In the age of information overload, the ultimate luxury is meaning and
context.”
— Louis Rossetto
Graphic designers today operate in a supersaturated visual landscape. We produce image, text, and form; we create and circulate content; we are asked to do so in excess. Design recirculates beyond its intended context, taking on new meanings as it moves through culture. “Supersaturated” is both a product of and a response to this reality. What is the responsibility of the contemporary designer within this visually saturated world?
[01] Michelle Belgrod
I’m both captivated and disgusted by what’s happening to my face in the reflection. From one angle my jawline looks defined. Next, it’s puffy.
But isn’t that how I see myself anyways? Distorted. A sense of self that’s ever-shifting. I view, judge, and search for myself through designed surfaces.
Graphic Desire
michellebelgrod.com
[02] Rebecca Wilkinson
- Create two separate grids.
- Draw 130 dots. Placement should be random and intuitive.
- Use this new shape as a framing device for each grid pattern.
- Switch the shapes so that A is on B and B is on A.
Perform — Produce
performproduce.com
[03] Lydia Chodosh
If the word has durable power, I know that it is because we have constructed that power in attempting to explain images to ourselves, and perhaps most especially, to others.
On the Impulse to Notate
lydiachodosh.com
[04] Emily Bluedorn
Designers function as arbiters of narrative, conveying ideas through information-dense communication. Unveiling or acknowledging the histories of the applied formal elements can add depth, a richness of context.
Never Real Historians
emilybluedorn.com
[05] Clinton Van Arnam
IN A SEA OF INFORMATION NOISE IS OVERLOAD.
IN A SEA OF PERSISTENCE NOISE GENERATES REALITY.
IN A SEA OF OPPRESSION NOISE IS POWER.
Variation on Noise
clintonvanarnam.net
variationsonnoise.com
[06] Shiyue Wang
Chasing traces, mapping routines, observing the overlooked — I seek the mundane poetic instants that celebrate our world.
Life of Things, Things of Life
shiyue.cargo.site
[07] Alec Figuracion
Too many meanings,
Too much uncertainty,
Too thick of a haze,
A little too much feeling.
Soft Procedures
alecfiguracion.com
[08] Soo Min Lee
It’s a safe space to embrace doubt, navigate the complexities of our surroundings, and to move and adapt in new ways through the process.
Graphic Warmline
soominlee.net
[09] Glikeriya Shotanova
The world is like a never-ending nesting doll, each layer containing stories, memories, and experiences. As we navigate life, we instinctively create our own containers—spaces to hold our thoughts, emotions, and belongings.
Here—there
glikeriya.com
[10] Berett Wilber
Design is an adaptive strategy for survival. Graphic design is a primary medium through which power asserts its version of reality. Paper covers rock. Fish don’t exist. The earth is a primary instrument of grief and joy. Let us watch and listen. and search for myself through designed surfaces.
surface tension
berettwilber.com
[11] Gabriel Drozdov
Sometimes, something is meaningful because of what it is, says, or does. Sometimes, it’s meaningful because it’s fun to look at.
This Is For You: A handbook for design students
gabrieldrozdov.com
thisisforyou.gabrieldrozdov.com
[12] Kaela Kennedy
Mundane in appearance, the rock’s experience of time obliterates my own. They alongside me as I work like a time traveler, a reminder of the kind of time beyond the limits of my own perception.
Infinite Form
kaelamkennedy.com
Graphic Design MFA 2024
Rhode Island School of Design
Pouya Ahmadi
Associate Professor,
Graphic Design
Bethany Johns
Professor,
Graphic Design
Graphic Design Graduate Program Director