siobhán murphy. agenda three outputs from ma research beyond the ma
TRANSCRIPT
What is design?
“Graphic designers apply what they have learned about
physical, cognitive, social, and cultural human factors to
communication planning and the creation of appropriate
form that interprets, informs, instructs, and persuades.
Graphic designers use various technologies as means
for creating visual form and as an environment
through which communication takes place.”
National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)
What is design?
Design = problem solving
Graphic communication-
problemDesign
=solving
(form +
function)
Scribes as Designers
Before the seventh century Latin was read aloud,
partly due to the convention of writing in a long
continuous stream of letters without spaces
separating words.
ITWASNECESSARYTOSOUNDOUTWORDSTOMAKE
SENSEOFWHATWASBEINGREAD.
Scribes as Designers
Irish scribes devised methods of making the
written language more comprehensible
– one of these was the word space.
This gave rise to faster, more efficient reading,
which did not need to be sounded out.
Scribes as Designers
“The origins of rapid, silent reading lie in the
scribal techniques and grammatical teachings
that developed in Ireland and England in the
seventh and eighth centuries.
The first separated Latin manuscript books in
Western Europe were Irish…”
(Saenger, 1997, pp. 83)
Scribes as Designers
“After the Semitic invention of the alphabet,
the invention of the word is the single most
important invention that I know.
…the word appears to have been invented in
Ireland in the first half of the seventh century.”
(Noordzij, 2005, pp. 45)
Output 1 – hypothesis
Identify Irish medieval
scribes as designers.
An island people
made islands of words.
Why is this important?
There is a dearth of Design Scholarship.
This research represents an advancement
of knowledge within the field of
Design History, specifically within an
Irish Design History context.
Beyond the MA
Publish – Design journals
Design seminars and conferences
Palaeographic / Historical societies
Output 2 – exhibition
Exhibit that will distill this information,
inform, and make people look at how
the written word performs
as a medium.
Beyond the MA
I assisted with designing the identity and
promotional campaign created for
last year’s exhibition.
A more detailed report is available here.
Output 2 – exhibition
Emerging technologies:
• Digital Publishing Suite
• Generative typography
• Conductive Ink (brings digital capacities to print).
Why is this important?
The emergence of digital devices has led
to an increase in screen-based
or online reading.
Long-form or deep-reading
print vs. screen-based
Screen-based deep reading
Loss of:
• Speed
• Comprehension and Context
• Serendipity
• Sense of control
• Immersion and continuity
Screen-based deep reading
Result: User is more removed from
content
(Ownership,
physical barrier)
Caused by: Loss of tangibility
and increased
distraction
…A communications problem
Output 3 – Interface design
An opportunity to make the
written word a more efficient medium.
Proposed interface design for more
efficient screen-based deep-reading.
In summary
Output 1:
Identify Irish medieval scribes as designers.
Publication, seminars, conferences.
Output 2:
Typographic installation using emerging technologies
Exhibition
Output 3:
Proposed design for screen-based, deep-reading interface.
Further research project
References
National Association Of Schools Of Art And Design Handbook 2012-2013,
Retrieved 10/10/2013
from:http://nasad.arts-accredit.org/site/docs/Handbook/NASAD_HANDBOOK_2012-
13.pdf
Noordzij G. (2005) The Stroke: Theory of Writing, Hyphen Press, UK.
Saenger P. (1997) Space Between Words: The Origins of Silent Reading.
Stanford University Press.