http://tc.eserver.org/publisher/AIGA A listing of works published by AIGA in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/AIGA http://tc.eserver.org/33178.html http://tc.eserver.org/33178.html There is a commonly held belief that Helvetica is the signage typeface of the New York City subway system, a belief reinforced by Helvetica, Gary Hustwit’s popular 2007 documentary about the typeface. But it is not true—or rather, it is only somewhat true. Helvetica is the official typeface of the MTA today, but it was not the typeface specified by Unimark International when it created a new signage system at the end of the 1960s. Why was Helvetica not chosen originally? What was chosen in its place? Why is Helvetica used now, and when did the changeover occur? http://tc.eserver.org/29562.html http://tc.eserver.org/29562.html The population is rapidly aging and becoming a larger share of the marketplace. The demands of the aging eye require typefaces that function well under low-vision conditions. Can signage display useful information that is accessible to all ages? http://tc.eserver.org/29518.html http://tc.eserver.org/29518.html Although it is true that designers generally rely on clients, pleasing them is not the ultimate purpose of our work. What designers share with our clients is a public, an audience. Our clients wouldn't need us at all if we weren't helping them reach that public. Our broader responsibility is to the ultimate users of our work. http://tc.eserver.org/29515.html http://tc.eserver.org/29515.html Unlike so much in today's business world, graphic design is not a commodity. It is the highly individualized result of people coming together to do something they couldn't do alone. When the collaboration is creative, the results usually are too. This brochure is about how to get creative results. http://tc.eserver.org/29509.html http://tc.eserver.org/29509.html Why do so many good designs get trampled during the product development process? If everyone is trying to create something good for their customers, why is the development process so rife with disagreements and compromises that actually hurt businesses in the long run? If everyone has the same good intentions, can't the business people just make up their minds about what kind of product they want to create and let design create the right solution? http://tc.eserver.org/26376.html http://tc.eserver.org/26376.html A visual designer discusses why Swatch, watercolors and cooking can inspire the design of color. Louise Sandhaus draws out how Beatrice Santiccioli came to be the Queen of Color. http://tc.eserver.org/26378.html http://tc.eserver.org/26378.html Design can be more than meets the eyes. Denise Gonzales Crisp opens her ears to unfamiliar territory. http://tc.eserver.org/26383.html http://tc.eserver.org/26383.html What made Lubalin’s Avant Garde such a troubled face? Heller reports on its use and abuse. http://tc.eserver.org/26380.html http://tc.eserver.org/26380.html When you think about sound in regard to the internet, what comes to mind? Dutch design firm LUST explores the sound of the internet with this original project. http://tc.eserver.org/26388.html http://tc.eserver.org/26388.html The first in a series on typographic know-how by Ilene Strivener. Want to get your text off to a great start? Try initial letters. http://tc.eserver.org/26377.html http://tc.eserver.org/26377.html Understanding the dynamic qualities of typography through analogies with sound and music. http://tc.eserver.org/26389.html http://tc.eserver.org/26389.html 'Typography is entirely about the business of detailing,' writes Bob Gordon, and he practices what he preaches in this attractive and well-designed book. http://tc.eserver.org/26381.html http://tc.eserver.org/26381.html A re-assertion of the personal as essential to design innovation and the development of a strong character among students. http://tc.eserver.org/26386.html http://tc.eserver.org/26386.html Caplan gets lyrical about his favorite beauty marks as he explores the visual poetry of the ?!; and . http://tc.eserver.org/26379.html http://tc.eserver.org/26379.html One of the functions of design is to bring order to the world. But how to decide what the categories are that constitute order? http://tc.eserver.org/26375.html http://tc.eserver.org/26375.html Can sound and motion illustrate the personality of color? The Animation class at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design set out to discover the answer. http://tc.eserver.org/26385.html http://tc.eserver.org/26385.html What makes a typeface look the way it does? The design of the letter shapes is a primary factor, but it’s by no means the only one... http://tc.eserver.org/26387.html http://tc.eserver.org/26387.html Just when it seemed typography had no discernable impact on government policy the US State Department outlawed its standard typeface. http://tc.eserver.org/26384.html http://tc.eserver.org/26384.html Experience with Wolfgang Weingart during his last year before retiring