Kurt Schwitters (and friends)

This exploration was initiated as a project to honor my friend and colleague at WGBH, Doug Scott, at a Festschrift [“a collection of writings by different authors presented as a tribute to a scholar”] celebrating him as a new AIGA Boston Fellow, in 2016.

Kurt Schwitters (and friends)

This exploration was initiated as a project to honor my friend and colleague at WGBH, Doug Scott, at a Festschrift [“a collection of writings by different authors presented as a tribute to a scholar”] celebrating him as a new AIGA Boston Fellow, in 2016.

Dan Friedman: A Personal Appraisal

For 25 years, first as a colleague at Yale, then as a friend, I observed the fascinating evolution of this influential, but less well-known designer/philosopher. I have helped stage multiple exhibitions of his work and spoken about his multi-faceted career and influential ideas at many schools and organizations around the country. You can see a recent lecture on Dan here.

Dan Friedman: A Personal Appraisal

For 25 years, first as a colleague at Yale, then as a friend, I observed the fascinating evolution of this influential, but less well-known designer/philosopher. I have helped stage multiple exhibitions of his work and spoken about his multi-faceted career and influential ideas at many schools and organizations around the country. You can see a recent lecture on Dan here.

Armin Hoffman at Yale

This recollection of Armin Hoffman’s influence on the teaching of design at Yale was originally published on June 29th, 2020, marking the occasion of Armin Hofmann’s 100th birthday, in Steven Heller’s daily on-line blog of Print

Armin Hoffman at Yale

This recollection of Armin Hoffman’s influence on the teaching of design at Yale was originally published on June 29th, 2020, marking the occasion of Armin Hofmann’s 100th birthday, in Steven Heller’s daily on-line blog of Print

Motion Design: Poetry

In the Graphic Design Masters Program at Yale, I currently teach motion design. The objective is to shift the designer’s thinking from “composition” (getting all the elements into just the right spot and freezing them) to “choreography” (planning the path and behavior

Motion Design: Poetry

In the Graphic Design Masters Program at Yale, I currently teach motion design. The objective is to shift the designer’s thinking from “composition” (getting all the elements into just the right spot and freezing them) to “choreography” (planning the path and behavior

Seaforms

On Saturday, May 27th, a show of my paintings opened at Gladstone Gallery in Manchester-by-the-Sea, an hour north of Boston.This exhibition paired two distinctive shapes of the sea shore: crab claws, part of the non-descript detritus washed up on the beach below our cottage in Annisquam, and the ungainly hulks of trawlers and tugs hauled up on the drydocks in Glouocester.

Seaforms

On Saturday, May 27th, a show of my paintings opened at Gladstone Gallery in Manchester-by-the-Sea, an hour north of Boston.This exhibition paired two distinctive shapes of the sea shore: crab claws, part of the non-descript detritus washed up on the beach below our cottage in Annisquam, and the ungainly hulks of trawlers and tugs hauled up on the drydocks in Glouocester.

Small Potatoes

In the fall of 2016 I opened a new show at Gladstone Gallery in Manchester, Massachusetts, titled “Small Potatoes.” These paintings are affectionate portraits of the humble tuber in its more flamboyant state, often forgotten, but lively, in the back corner of

Small Potatoes

In the fall of 2016 I opened a new show at Gladstone Gallery in Manchester, Massachusetts, titled “Small Potatoes.” These paintings are affectionate portraits of the humble tuber in its more flamboyant state, often forgotten, but lively, in the back corner of

Running an In-house Design Group

In 2009, I was asked to address the annual How [Design] Conference, which that year focused on the particular management issues of in-house design groups. This gave the the chance to think back on my experience at WGBH and try

Running an In-house Design Group

In 2009, I was asked to address the annual How [Design] Conference, which that year focused on the particular management issues of in-house design groups. This gave the the chance to think back on my experience at WGBH and try

