Fall 2024
TEACHING & LEARNING
As I head into the Fall 24 semester I am revising the curriculum for Graphic Design II, our 2-year capstone course, and Type & Typography. This revision began with updating the majority of my syllabus text to align itself even more with the values of the Imago DEIsign Framework.
Putting it out there
SOCIAL SHIPPING
Shipping the work is a term that Seth Godin uses in the Practice to describe getting your work out into the world, which was a stated goal of mine for this semester. In this first month, I tested shipping the creative work that is informing the construction of the Imago DEI•sign framework. I decided to start the momentum on Instagram as that is the most social space I occupy, and where I tend to interact with the kind of folks I hope to reach, collaborate with, and share out to.
I began by creating a series of sliders that point toward two calls to action:
1)
An invitation to a Zoom Cafe conversation about Art & Design Education where I hope the interactions between interested folks is deeper and more meaningful than thumbs up, reposts, or DMs. My goal is to make these calls monthly and to provide a space for art and design educators to share ideas and experiences in a neutral space (ie: you won ‘t be worried about getting fired from your PWI for speaking honestly in this space).
2)
Drive traffic to my substack where I am beginning to publish essays, and resources from the Imago DEI•sign framework.
I realize the framework will exist in 2 spaces, the teaching/learning space where it is implemented and the social/commercial space where educators will find it. I figured along with testing out classroom practices, I would also begin testing out the writing and exercises I am generating. I’ll be able to use feedback from both spaces to refine the work, and think beyond my own bubble.
Lets Talk About…
Brevity is not my strong suit, and IG is a home for images, and still I said FUCK IT and made these very text heavy sliders. I hoped that my audience would be patient and forgiving as long as I didn’t do it too often! These posts were meant to serve as an introduction for subsequent shorter-form posts. At the time of writing the post received 125 likes, and 38 story shares! Right now, that feels like a good start.
What is…
Again this is an introduction to a series of shorter-form subsequent posts and a leader into longer-form writing on Substack. This one was created before the “Let’s Talk About” slides and received 37 likes, 4 story shares, and 11 encouraging comments. From a marketing perspective, this post served as an onramp to the form and I believe aided in the success of the rest of the series.
Let’s talk about…
slightly less text-dense, with slides that don’t lose context when they are posted to stories individually. These statements are gathered from lived experiences, students sharing their stories with me, and an Alumni form at OTIS in 2020 where students were given a platform to talk about the pedagogical harm they encountered as students across various programs.
What is…?
Shorter form two-slide posts that offer a concept, a definition, and resources for further learning. Text from essays on Substack are teased in the social copy. This text length feels more appropriate for the socials.
Facilitating a Conversation
Ahead of hosting the “Let’s Talk About Art & Design Education” Zoom convo, interested parties were invited to fill out a short interest survey with their RSVP. I designed this survey from the perspective of being new to teaching and institutions, as well as the perspective of having been in it for a few of years and being interested in tackling some big hurdles. The result reflects interest in project ideas, and influencing cultural change within institutions.
Invited to a Conversation
August 24th, 11:00am PST
This panel brings together leading voices in design thinking, UX, and accessibility for an engaging virtual event. Come learn, connect, and be inspired as our panelists share their insights on radical empathy and practicing compassionate, authentic, and empathetic action. Soapbox is a self-sustaining, independent collective committed to empowering and promoting women and gender non-conforming people in the entertainment, creative advertising, and marketing industries.
My invitation to this panel came through Krislam Chin who is a favorite design ed thinker and human, and moderated by my friend Rachel Elnar—who was the first person to invite me to teach through public-facing workshops at Type-Ed. She and her late husband Micheal Stinson were mentors and champions who helped light my path toward my current teaching position.
REJECTED
Plaza de la Raza is hosting a Poetry and Photography exhibition for Latino Heritage Month, opening on September 13th, 2024 on exhibit through October 16th, 2024.
☀️The theme for this exhibition is Latinx Heritage, Love, and Healing. We are looking to highlight the work of currently enrolled college students who are interested in poetry and photography. If this sounds like you, please submit your poems and/or photography using the 🔗 link in the bio.
☀️ Poets are encouraged to submit up to 3 poems with a minimum of 10 lines and a maximum of 40 lines.
☀️ Photographers are encouraged to submit up to 3 photographs in .jpeg format. Please make sure not to include inappropriate images/language because Plaza de la Raza is a cultural center and school and our audience includes young children and families.
We look forward to your submissions!
In the spirit of shipping creative work, I decided to submit my “altar” images to the above call for photo submissions from La Plaza de La Raza in Echo Park. I thought it was a perfect match given the themes of Latinx Heritage, Love and Healing…but I was WRONG!
They rejected my submission! I feel so real now. I can’t help but wonder…maybe it was the vibrator? ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I want to go to the show now and see what they did choose (porque I can be pequeña like that sometimes).
In all seriousness, I am familiar with this org, I know they are heavily youth-serving, and rely on funders cooing over the preciousness of the beautiful young minds served by La Plaza. Everyone has an audience, and this one just wasn’t mine.
What I did get form the process was the practice of putting myself out there a little bit and igniting an excitement to share this part of my grad work. I’m thinking about how to “ship” this series. <3