from the HGK Basel, Switzerland. http://tc.eserver.org/26202.html http://tc.eserver.org/26202.html The following discussion was conducted over a six-week period late in 2002. We invited members of Loop’s advisory board and several distinguished guests to address the question of how we, as an emerging community of interest, might begin to address the critical question of preserving the history of our field. http://tc.eserver.org/26203.html http://tc.eserver.org/26203.html The Internet Archive is one of the largest archives of digital media in existence. It contains five times more information than is in the Library of Congress and several times more information than is currently available publicly on the web. David Womack interviewed its creator, Brewster Kahle, for Loop. http://tc.eserver.org/22493.html http://tc.eserver.org/22493.html Illustration lies in a no man's land, somewhere between fine art and clip art. Though illustration remains a powerful and versatile communication tool, it often plays a lonely role in the graphic arts. Illustrators operate from isolated studios, ignorant of the concerns of designers, who in turn are oblivious to the needs of illustrators. These articles explore the evolving role illustration plays in today's publishing environment. http://tc.eserver.org/22491.html http://tc.eserver.org/22491.html Webster's Dictionary defines information as: "The act of informing; the communication of knowledge". Information design is a highly specialized area of design that involves making large amounts of complex information clear and accessible to audiences of one to several hundred thousand. This section of Design Forum looks at characteristics and issues connected to this interesting and often misunderstood area of design. It contains articles both general and specialized that address issues, constraints and characteristics and attempts to formulate a working definition for those who are new to the subject. Is information design the best example of 'form following function' in graphic design? Designers usually love it or hate it...why? http://tc.eserver.org/22492.html http://tc.eserver.org/22492.html As a champion of creativity, quality and a strong sense of community, AIGA is a valuable resource for designers seeking support for the work we do. Professional Practices focuses on important issues designers face daily, from the pragmatic matters of management to the pursuit of design excellence and integrity. Sometimes our work can be magical, other times our work can be mundane, and on any given day we believe this forum is the place to seek best practices, share success stories, and address the challenges of our profession. http://tc.eserver.org/22494.html http://tc.eserver.org/22494.html Up goes that hand and out pops that dreaded can-opener of a question: 'Why aren't we learning programming in this class?' A litany of responses begins to unfold in my now Prozac-pleading brain: Because it's not graphic design; because it's too specialized; because graphic designers won't be doing it or shouldn't be doing it because they'll end up as hacks if they do it and the profession will go to hell; or because it's another program - maybe even a department-unto itself. I'm feeling queasy. It used to be so simple, so clear: We knew what graphic design was and what it wasn't. http://tc.eserver.org/21488.html http://tc.eserver.org/21488.html We present the process of designing the first prototype of the Handheld Maritime Communicator: a mobile computer system supporting communication and coordination of safety-critical work activities on large container vessels. Designing the user experience of the Handheld Maritime Communicator was a particular challenge because it targets a highly specialized context of use and because poor design could potentially become a safety hazard. Meeting this challenge, ethnographic field studies on board container vessels were conducted, detailed analyses were carried out, and iterative design was performed. The design produced replaces a large amount of present spoken communication with predefined textual messages on a handheld device. This facilitates persistency, partial automation, and possible integration with other computer-based data. Evaluating the prototype in a high-fidelity ship simulator, prospective users validated the overall design, but also identified a number of usability problems that need to be addressed. http://tc.eserver.org/21489.html http://tc.eserver.org/21489.html This work is a culmination of years of research to develop an effective in-vehicle countermeasure to drowsy driving. Previous work resulted in an independently validated measure of drowsiness that was then incorporated into a drowsy-driver prototype monitor. The goal of this project was to develop an associated drowsy-driver interface that enabled effective, user-centered interactions with the underlying system. A multidisciplinary team designed a new drowsy-driver interface and introduced smart user interactions through a careful