Hasta La Ideas

above: invite and DiTullo’s sketches from one-on-one student reviews (click to enlarge all images)

Over the past 15 years or so, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many University of Cincinnati DAAP (Design, Architecture, Art, & Planning) grads, in fact I work with at least four right now at frog design. On Feb 28th I finally had the opportunity to visit when Emmanuel Carrillo, chair of the student IDSA chapter, worked with the school to fly me out to give a lecture. I agreed on two conditions, first that it would be a conversation instead of a lecture, and second that I would get to spend one-on-one critique time with as many students as possible… I didn’t want to talk to the students, but talk with them.

While I tend to like the controversial 90’s aesthetic of the massive DAAP building, there is no denying it is kitted out fairly well with great shops and equipment. After touring the facilities the industrial design student body settled into one of the larger lecture halls. With the lights up and no powerpoint presentation, I shared a few of my more personal stories about being in difficult situations in our profession and how I dealt with them. This quickly moved into a conversation about where we as a group felt design had been, where it is, and where it is going. I candidly shared my opinions, as did students and professors, not to find a consensus, but instead to celebrate the differences.

above: shop facilities at UC DAAP

There is no path to follow was the thrust of the conversation. Our field was founded by a diverse array of illustrators, engineers, and architects, and it will continue to be diverse. There will be no one right way to be a designer. It will be what we make it. This chaos will continue to be the beauty of our profession, as our motley band of creatives who are not artists, nor scientists, continue to solve problems and impact culture in unpredictable ways. We use non-linear thinking explained through stunningly visual and tactile media to convince linear thinkers to take risks they never would other wise. Our thinking is not easily understood but our solutions seem obvious afterward. Through chaos comes the auto-evangelical. This is our value.

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