Dan Friedman: Radical Modernist

Designer, artist, educator and writer Dan Friedman was a colleague at Yale and a long time friend of mine. His vibrant, witty and eclectic work and his wide-ranging model of practice are as inspirational today as 20 years ago when

Dan Friedman: Radical Modernist

Designer, artist, educator and writer Dan Friedman was a colleague at Yale and a long time friend of mine. His vibrant, witty and eclectic work and his wide-ranging model of practice are as inspirational today as 20 years ago when

What I didn’t learn in school

You never realize how much you didn’t learn in school until you try to teach in one. Teaching forces you to figure out what it is that someone else needs to know, and then to devise a set of experiences

What I didn’t learn in school

You never realize how much you didn’t learn in school until you try to teach in one. Teaching forces you to figure out what it is that someone else needs to know, and then to devise a set of experiences

Thoughts on the attraction of teaching

I have been teaching (at Yale, mostly, but lots of other places less consistently) since 1966. I have always been interested in explaining things and I think that is part of my attraction to the role. But there is another

Thoughts on the attraction of teaching

I have been teaching (at Yale, mostly, but lots of other places less consistently) since 1966. I have always been interested in explaining things and I think that is part of my attraction to the role. But there is another

The role of design at WGBH Boston

From 1973 to 2008, WGBH (public broadcasting in Boston) supported Design at the Vice Presidential level and regarded design as a business asset. It was a wonderful environment to work in, giving me both the authority (and the accountability) for

The role of design at WGBH Boston

From 1973 to 2008, WGBH (public broadcasting in Boston) supported Design at the Vice Presidential level and regarded design as a business asset. It was a wonderful environment to work in, giving me both the authority (and the accountability) for

Flatland

Compared with other design disciplines, graphic design is essentially non-spatial. Architecture, exhibit design, landscape design, product design, even fashion design are all more about space than graphic design is. In fact, “graphic” implies something to do with “written or pictorial

Flatland

Compared with other design disciplines, graphic design is essentially non-spatial. Architecture, exhibit design, landscape design, product design, even fashion design are all more about space than graphic design is. In fact, “graphic” implies something to do with “written or pictorial

10 things I learned (or at least had confirmed) at WGBH

Farewell party, WGBH, 10.28.08 The chance invitation to work here at WGBH placed me in an environment that was a perfect fit for my temperament and aspirations as a professional and just a plain person. Once here I recognized, gradually,

10 things I learned (or at least had confirmed) at WGBH

Farewell party, WGBH, 10.28.08 The chance invitation to work here at WGBH placed me in an environment that was a perfect fit for my temperament and aspirations as a professional and just a plain person. Once here I recognized, gradually,

Working at WGBH

When I left WGBH in 2008, I created a lecture to describe what it was like to work in a non-profit, pro-social design environment, a career path that is often overlooked by emerging designers. It essentially describes how I got

Working at WGBH

When I left WGBH in 2008, I created a lecture to describe what it was like to work in a non-profit, pro-social design environment, a career path that is often overlooked by emerging designers. It essentially describes how I got

Some things change, some things stay the same

  Some things change…. In the past several decades we have witnessed a series of amazing changes in the way we think about the profession of graphic design. Here is my short list:   2D / 4D  Once graphic design

Some things change, some things stay the same

  Some things change…. In the past several decades we have witnessed a series of amazing changes in the way we think about the profession of graphic design. Here is my short list:   2D / 4D  Once graphic design

Recent Rocks

An exhibition of paintings, December 5.2013 – March 26.2014, at Gladstone Gallery, 36-1/2 Union Street, Manchester by the Sea, MA. The rocks are not so recent, having been dropped on Cape Ann by the retreating glaciers 10,00 years ago, but

Recent Rocks

An exhibition of paintings, December 5.2013 – March 26.2014, at Gladstone Gallery, 36-1/2 Union Street, Manchester by the Sea, MA. The rocks are not so recent, having been dropped on Cape Ann by the retreating glaciers 10,00 years ago, but