social studies

some notes from the social studies conference
(i apologize for the hierachy, or lack thereof, in this one.)

-the biggest danger is not teaching the craft. creativity will come as the challenge arises. we don't have to worry about that. the biggest danger is lack of vision.
-be open to what you didn't necessarily train for. go outside the field.
-this is where knowing how to kern means nothing. this is all about being a creative thinker.
-walk to participate in daily life. to disengage from constant productivity. walk for fresh air.
-face to face sometimes makes for more distance.
-what's the difference between a forager and a looter? a patriot and a shooter? it's all in the marking, my friends. it's all in the marketing.
-it's not about building rome, but building the bricks for someone else to build rome.

because this was a conference for design educators, there were different teaching goals that kept popping up. there was a presentation on "designing the next paradigm" that did a good job summarizing what skills in particular design educators should be fostering in students today:
-relinquishing control (what's the point in a beautiful rag when someone can just ctrl+ or ctnl-)
-handling complexity
-designing for participants not users
-thinking critically (filtering through information overload into something clear & useful)
-listening
(and then how exactly they should go about promoting the above...)
-dump the simple to complex method
-remove the idea of ownership
-allow students to lead sometimes
-instill social responsibility
foster a broader education

it's nice to see the flip side of the coin, and know what i should be demanding from my classes. and don't quote me on this (ever) but it did make me (kinda) want to be a teacher. just because i started thinking in my head what my design philosophies are, and how cool it would be to be able to pass them on in a classroom. a lot of what the presenters got at reminded me of an article, "what your students want, even if they don't know it yet," that i stumbled upon through the project m lab website. (it's labeled "future history", the link is under "articles.") and a lot of the strategies the article suggest actually reminded me of finding baltimore.

and, finally, some scott stowell genius:
-i don't want to make something that i don't want to exist, or help people i don't want to help (on choosing projects)
-i want to make videos for people that hate jazz. you already have the jazz fans. what about the people that have been dragged here by their spouse? we want to get you more fans. (on target audience for the jazz at lincoln center videos)
-try to work on something more than you are allowed to. (on working with clients)
-hire people that are better than you. (on building a team.)

(personal notes: this conference made me want to stop using trade gothic. and made me appreciate bernard's demand to "tell me a story." because without that presentations suck.)