Designing abroad

Designing abroad

Students enrolled in Art 3205 Special Topics in Graphic Design and Art 3009 Graphic Design Theory and Practice gained design experience and made valuable new connections in the field.

The three-week trip took students to eight cities in Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

"The original idea came 15 years ago when I was teaching in Chicago," said Dan Elliott, associate professor of graphic design. "Through networking, volunteering and going to conferences, I was able to make connections to make the trip possible."

Elliott made an initial trip in 2022 where he met with host institutions and scouted out potential lodging and transportation options for a possible study abroad class. He said the knowledge gained from this trip helped him create a proposal to offer the study abroad opportunity.

Along with expanding their knowledge of graphic design, students learned to navigate all eight cities by public transit and had time to explore each place.

Student projects were often based on locations that the group visited. A project at Tipoteca Italiana was based on T.S. Eliot's quote, "Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future." As part of the project, students designed and letterpress printed broadsides, one connected to the past and another the present before a group print based on the future brought the prints together. Additional projects included printing a calendar based on research of Berlin typography and designing a poster in Basel based on different types of handwriting.

As part of the classes, students were able to learn from Erik Spiekermann, a typeface designer from Germany who has created numerous fonts and designed multiple commercial typefaces.

"The ability to learn from people like Erik Spiekermann and see how one of the most famous and successful graphic designers in history is approachable and not outside of their grasp changes their perspective and goals as designers," said Elliott.

Elliott hopes that students take away the importance of networking as a result of their experience abroad.

"I had students last year and this year ask how I was able to set the program up with so many successful designers, and how they know me by my first name and give hugs when we enter the studio," he said. "My response is always the same, when you network to give back to the design community good things eventually come about."

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