Thesis Proposal Booklet

With the advancement of technology, designers are becoming more and more reliant on it to create their designs. With technical perfection easily attained, we are bombarded every day by perfect type, clear images, and simple minimalist designs. As part of a newer generation of designers, I feel we have no appreciation for the painstaking ways designers worked in the past; we’re accustomed to the immediacy of designing on a computer. Rapid production and limitless design solutions can blur the creative process and final creation. How is it that a profession so rich in history has in the past few decades entirely abandoned any sort of historical reference in its works? I propose a look back at the history of design and creating new designs that usurp not simply the technology that is available to us today, but also processes long left alone or forgotten. In the spirit of the Arts & Crafts movement, I would also like to advocate a ‘truth to materials’ and traditional craftsmanship. I will be designing as a reaction against the styles that have developed out of contemporary machine-production. William Morris used a press to create his books and in that same spirit I don’t plan on abandoning the use of any sort of technology, rather, I will use it to enhance the methods used in antiquity. I would like to look back at the history of the trade and revive the designer as artist. With a nod to contemporary DIY movements, I want to demonstrate true craftsmanship within my designs. I want to elevate the status of contemporary designers. In doing so I hope to also shift the perception of new media and technology by using it more as an expressive artistic medium instead of simply a tool or means to an end.