exhibit design.

I wish I could take one of Edward Tufte’s courses. The student fee for a one day course is 200 bucks! The new york times has called him “the da Vinci of Data.” I don’t think my 3 column grid book review does his work any justice. Maybe some day. I did however pay close attention to remove any widows, rivers and hyphens.

You Inspire Me

I love when the rain falls in LA. The water saturates the vegetation so it shines with a radiant emerald green color. I guess I was in a mood to appreciate this kind of thing after coming back from a morning in Pasadena. I explored the galleries at Art Center to get some inspiration for my final assignments. It always helps me to look at precise beautiful work.

Aside from this trip, I have been so inspired this week. I went to a great EDA lecture on Wednesday where Wendy Chun spoke about the enduring ephemeral nature of new media. I finished reading Envisioning Information for my book review. This is an essential text for any designer, Edward Tufte is a genius. And last night I had the opportunity to explore Getty exhibits and their design studios with my Designing Experiences class.

This is the California Video exhibit three weeks before opening.

Our professor is showing us the foam core models of the gallery spaces.

Here is the project archive and the assignment wall. Each designer has a different color and the projects span about 2 years on the calender. And I thought I was busy.

Art Center. Enough said.

A creative print solution in the art center gallery.