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Educational Media Event – The Digital Campus
Matthew White of Dirk+Weiss will be co-presenting with Environmental Science professor Scott Benjamin at the ‘13th Annual Massachusetts Community College Conference on Teaching, Learning and Student Development‘. This conference is being held this year at Bunker Hill Community College, in Charlestown, MA.
The project to be presented is a digital lab, used in professor Scott Benjamin’s science classes at BHCC. The lab’s subject matter is understanding Evolution by Natural Selection. Matthew worked directly with Scott to translate a previously analog lab, comprised of seeds, paperclips and bits of paper, to a Flash driven, interactive experience.
The process of creating this lab involved collaborating with Scott on every step, from graphic design to Flash Actionscripting.
The results of translating the lab to digital media, has proven to be quite successful. Scott has collected statistical data from his students, including pre and post lab usage. Based on his testing, Scott sees a definite increase in concept retainment after students have used the software. Matt and Scott will split the presentation between the design and development process (Matt), and the statistical data and impact of this digital lab in the classroom (Scott).
The 13th Annual Massachusetts Community College Conference on Teaching, Learning and Student Development happens on April 9th, 2010 at Bunker Hill Community College.
Dirk+Weiss invited to talk design and technology at Pecha Kucha #12 in Boston, MA
Join Dirk+Weiss and AIGA Boston at Pecha Kucha Night. July 22, 1009 @ 6:30pm. The goal of these events is to talk about ‘our’ design work, in a setting that is comfortable and not pretentious. Come support all the speakers and Dirk+Weiss at this open forum type event. Each speaker is given 6min and 40seconds to talk about what they do as a creative professional.
Our topic will include designing for now and the power of interconnecting design concepts with smart technology. For more information: http://www.pecha-kucha.org/cities/boston
What is Pecha Kutcha?
“Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor. This is a† demand that seems to be global – as Pecha Kucha Night, without any pushing, has spread virally to over 100 cities across the world. Find a location and join the conversation.”
Hugh Dubberly Lecture – In Post.
Last night’s Hugh Dubberly lecuter @ MassArt was fascintating, inspirational, and a bit exhausting.
Entitled: “Design in the Age of Biology”, Hugh covers his thesis that explains how the ideas and principles of design have moved from mechanical to organic, and object to system. Many points (and charts) show how the trends of technology movements influence designers and the products they make.
In terms of technology, the Open Source software movement is one example of his theory. The old dev model was to have software be proprietary, with big conglomerates holding all the cards. The new dev model, that is proven to work, is to allow software to be developed by an unlimited community of developers. This creates faster more efficient development, as it uses the “from the ground-up” model instead of “from the top-down”. In short, let the users design the software, for free.
The second point that seemed to stick out in my mind was the “then and now” of the designers role. There is a transition going on now for designers. Graphic designers especially, seem to be in the thick of it. Before graphic designers, there were printers who set type. Then graphic design became what it is/was in the 20th century, a slew of “Lone-Gunman” designers, who (are expected to) hold all the cards for the client. Now, a transition is happening again. The days of the “Lone-Gunman” are over. Designers can produce a stronger, more efficient product for their client if collaboration is encouraged and implemented.
Clients expect the designer to be at maximum efficiency. The internet, social media, and the speed of information access set the standards for designers to operate in.
“In the first part of the 20th century, there were great circus posters in Poland. Go to Poland, and see. But now, designing the poster is just not enough. Designers are expected to design an entire circus. Oh yea, and a poster to advertise the show.”
-Nathan Felde, Chair of the AIB Design Department, Boston.
From www.dubberly.com
