visual design 2009

challenge(s) / if you want theory, challenge us ...


2008 / guest(s)

assignment(s)

As in 2008, Federico Campanale will be guest lecturer, to have a solid link with artistic practice. Also, we will have Victor Onstein, who is among other things interested in color. There will be contributions from Marek van de Watering, and some other guests, among others someone from mijnnaamishaas.nl and MimickMe (www.mimicme.nl), and, very likely, Viola van Alphen will come to present a challenge for the final assignment, see kunstvlaai 08.

Clearly, this is not a theoretical course, eventhough topics such as visual semiotic(s) and interactive visualization are warmheartingly recommended. So, if you insist, challenge us and we will see what comes out.

As last year, presence at the lectures is obligatory. If you miss any lectures, or for that matter any of the deadlines without a good reason, you're out.

suggestion(s) -- inspiration(s)

what shall we do this year?

Thinking about the design course 2009, I wondered what should be the focus. Having recently read Design after Modernism, a book about postmodern design theory, one of the phrases that struck me was by tradition ornaments were full of meaning. Now, eventhough modern design seems to have let go of ornaments, it might be worthwhile to explore how ornaments could have visual meaning, for example by being inspired by ongoing activity or mathematical abstractions.

Now, thinking about visual design 2009, first of all, although it is useful to explore the notion of visual identity, it is more worthwhile to explore and find inspiration(s), that stimulate you to be creative and authentic.

selected project(s)

random thought(s)

final assignment -- (pseudo-obligatory)

interactive storytelling -- ximpel.org


For this assignment the technology to be used is the XIMPEL player.

The topic of the interactive application is totally free, that is it may be a personal story, a visual love poem, but also a commercial item selling a product or service in a multimedia-enhanced way, or an interactive museum/art application.

For the final assignment you are encouraged to work in groups, to obtain a result that may qualify for international competition(s).

portfolio(s)

To avoid any misunderstanding, the construction of a portfolio is an essential element of visual design. Your portfolio should reflect your visual identity, as well as give (sufficiently) clear information about your designs and the ideas underlying it. Also the study done for the essay must, one way or another, be incorporated in the portfolio.

You are encouraged to include meaningful decoration(s) in your portfolio page(s).