participatory design process that included both design experts and commercial motor vehicle drivers. It is hoped that this effort and subsequent field trials will result in a reliable, smart system that convinces drivers that they are driving in an unsafe condition and to make a wise choice--stop and rest. http://tc.eserver.org/21464.html http://tc.eserver.org/21464.html Welcome practitioners, educators and students from all experience design disciplines! The goal of this archive is to build a teachable and learnable body of knowledge for the extended experience design community, which can be referenced and is freely accessible. These cases have been peer-reviewed and present best-practices from each year. http://tc.eserver.org/19394.html http://tc.eserver.org/19394.html At a time when theorists write of globalization as a global and local process, businesses can little afford to make assumptions about customers, even in traditional markets. This paper addresses the importance of applied design research, in the context of globalism, to the initial stages of product development. Products are understood here to include three-dimensional objects like appliances and furniture as well as communication products like software. Current debates about cultural identity in the context of widespread travel and global media are outlined. The possibility for research to identify the criteria of cultural appropriateness and acceptance of products is explored, and an argument for applied research as imperative for product design in today?s international business arena is advanced. The essay concludes with an appendix outlining an array of relevant research methods. http://tc.eserver.org/19392.html http://tc.eserver.org/19392.html One of the difficulties of teaching interaction design is its extremely vast scope. How do we decide what to emphasize and teach in this broad, multidisciplinary area? This article describes a framework for teaching interaction design that leverages basic art, design and motion skills taught in an art department. This framework also serves as a foundation for future discussions in theory. http://tc.eserver.org/19393.html http://tc.eserver.org/19393.html In the graduate course Interactive Visual Communication and Interface Design students apply course principles by creating an interactive multimedia CD-ROM that integrates images, sound, and motion, founded on strong visual communication design principles. The course provides students with an opportunity to learn about important principles of interface design and the significance of integrating them with effective interaction design. It is also provides students with an adequate background in multimedia authoring and current associated technology. Students address issues concerning innovations in screen-based communication and the challenges associated with realizing them. Design solutions are directed to carefully address the specific requirements and abilities of the user audience; be easy to understand; and support the structure, meaning, and purpose of the information. http://tc.eserver.org/13996.html http://tc.eserver.org/13996.html This forum is for the passionate. It’s for those who are crazy in love with type, absolutely hate the problems fonts can cause, have an uncontrollable need to learn more about typography, or an irresistible desire to share typographic opinions and stories. This is not a place for the typographically indifferent. This is the place to rant about dumb quotes (hey, I still see them in supposedly good design), find out why font foundries don’t want you to embed fonts in the files you send to service bureaus, discuss the merits of Emigre’s new font family, or ponder the value of hanging punctuation. It’s a place for criticism, observations and lively discourse. Come on in! http://tc.eserver.org/13995.html http://tc.eserver.org/13995.html AIGA's graphic design journal. The new online version of the Gain publication focuses on the intersection of design and business. Gain follows real-world projects from conception through completion. http://tc.eserver.org/13997.html http://tc.eserver.org/13997.html Typefaces are designs like Baskerville, Gill Sans or Papyrus. Type designers create typefaces. Today they use software programs like Fontographer or Font Lab to create the individual letters. A few still draw the letters by hand and then scan them into a type design application. Fonts are the things that enable the printing of typefaces. Type foundries produce fonts. Sometimes designers and foundries are one and the same, but creating a typeface and producing a font are two separate functions. http://tc.eserver.org/11814.html http://tc.eserver.org/11814.html The purpose of AIGA is to further excellence in communication design as a broadly defined discipline, strategic tool for business and cultural force. AIGA is the place design professionals turn to first to exchange ideas and information, participate in critical analysis and research and advance education and ethical practice.