Fourteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

As designers we have the ability to reinvent ourselves with each venture. This is where it is a unique process. So, what happens when we invest our time in an immersive, seven-month project of solving typographic challenges in which a team of novice and advanced design students from two undergraduate universities work in tandem with two design professors on the production of a limited-edition letterpress book of ABCs? The project and accompanying workshops centered around the value of collaborative creative thinking and the use of letterpress printing as a tool for acute typographic problem-solving. As they addressed technical, conceptual, and visual aspects of typography, the team was exposed to various “sub-problems” that demanded effective teamwork and innovative solutions to produce the edition of 360 letterpress books. The book project serves as a case study outlining the lessons learned and unexpected discoveries that emerged in exposing students to an immersive, long-term, hands-on typographic process. The project ultimately raises the question, in an increasingly ephemeral digital design world, does an immersive physical creative process yield educational merits that can serve as an effective learning tool? And concurrently, it examines the question, what is the role of craft in contemporary design education?