Rethinking Graphic Design Pedagogy for the CUNY Academic Commons: On Process, Generosity, and Creative Collaboration in Mapping a Foundation Graphic Design Course for Faculty and Instructors

Authors

Suzanne Dell'Orto, CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2023

Abstract

The creation of an Open Education Resource with the CUNY Academic Commons for a foundation course in graphic communication at Bernard M. Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY) is a natural extension of the generous visual and written communication that is at the heart of Graphic Design. Graphic designers are inherently collaborative, working through a shared visual and written language to communicate. This Open Educational Resource (OER) serves as a base template to be shared department-wide with all instructors at CUNY and beyond to provide a framework for instruction for this studio course that is taught as a critique-based workshop model. This foundation course embraces the ethic of generosity at its core. The course material has been broadened to a perspective that is multi-lens, multicultural, and that embodies an ontological shift in design instruction—inclusive of all voices. The course is welcoming to all, building in full accessibility of the course materials and tools, fair and transparent feedback and grading practices, and the open-hearted belief that everyone is creative. Working within the framework of the CUNY Academic Commons, a CUNY-specific WordPress installation, this paper discusses the opportunities, limitations, and process of creating an OER remixable course.

Comments

https://graphicdesign.commons.gc.cuny.edu/.

This article appears in the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, no. 22: https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/projects/jitp-22.