MFA Theses Exhibitions Final Papers

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  Legends of Harmonia: Designing Playful Pathways to Emotional Wellness

  Tara Holbrooks

  View the Digital Exhibition of Legends of Harmonia

  Society is more connected than ever—yet somehow, we are quietly drifting apart. The constant hum of technology surrounds us, but the simple moments that bring us together are becoming harder to hold onto. As digital interactions replace face-to-face connections, empathy becomes more challenging to show—and even harder to feel. That being said, empathy remains the foundation of emotional understanding and human connection, both vital in a world that often feels emotionally distant, where rising loneliness, heightened anxiety, and emotional disconnection have become widespread. This paper proposes a tabletop game to help parents and caretakers nurture their children’s empathy while building a closer family bond. The game, Legends of Harmonia, is rooted in Self-Determination Theory, which identifies three essential psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Of these, relatedness—the need to feel connected to others—is increasingly under strain. Legends of Harmonia attempts to offer a possible way forward, drawing players together through shared experiences and simple moments, fostering empathy that builds stronger communities.

  Legends of Harmonia is a whimsical, collaborative, story-based game blending these theoretical insights into role-playing scenarios packed with imaginative storytelling and interactive problem-solving. It is a game where children and their parents can work together to navigate emotional dilemmas and practice responses in a safe space. The game encourages empathy by creating teachable moments for parents to help their children understand others and their emotions and grow together. Guiding future generations toward deeper human understanding, connection, and care, this research contributes to creating a more empathetic and interconnected society.

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  Revealing the Truth: The Consequences of Failed Drug Campaigns and The Dehumanization of People Suffering from Addiction

  Caycie Trotter

  The war on drugs began on June 17, 1971. Many campaigns and projects were launched to help fight this war, including D.A.R.E. and "Just Say No," which were among the first and most popular initiatives. Revealing the Truth: The Consequences of Failed Drug Campaigns and the Dehumanization of People Suffering from Addiction is a thesis exhibition show and paper that explores these failed campaigns and highlights their lasting effects, including the dehumanization of people struggling with addiction, widespread misinformation, and the amplification of abuse. These effects have shaped how our government deals with drug abuse issues today, leading to mass incarceration rates, increased violence, systemic issues, and discrimination. The goal of this thesis is to get the attention of policymakers and designers who help make these campaigns, recognize the effects that campaigns like these have on people, and encourage them to take a more progressive and effective approach to this issue.

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  The "Backpack" Methodology: A Research Methodology for First-Year Design Students

  Alba Conejero

  View the Digital Exhibition of The "Backpack" Methodology

  First-year design students often need to pay more attention to research or, at the very least, allocate the necessary amount of time and effort to it. Through my personal and teaching experience, I have realized that this happens for a few reasons: for first-year students, the task of “research” does not sound exciting, some of them do not realize the benefits of doing research and exploration, and others, do not know how to do research properly. Our job as design educators is to teach students how to solve problems and think creatively, and to do that; we also need to teach them how to research.

  The “Backpack” methodology is a research methodology designed for first-year design students. This methodology aims to help students collect their visual research and resources in one place, where they can make connections, reflect on their findings, and transform them into creative output. Also, it emphasizes exploration, creates research habits, and encourages a culture of sharing among students, which makes research fun.

  In this thesis project, the methodology refers to the overarching strategy for identifying, capturing, and processing information. The “Backpack” system refers to the framework where all this information is captured, categorized, analyzed, and finally, becomes creative output. The methodology is “how,” and the “Backpack” system is “where” to capture and process research.

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  The "Backpack" Methodology | Backpack System Tutorial

  Alba Conejero

  Animated tutorial on how to use the “Backpack” system implemented in Notion.

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  Design Citizen: A Design Pedagogy for the Contemporary Context

  Conner Gayda

  View the Digital Exhibition of Design Citizen

  Implicit in this critique of Modernism is the notion that the designer is in some capacity responsible for how their work interacts with the world. All designers, have the capacity to bolster morally bankrupt institutions and ideologies. In simpler terms, design has the potential to harm. This begs the question: how do designers learn to practice their craft responsibly? Where can designers learn how to be responsible citizens and stewards of their discipline?

  If the standard collegiate design curriculum does not prepare students to engage with their vocation in a contextualized manner, how can the student be expected to operate responsibly in a professional setting? Who or what will prompt the designer to consider their own ethical framework? What safeguards are in place? My thesis project will engage questions like these as it considers the role of education in preparing responsible designers.

