Through the process of design thinking, junior communications design majors in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Design are confronting some of the social and political problems of our time through the project “CONFRONTED.EDU/an education in social consciousness,” part of this semester’s CMD 351 Problem Solving Strategies course.
The CMD 351 class with work in progress
Seven teams of students have been challenged to create user experiences to foster reflection and reform for seven contentious topics: racism and micro-aggressions, xenophobia, artificial intelligence and job replacement, gender inequality, climate change, police violence and sexual assault. To begin to inform these issues, the teams will offer multimedia solutions, including an interconnected exhibition scale model, posters and digital experiences.
The University community is invited to be part of the discussion and the solution. The class will be installing the project on Tuesday, Nov. 7, in the first-floor lounge of the Nancy Cantor Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St. The project will move to the Panasci Lounge in the Schine Student Center on Tuesday, Nov. 28, and will be on view through the end of the Fall 2017 semester.
Communications designers translate ideas and information through a variety of media. The School of Design’s communications design program leads to a bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) degree. Classes are modeled on professional practice, and students develop the ability to solve real-world problems along with a variety of skills in graphic media.
