Week 10 — Communication models

On Friday, everyone will meet in Irving Auditorium at 8-8:30am for a mandatory graphic design department meeting

From the Meredith Davis reading, we find a case for thinking beyond the thing you are making.

"Individual designers, however, are obliged not only to inform their professional activity through observation, research, and various types of discourse that address a wider cultural context (beyond the domain of the individual project), but also to make sense of their work within systems of social and cultural production."

Due:

• Your reading responses

Studio:

• Review reading / lecture
• Determine pairs
• Brainstorm communications components*

Now that you have a good background in various modes of thinking about the communication process, take the rest of class to consider if and how any of these models differ from contemporary communication processes. 

• Did Shannon/Weaver, Emmert/Donaghy, and Berlo account for the interwebs, cell phones, texting, and ipads? 
• How might you design a communication model for today? 
• Would your model look any different from theirs or include different factors?
• Begin constructing your own physical communication model. Keep in mind how Meredith Davis said that models influence the way we think and act.

1. Updating Models

The latest communication model you are studying is from 3 decades ago. Generate a list of specific examples that brings the communication components* up to date. List items that are current, relevant, and unique to both graphic design and society today.

• Collaborative effort
• Tools: craftpaper, markers
• Afterwards, individually transcribe for personal notes. 

*components:

• communicators
• channels
• messages
• noise
• feedback
• contextual factors

Homework:

Make your own model

Create your own informative, comprehensive and compelling model (aka schematic). A schematic is a model that represents elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. In the schematic diagram, the elements are coded and arranged to be easily interpreted by the viewer

• Produce 1 analog and 1 digital model = 2 total.
• For analog models, start in class. Generate several quick/small studies by end of class. Document day’s progress to blogs.
• For digital models, start with thumbnails. Post thumbs to blogs.

Each model must:

• demonstrate your understanding of the communications process (as apropos to the present/future of visual communication discipline)
• present a uniquely different approach to overall form and concept.
• incorporate what you learned from both the class brainstorm and take-home lecture/readings.
• utilize and exploit the tools/materials appropriately (e.g. analog may be more metaphorical, while digital may be more logical).

• Bring both to next class.
• Print digital model 11 x 17 color for quick group crit on Monday.

Act 03communicationmodels