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The first assignment in our graduate thesis class was named Re:Search.¹ We were asked to examine our thesis through the lens of a single letter, drawn at random. My letter was R.² I started by brainstorming and mapping out as many R words as I could muster. Our directive was to collect (at least) three each of: tiny objects, huge objects, physical qualities, abstract qualities, places, book titles, events from history, supermarket items, famous personalities, companies and websites related to our thesis.

I created 36 brochures to house my findings. Brochures were the perfect container for my information as they are a form that is often taken for granted as part of the vernacular of travel. They’re such an accepted component of airports, train stations, hotels, tourist traps, etc. that we often don’t even realize they are there. But they are there, sitting patiently in floor stands waiting to be unburdened of information on the closest wax museum, hot air balloon ride, petting zoo, alligator farm, amusement parks, wineries and more. I’ve been obsessed with brochure racks lately. If possible, I’d love to fill an entire brochure stand like this one:

1. I wonder about this trend of Re: anything as a naming convention. Yes, it’s a cute play on linguistic meaning, popularized by designers alike, but it’s a bit hackneyed, no? [↩]
2. Look Ma! Research starts with R! [↩]

There has been a lot of emphasis placed on ‘research’ in the weeks since school began. At the larger level, we’re being asked to respond to the question of how we, as graphic designers, employ research in our work. Specifically, for those of us working toward a design thesis, how does research inform the cohesion of both our formal work, and the written component of it? How do we approach our respective topics in a way that contributes to design discourse, but also furthers the dialogue in our subject area?

Because graphic designers use content from disciplines outside of design,¹ it’s crucial that we have at least a working understanding of the terms and conditions of our subject matter. But it’s one thing to troll Wikipedia for subject articles, or to check out a few books from the library as inspiration. It’s another thing completely to approach your subject with the rigor worthy of a PhD dissertation, to analyze and develop new possibilities or interpretations, and to immerse yourself so deeply in your subject that you could sit across the table from an expert in your field and have a mutually beneficial discussion.

These are things that have been on my mind of late. My attendance this summer at the Things that Move: The Material Worlds of Tourism and Travel Conference in the UK forced me to confront the subject of what I have to contribute to the field of tourism studies. It was a question that was (indirectly) asked of me frequently during my stay there. Surrounded by 150 ‘researchers’ from around the world, (most with PhDs, others working toward them), who were looking at the ’stuff’ of tourism in a myriad of different ways, I found myself desiring to legitimize my presence there, to respond to people’s innocent inquiries about why I was there with an answer that would make sense to them.² Oddly enough, there were less people addressing the the physical relics of tourism from a formal-historical³ perspective than I had anticipated. The conference was billed as multi-disciplinary, but the bulk of the attendees were from the social sciences. Most were not visual people, and yet they were dealing with visual things. From my perspective this is a fantastic opportunity to explore things from the other direction, to analyze the visual toward understanding the cultural and historical and to bring that to a future conference.⁴

One of the first things we were reminded of on the first day of class was that in the end, we are graphic designers, not anthropologists, sociologists, etc.. Be that as it may, I still value the ability to be able to be fluent with my content. One of my goals for the year is that when this is all said and done, I want to be able to talk shop with the cultural anthropologists, the sociologists, the urban planners and historians who are working with this topic.⁵

But back to the subject of research..

1. Within my graduating class alone, the subjects we’re tackling include anthropology, sociology, politics, linguistics, economics.. to name a few. [↩]
2. Let’s face it, Graphic Designer is a misunderstood title. To the outside world, its associated meanings equate to Photoshop Wizard, Web Designer, Production Assistant, or Hey, Can You Draw Me a Logo? It Won’t Take You Long and It Will Be Great For Your Portfolio. Given the overwhelming excess of ‘Graphics Design’ out there, it’s no surprise this misconception is so prevalent. Or that my connection with the visual aspects of tourism was not immediately apparent to those around me. [↩]
3. The term art-historical gets used a lot. I think there’s a lot of space out there for the design-historical as well. Formal-historical is a term I made up just now to try and encompass all of the disciplines that examine the formal and structural qualities of objects, with a critical eye for things such as provenance and historical context, in order to hypothesize about culture and history. [↩]
4. This is not to say that nobody is emphasizing the visual. It would be trite of me to continue without mentioning the work of critic Lucy Lippard and David Crouch and Nina Lübren. Or the recent exhibition at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. But there is a lot of room for exploration from this end. [↩]
5. Keeping in mind, of course, that the danger in existing in the middle ground is the potential for pseudo scientific work indicative of a lack of rigor in dealing with complex content. My colleague Fish could give you an earful about why this is not the way to design. [↩]

I have much to synthesize after the summer. A lot of things happened.¹ Postcards from people I met along the way have been trickling in, and they are fantastic. I have not decided exactly how to treat them yet, or if I should. Perhaps they are intact as is, I’m not sure.

School is back in full swing. I’ll be using this space to track my thoughts and process as I make my way through my final year at RISD. A few goals for the year:

1. Make stuff.²

2. Keep it simple.³

3. Explore and gain working knowledge of several mediums.⁴ I’m definitely an advocate of coming at a topic from all sides, and so I am resolving to finish out my year with guns blazing, blasting tourism with a variety or print and digital techniques.⁵

4. Stay healthy. No more sinus infections.⁶ No more food poisoning.⁷ Exercise? Mental and emotional health is equally important to me. As such, I invested a great deal of time and effort in arranging my desk the right way to make myself as comfortable as possible in the cold confines of the studio.⁸

This policy has the added benefit of allowing me to buy whatever I want (within reason–see next line item) if it will make me that much happier. No yachts with choppers (I did see one of these while strolling the marina in Cannes—ridiculous).

5. Save some money.⁹

6. See some stuff. Despite having lived in the Northeast for two years now, I feel I have seen very little of it. This insular paradox is part and parcel of graduate school, and directly linked to the fact that I don’t own a vehicle. However, it’s no excuse. So, on that note, I’m keeping a running log of things and places to go around here. Even better that it’s all directly related to my thesis.

A. Western Massachusetts (Mass MoCA—especially for the upcoming Jenny Holzer exhibit)¹⁰

B. Block Island¹¹

C. Maple sugar tapping¹²

D. I still don’t know offhand which one, geographically, is on the outside, Vermont or New Hampshire. This is pathetic.

E. Leaf tour.¹³

F. Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket. Or both.

G. Then there’s always Niagara Falls. Not really in the Northeast, but close enough to make me want to go there.

Anyway, you get the point. More to come on all of this.

1. Aside from the things to which I was witness, a lot of stuff happened in my absence. For example: Karl Rove announced his resignation. !!! This makes me incredibly happy. Heath and Michelle called it quits. And several people died. Admittedly I did not do a good job of keeping up on news (US or other) while abroad. [↩]
2. Well, duh. But no, really. I think that this is a tenet that I can’t stress enough for myself, and one that I should chant like a mantra given my ability to over think an idea and work myself into a full paralysis. [↩]
3. I have a natural tendency toward the complex, I know. It’s my ally at times, but also my Achilles heel. I have resolved to treat what I make this semester as a series of studies, and to not get overly attached to any one piece too early. The studies should be resolved, but simple. [↩]
4. Including the use of footnotes. I’ve never really used them before, but I imagine someone will tell me if it gets annoying. For now, I find them novel, and a good substitute for my constant use of parentheticals. I’m currently trying my hand at building a website from start to finish and I am also about to commit myself to a year-long Lynda.com membership to pick up some more motion experience (AfterEffects and FinalCut Pro). This semester I am taking the Interactive Text course in the Digital+Media Department which will be a good arena to test these technologies. I’m also mentally committing myself to some programming, even though debugging makes me want to tear my hair out. I intend to build a web database of tourist photos (more on this to come). [↩]
5. I’m a little embarrassed to have just written that. [↩]
6. Being in bed for two weeks is the pits. I just bought some vitamins, and will be stocking Emergen-C at my desk, as well as doing a lot of hand washing, sanitizing of surfaces and the like. [↩]
7. Don’t eat the sushi at Whole Foods [↩]
8. What better way to eliminate clutter than to put everything on the wall?!? I also have a lovely money tree, which was donated by recent graduate Esther Chak. Not pictured: The giant pin-up of Canadian rocker, Bryan Adams who I was madly in love with when I was twelve. It’s there in the corner, but you don’t get to see all of it. That’s for my eyes only. [↩]
9. Well, there are gives and takes to all things in life. But I do remember all too well what it’s like to survive on one meal a day while living on a friend’s couch when jobs were scarce after graduation in 2002. Hopefully it won’t be like that this time around. That said, if you would like to offer me a job, send me an email. [↩]
10. I have ventured out to Northampton with friends a few times now, as well as to Mike’s Corn Maze, but there is so much more.. [↩]
11. What the hell is out there anyway? [↩]
12. Is that even what it’s called? I distinctly remember an episode of Reading Rainbow where LeVar Burton reads a book about maple syrup and then goes to a place where it’s harvested/made and tells us about it. I have wanted to do this ever since. In the same way that when Mr. Rogers (may he rest in peace) goes to to the Chef’s house and he is making tapioca pudding, I wanted to eat tapioca pudding. If this is not a prime example of the influence of media on our children, I don’t know what is. On that note, a quick internet search revealed several others who remembered this particular episode distinctly. How strange.. [↩]
13. Apparently there are tour buses (largely populated by seniors and New Yorkers) that take you around to see the changing leaves. Given the current weather patterns, it’s dubious whether or not this would be a worthwhile endeavor this year, but it could be an interesting experience all the same. [↩]