AIGA Design Frontier 2006

	Paul Young's notes from the 2006 AIGA Design Frontier Conference On December 2–3, 2006, I was fortunate enough to attend the first AIGA education conference focused on the issues facing graphic design educators in small programs and non-urban regions.
This AIGA education conference was held at Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design, a small private college in the western suburbs of Denver, Colorado

The intimate campus of Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design was the perfect setting for a conference focusing on smaller programs

The college hosted the conference in its auditorium and studio spaces, AIGA Colorado also hosted a reception on Saturday night

About 150 design educators from over 30 states and 4 foreign countries attended

Conference attendees were able to choose from a menu of keynote speakers, concurrent break-out sessions and panel discussions

A wide range of topics were presented by educators from well-known schools like Rochester Institute of Technology to a virtually hidden program in a private high school
	Sessions attended: Session 1.2: Providing student feedback Design student evaluation: from grade statements to interactive evaluation Peter Martin, Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar Why small is big in critique Stacy Schoen, Harding University On trial: teaching without talking, critiquing using silence Kirsten Hardie, The Arts Institute at Bournemouth Session 2.3: Internet and beyond Inspiration: anywhere Bill Klingensmith, Rochester Institute of Technology Using online forums to build a student design community in a small new program Denny Fagan, University of the Incarnate Word Project Telling stories: type in motion David Cabianca, York University Session 3.1: Internet and beyond Designing graphic design online Kristin Rivedal, Front Range Community College Hybrid learning: uniting online and analog methodologies Liz DeLuna, St. John's University Aaris Sherin, St. John's University From voices to vision Tiffany Roman, Bishop Dunne Catholic School Panel session: Transcending borders: cross-disciplinary and other collaborations Frank Armstrong, California State University, Chico Glenda Drew, University of California, Davis Deborah Schmerler, The University of Tennessee Barbara Sudick, California State University, Chico Inspirations: have students sign a typography pledge teach design management (business of design) incorporate philosophy: designer as a professional learner incorporate self-evaluation put ken garland's "first things first" manifesto on trial coordinate a discipline specialist librarian purchase design & applied arts index (online tips) program wide discussion forums (hallway, easel, lab, off the porch) whiteboard in chats online preliminary crits make use of podcasts force students to write posts in standard English design curriculum with online feedback from students (project ideas) design using no technology (and no electrical byproducts?) design way finding signs group assignment: connecting timeline illustrate in the south park style design money as a cultural artifact typographic slam (resources) mydarndest.com/inspiration booksurge publishing flickschool podcasts iTunes U server software captivate debugmode.com/wink (add to budget) student entry fees to national competitions tablet to write notes for online crits video ipod rent our own web server space TOP