Otis Graduate Graphic Design
PRO GR A M D E SCR I P T I O N
The limited-residency MFA in Graphic Design provides a rigorous and challenging academic and studio environment for candidates interested in enhancing their current professional practice. Participants select from three individual themes or tracks: social responsibility of the designer in society, typography and type design, or advancing the discipline through theory and innovation. Each track speaks directly to educating conscientious individuals who recognize the value of design and its role in society. Coursework is comprised of research, readings, studio projects (assigned and self-directed), and a final project. The department provides students with instruction by core faculty, visiting lecturers, and visiting artists who are recognized nationally and internationally in their design and art practice. S T U D E N T BO DY
Our students come from a variety of backgrounds in various disciplines, (graphic design, engineering, fashion, product, and fine art) and pursue projects that confirm the value of merging personal histories, design philosophy, and social relevance.
Program Sch edule
The program is two years and two months running for three consecutive summers with two part-time spring semesters that can be completed on or off-site. Incoming students begin the program at the start of each summer session. Wor ks h ops
M entors h ips
Each summer, visiting artists
During the two spring sessions,
from within the Los Angeles
MFA candidates work with
area, across the country
mentors in one of two ways:
and abroad host workshops
producing texts that are
ranging from one to three
historical, critical, and/or
days in length. Students
theoretical; or designing an
may be handed instructions
original typeface. In both
beforehand to research
scenarios, work researched
information or prepare
and produced must be
specific materials before the
relevant to their goals as
workshops begin. Guests often
a future practitioner and
take advantage of the city
intended for publication or
and its surrounding areas as a
production.
staging ground for individual and group projects.
Communications via digital technologies, telephone, or face-to-face meetings all contribute to the mentorship process.
Lectures
Symposia
The program hosts weekly
MFA students assist in the
lectures, open to the public,
promotion and organizing
by artists and designers from
of two symposia. “Untitled”
Los Angeles and beyond.
is a bi-annual event. “What
All students are required to
Matters” is a tri-annual. Both
attend. MFA 2s spend the day
host internationally recognized
in conversation with each
guests and attendees
visiting artist in a group setting
whose practice exemplifies
or in one-on-one studio visits.
alternative practice and
S tudio I nteraction
Studio spaces during intensive summer sessions promote strong relationships among our MFA candidates. This environment promotes experimentation and crossover between students who enter the program with expertise in various disciplines.
unique collaboration.
2 010 Facult y B i os Kali N i k itas Chair , A ssociate Professor
MFA CalArts, Principal of Graphic Design for Love (+$). Co-programmed international symposia: “Just the Type,” “What Matters,” and “Untitled: Variations in Design Practice.” Lectured internationally,
M aja B la z ejews k a S enior Lecturer
MFA CalArts, currently designer for LACMA for publications, marketing materials, special exhibition graphics and exhibitions’ visual identities. Recognition from AIGA, awards from Art Directors Club, :output.
received awards from the ACD, AIGA, Graphis, and Type Directors Club. S tuart Bailey S enior Lecturer
University of Reading, Werkplaats Typografie. Co-founder of the arts journal Dot Dot Dot, Since 2006, he has worked together with David Reinfurt as Dexter Sinister. Dexter
M eg Cranston Chair B FA F ine Art, Professor
MFA CalArts, performance and installation artist. Numerous international solo shows. Recipient COLA Individual Artist’s Grant, Architectural Foundation of America Art in PublicPlaces Award, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship.
Sinister has exhibited at the Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva, the 2008 Whitney Biennial, The Kitchen in New York, and Somerset House, London. J uliette B ellocq S enior Lecturer
MFA CalArts, prior studies in design and typography in Paris and the Netherlands. Designer at Handbuilt Studio and Osborn Architects. Published New York Times, ID Magazine. Recognition from the AIGA, Graphis, Spark Awards.
Yasmin K han Adjunct Professor
MFA CalArts, partner in Counterspace, an LA-based design studio focused on design for cultural institutions and branding/identity in Web, broadcast, and print media. Recent clients: MOCA, the Orange County Museum of Art, Imaginary Forces, Arthur Magazine, HarperCollins, REDCAT.
lauren mack ler
R enee Petropoulos
senior lecturer
A ssociate Professor
MFA RISD, Graphic designer,
MFA UCLA, artist. Recent
artist and curator whose
exhibition Museum of
practice includes making
Modern Art in San Salvador,
catalogs for exhibitions,
El Salvador. Grants include a
posters, artist edition prints,
Durfee Foundation Fellowship
videos, installations and
and a COLA Individual Artist
curating group exhibitions in
Grant. Represented by the
New York and Tokyo. Founding
Rosamund Felsen Gallery in
member of the Museum of
Los Angeles.
Public Fiction. Kerri S teinberg Aram M os hayedi
A ssistant Professor
Lecturer
Ph.D. Art History UCLA. Interests
MA, Art History, USC, current
include visual culture, graphic
doctoral candidate in Art
design history, theory, design
History. Assistant curator,
citizenship, advertising,
2008 California Biennial at
and American Jewish visual
the Orange County Museum
culture. Currently working on a
of Art. Published in Art in
manuscript provisionally titled,
America, Art Lies, Reading
Advertising the American
Room: A Journal of Art and
Jewish Experience.
Culture, Art Papers, Bidoun, and Artforum.com.
Davey W h itcraft A ssistant Professor
Ch ris Oatey
MFA UCLA. Recognized
Coordinator , Lecturer
by AIGA: 50 Best books
MFA Otis, Exhibitions include
2006, Graphis, Art Directors
CB1 Gallery, Los Angeles; Kent
Club NYC, Print Magazine,
State University, Ohio: Creative
SXSW Interactive, Altpick,
Artists Agency, Los Angeles;
Eisner American Museum of
Cranbrook Academy of Art;
Advertising and Design and
Recipient of Durfee Foundation
EvoMUSART.
Grant and Ucross Foundation Fellowship.
Select Visiting Artists
Åbäke
Vinca Kruk
Jon Sueda
Doug Aitken
Zak Kyes
Carolina Trigo
Mark Allen
Harmen Liemberg
Alice Twemlow
COMA
Henri Lucas
Underware
Eames Demetrios
Kate Moross
Jeffrey Vallance
Keetra Dixon
Marlene McCarty
Daniel van der
Jori Finkel
Leigh Okies
Velden
April Greiman
Florian Pfeffer
Carol Wells
Fritz Haeg
Stephen Prina
Pae White
Karrie Jacobs
Erica Rothenberg
Lorraine Wild
John Knight
Louise Sandhaus
Jan Wilker
Sophie Krier
Erik Spiekermann
Mario Ybarra Jr.
Course D escriptions S eminar I/I I/I I I
In this three-term course sequence, all graduate students, work on project-specific assignments. Faculty and visiting artists provide the opportunity for in-depth discussion, conceptual and formal investigation. The intention of this course is to find focus and specialization in the program. T ypography and T ype D esign
The projects assigned, use theory, methodology, and personal interests to expand student‚ knowledge of typography and its role within graphic design. Each section will host a visiting type designer who will workshop with the students and establish the beginnings of designing a typeface. Social R esponsibility of t h e D esigner in Society
This course defines “social responsibility� as a nuanced and contextual idea, one whose meaning is constantly evolving and whose manifestations shift between cultures and generations. Specific project topics and themes rotate by semester. All projects will involve an intensive research component that includes both informational and formal/visual research (collecting and making). Advancing t h e D iscipline t h roug h T h eory and I nnovation
Students will cultivate personal working methodologies and develop and test them throughout the course. Careful examinations of current/previous design vanguards with particular attention to the relationship between method and form. Students will produce a series of projects and will be critiques throughout the semesters by peers and faculty/guest faculty.
Visiting Artist Criti q ue
This course offers one-on-one studio critiques with visiting artists. The focus is on the individual student’s practice. In-depth discussion with artists and designers give students the opportunity to strengthen their conceptual and aesthetic development. D irected S tudy: M entors h ip
Students produce academic texts related to design that are historical, critical, and/or theoretical. Through mentorship, students will begin to establish a body of work that can and should contribute to contemporary design discourse. Communication via digital technologies, telephone, or face-to-face meetings all contribute to the mentorship process Publication material in digital or analog form is required. D irected S tudy: D e veloping a T ypeface
Students interested in designing typefaces, will work closely with a type designer over the Spring session to create their own typeface. Research, thorough formal investigations, and conceptual development play a critical role. Students are encouraged to choose a mentor whose thinking, work ethic, and craft are inspirational and will undoubtedly shape their own practice. Considering F inal Project
A diversity of critical approaches to twentieth and twenty-first century design are situated historically while introducing current themes and debates in contemporary design practice and related disciplines. F inal Project
This course focuses on assisting students as they research, produce, and complete their final project. Guided by faculty, classmates, and visiting artists, all MFA candidates seek to solidify their place in the field of graphic design by initiating a project that redirects, re-establishes, and challenges the practice as it is today.
Graduate Graph ic D esign — Primary F irst Year
S ummer
S pring
Seminar I
6
—
History + Theory: Cont. Theories in Design
3
—
Studio Topics: Typography and Type Design
2
—
Studio Topics: Social Responsibility of the Designer
2
—
Studio Topics: Advancing the Discipline
2
—
Directed Studies
—
7.5
Total credits per semester
15
7.5
S econd Year
S ummer
S pring
Seminar II
6
—
Visiting Artists Critique
2
—
3
—
History of Graphic Design & Visual Culture 1
Studio Topics: Typography and Type Design 1
2
—
Studio Topics: Social Responsibility of the Designer 1
2
—
Studio Topics: Advancing the Discipline
2
—
Directed Studies
—
7.5
Total credits per semester 1. Students must choose two of these courses
15
7.5
T h ird Year
S ummer
Seminar III
6
Final Project
4 3
Considering Final Project
Studio Topics: Typography and Type Design 2
2
Studio Topics: Social Responsibility of the Designer 2
2
Studio Topics: Advancing the Discipline 2
2
Total credits per semester 2. Students must choose one of these courses
15
Graduate Graph ic D esign — Alternate F irst Year
S ummer
S pring
Seminar I
6
—
Studio Topics: Typography and Type Design
2
—
Studio Topics: Social Responsibility of the Designer
2
—
Studio Topics: Advancing the Discipline
2
—
Seminar III
—
3
Directed Studies
—
9
History + Theory: Cont Theories in Design
3
—
Total credits per semester
15
12
S ummer
S pring
S econd Year
Seminar II
6
—
Visiting Artists Critique
2
—
Studio Topics: Typography and Type Design 1
2
—
Studio Topics: Social Responsibility of the Designer 1
2
—
Studio Topics: Advancing the Discipline 1
2
—
Seminar III
—
3
Directed Studies
—
6
History of Graphic Design & Visual Culture
—
3
Total credits per semester 1. Students must choose two of these courses
12
12
T h ird Year
S ummer
Final Project
Studio Topics: Typography and Type Design 2
2
Studio Topics: Social Responsibility of the Designer 2
2
Studio Topics: Advancing the Discipline 2
2
Considering Final Project
3
Total credits per semester 2. Students must choose one of these courses
9
4
1
Graduate Graph ic D esign — Accelerated F irst Year
2
S ummer Fall S pring
Seminar I
6
—
Studio Topics: Typography and Type Design
2
—
—
Studio Topics: Social Resp. of the Designer
2
—
—
Studio Topics: Advancing the Discipline
2
—
—
Visiting Artist Critique
2
—
—
History + Theory: Cont Theories in Design
3
—
—
Directed Studies
—
8
7
Seminar II
—
—
6
History of Graphic Design
—
—
3
Studio Topics: Typography and Type Design
—
—
2
Total credits per semester
17
8
18
S E CO N D Year
S ummer
Seminar III
6
Studio Topics: Typography and Type Design 3
2
Studio Topics: Social Resp. of the Designer 3
2
Studio Topics: Advancing the Discipline 3
2
Final Project
4
Considering Final Project
Total credits per semester 1. Must be recommended by MFA portfolio committee 2. Off-site 3. Students must choose two of these courses
3 17
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