How do graphic designers visualize their teaching philosophies, their pedagogical beliefs that are in constant dialogue with other cultural, philosophical, and disciplinary values and practices?

Thirty design educators responded with 23 peer-reviewed posters.

From I Profess:

Edward Tufte uses the term ‘self-exemplifying’ to describe something that is simply an example of itself. As graphic design educators, we each have a philosophy at the core of our teaching practice. That philosophy is implicit in our syllabi, critiques, and grading criteria. But how often is it at the forefront of teaching practice itself? We invited design educators around the world to design a poster that embodies their teaching philosophy. We asked that they actively engage an audience of multidisciplinary students and colleagues in intelligent, provocative dialogue about your most fundamental beliefs regarding graphic design in its current pedagogical, creative, and research practices. Design your manifesto!

The premise of the first I Profess exhibit organized by Chris Corneal and Maya Drozdz was based on a need to make explicit the beliefs that (often implicitly) permeate the myriad aspects of our teaching practice. We based a new call for entries on the premise that the porous boundaries of our teaching practices put us in constant dialogue with other cultural, philosophical, and disciplinary beliefs and practices. To that end, we solicited current college graphic design instructors to submit posters in response to the theme for peer-review.

The exhibit showcases various viewpoints and pedagogical and ideological priorities and aim to inspire and be starting points for cross-cultural dialogue among students, faculty, graphic designers, and other expert communities. With this exhibit, the curators aim to encourage cross/disciplinary debate and to provoke the next generation of graphic designers to actively shape the future of our profession.

I Profess: The Graphic Design Manifesto, 20th Anniversary Traveling Exhibition is a collaboration between Chris Corneal, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Michigan State University, and Audrey G. Bennett, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Artist Statment:

When imagining my teaching philosophies and pedagogical beliefs in visual form, I imagined the place and space of my teaching. Physically, literally, this place is generally a brick and mortar room with adjustable furniture and writing devices on wheels. But sometimes this “classroom” lives in digital realms. Sometimes it’s outside. Sometimes it’s in my office. Sometimes it’s in the student’s dorm room. It’s difficult to visually represent portrayals of “loosey goosey”, “throughlines and threads”, “organized chaos” or any of the other descriptors of my teaching philosophies. Ultimately, I settled on a void-like place in an ambivalent realm, with multiple entries and exits. My teaching ideologies are rooted in mutual partnerships between myself and my students. The studio is just as much their space as it is my space. How do we create a burgeoning community for all those present? What do we need from each other to elevate our creative productions and cultivate our shared knowledge base? The community’s vitality relies on collaboration and immersive engagement to bolster rituals of learning. We prioritize language – the whys, the what ifs, the could’ves instead of the should’ves. We aim to share and nurture narratives of lived experiences, revealing hidden commonalities and relationships. We claim this space through inquiry, questioning, experimentation, failure, and constructive reflection. We claim this space and aim to make it responsive, agile, and adaptable to our changing wants and needs.

Poster mockup Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik