Graphic Communication, Chelsea MA show 2009
The Graphic Design Communication MA show was entitled ‘They shoot Horses, Don’t They’; the brochure explaining that ‘the explanation will come from the student you think has the stamina to dance for 24 hours’ – judging by the standard of work shown – these graduates work ethic cannot be questioned.
Each of the graduates’ final projects encompasses traditional print and book production through to creating 3-D displays and settings that explain the concept.
Yu Shan Lin: Graphic Communication, Chelsea MA show 2009
Yu Shan Lin’s final project is entitled – Should Every Home Have One? And explored the world of the kitchen gadget, where the original idea of saving the housewife from drudgery has been replaced by retailers and brands encouraging the consumer to buy increasingly niche products that they don’t need. So we have the kitchen sink with six taps –one for the baby, one for hands with nail polish and so on, followed by the kitchen knife with multiple blades for cutting different foods and the food blender offering a variety of blade patterns.
Above the display was a quote from Ruth Schwartz Cowan (US historian of technology) “Our tools are not always at our beck and call. The less we know about them, the more likely it is that they will command us, rather than the other way round.”
Shao-Wen Chiu: Graphic Communication, Chelsea MA show 2009
Shao-Wen Chiu explored the visualisation of music through graphic representation (shown above), looking at using colour to represent musical notes and also looking at depicting music by indicating the instruments by graphic tags.
Glen Pickering: Graphic Communication, Chelsea MA show 2009
Glen Pickering’s interactive tasks (shown above) appear as simple games, such as trying to draw a house without looking or picking up sweets with a mini crane, but are actually designed to explore the motives that underlie an individual’s desire to create.
The Devout Age: On Women’s Hair and Society by Di-Chun Chen explored how society has used hair as a means of social control over women; creating a thoughtful display set around a barber’s chair.
