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Date of Award
Spring 2024
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Communication Design
Department
Art
Committee Chair
Jamie Runnells
Exhibition Date
4-2024
Description
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.