  In both the written and visual components of my thesis, I will argue that a robust design curriculum for the contemporary context should broaden students' understanding of how design interacts with the world and what design can be. Namely, this pedagogy will create responsible citizen designers by encouraging students to consider the civic and ecological impacts of their work while simultaneously exposing students to diverse perspectives. Before furthering my argument or suggesting specific remedies for the pedagogical dilemma at hand, it is necessary to first consider the histories of art and design education.

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  Design Citizen | Deconstruction Walls, Right Wall

  Conner Gayda

  A timelapse video of gallery attendees interacting with the tear walls on the right side of the gallery

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  Design Citizen | Deconstruction Walls, Left Wall

  Connor Gayda

  A timelapse video of gallery attendees interacting with the tear walls on the left side of the gallery

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  Videntis: A Design-Based Methodology for Secondary Educators

  Ashlen Jackson

  View the Digital Exhibition of Videntis

  Videntis explores the application of graphic design process and visual outcomes to secondary education curricula in Alabama. Videntis was influenced by the following methodologies currently used in education: Design-Based Learning (DBL), Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Engineering Design Process (EDP), Project-Based Learning (PBL), and Design Thinking (DT). The paper provides the definitions of these methodologies and the benefits of these methods in the classroom. In the formation of my methodology, seven high school educators were interviewed to obtain their perspectives on the framework of Videntis. The results identified factors that would best help them teach content to their students. Videntis is an introductory design methodology that infuses the graphic designer’s thought process into core curriculum subjects such as Mathematics, History, English, and Science. The method incorporates the important skills of communication, collaboration, problem solving, and creativity through the creation of hands-on projects resulting in visual outcomes. Teachers can access Videntis digitally via a web-based organization, which offers support and practical ideas.

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  17 Steps to Strategy Motion Graphics

  Nicolas Guimarães Vieira

  A television screen displays a looping 1920x1080 video summarizing the materials presented in the exhibition.

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  Teaching Brand Strategy in Design: A Seventeen-Step Methodology

  Nicolas Guimarães Vieira

  View the Digital Exhibition of Seventeen Steps to Strategy

  The concepts of design and branding have evolved significantly over time, becoming increasingly complex and interdisciplinary. Despite the general presence of the design field in contemporary society, specific definitions and practices in design often seem ambiguous to people not in the field. This thesis focuses on exploring the multifaceted nature of design within education, particularly as it relates to strategy and branding, and proposes a shift in perspective, namely regarding how young designers are taught to deal with conceptualization, research, and project development related to brands while in university. Through research into existing and updated publications, as well as personal academic and professional experiences involving branding strategy, it seems that there is a demand in the field for the reevaluation of existing teaching methodologies and project development as a whole. There is a need to reevaluate how young designers and students in design could focus more on strategy, research, meaningful communication, and emotional connection with the audience. This research is primarily inspired by Donald Norman and Fabian Geyrhalter. Norman highlights the importance of and how to achieve an emotional connection with the user or target audience, while Geyrhalter is a specialist in branding strategy, having authored numerous books explaining how to create your branding strategy, step by step. Their writings have contributed to the improvement of branding project teaching and research of projects related to design and branding. My own experience lends a varied point of view, as my undergraduate degree in design was completed in Brazil, but I sought higher education in the United States. With my unique perspective, I can consider the research of both Norman and Geyrhalter while also weighing the differences in educational theory in other environments. This thesis aims to contribute to the discussion of improving teaching approaches related to design and branding, as well as aiding in the evolution of the role of designers in brand communication.

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  Kinship Bonds: Family and Slavery in Calhoun County

  Amanda Wentzel

  View the Digital Exhibition of Kinship Bonds

  In 1856, the will of a Calhoun County landowner included his desired outcome for the 14 enslaved persons held in his possession. As a descendant of this enslaver, I sought to uncover more about those enslaved persons and their lives. The resulting exhibition, Kinship Bonds, contextualizes national and local history into the lives of the people connected to one small Calhoun County plantation between the years 1850-1880.

  Kinship Bonds creates a narrative for the many people who were dehumanized and oppressed through the South’s “peculiar” institution. By using historical documents and gleanings from local newspapers of the era, viewers can examine the beliefs and attitudes that informed the residents of Calhoun County. Biographical sketches of known Calhoun County enslaved persons provide a glimpse into the struggles and obstacles of life post-Emancipation. Kinship Bonds offers viewers an opportunity to come to a deeper understanding of our county’s history and reflect on the legacy of social injustices.