Digital Commons Network^™

Graphic Design For Visual Narratives: The Semiotics Of Diegetic Retrofuturism, Brooke Luke Ballard

Theses

While semiotics, diegesis, and retrofuturism have all been discussed at length in academia, it is uncommon to find the synthesis of all three. When these concepts are combined, it forms what I argue is a new genre of graphic design now prevalent enough in contemporary media to warrant definition and analysis. This thesis first explores the theories of visual semiotics, narrative diegesis, and retrofuturistic aesthetics individually before uniting them as a new design genre. Several candidates for this design classification will then be examined in case studies that meet the criteria of 1) containing a visual language that a modern …

International Conference On Integrated Design, University For Business And Technology (Ubt) In Kosovo

UBT International Conference

UBT Annual International Conference is the 14th international interdisciplinary peer reviewed conference which publishes works of the scientists as well as practitioners in the area where UBT is active in Education, Research and Development. The UBT aims to implement an integrated strategy to establish itself as an internationally competitive, research-intensive university, committed to the transfer of knowledge and the provision of a world-class education to the most talented students from all background. The main perspective of the conference is to connect the scientists and practitioners from different disciplines in the same place and make them be aware of the recent …

Integrating Artificial Intelligence & Purpose-Driven Design Within Spiritual, Wellness, Eco-Conscious, & Cultural Brands, Jessica Molina

Masters Theses

This visual thesis explores the practical and ethical applications of artificial intelligence in the work of designers for brands that promote wellness, spirituality, eco-consciousness, and cultural identity. The central challenge in adopting AI will be balancing the capitalization on its benefits with assessing the ethical ramifications of its adoption, while still upholding brand values, the imperative of authenticity, emotional intelligence, and integrity. As the technology and capabilities of AI continue to skyrocket, purpose-driven designers will remain under-resourced and underdeveloped in frameworks for ethical adoption. This work seeks to resolve the existing gap through a literature review, case studies, and a …

Vol. 4 Full Issue

V Music Magazine

No abstract provided.

Blending Informing Literacy And Visual Literacy: Instructional Vignettes In Art, Architecture, And Design, Stephanie Beene, Sara Schumacher, Dana Statton Thompson, Mary Wegmann

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The ACRL Framework for Visual Literacy in Higher Education (Framework for Visual Literacy), based on empirical research into the trends, opportunities, and challenges facing the field of visual literacy in the twenty-first century,1 was codified in April 2022 and is an adaptable document to help learners grow their visual literacy competencies. In this chapter, written by four of the task force members charged with the creation of the Framework for Visual Literacy, we examine the relationship between the four themes in the Framework for Visual Literacy and the six frames of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education …

Visual Narrative Through The Wimba Approach In Tahilalats Comic With Campaign Theme Bersama Stop Judi Online, Rangga Pangkuluhur Gumelar, Basnendar Herry Prilosadoso

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Comics, as a medium for conveying ideas and concepts through imagery, integrate textual and visual elements to construct meaning and communicate messages effectively. Their distinctive visual communication enables the delivery of complex social issues in an accessible manner through characters, panels, layouts, and visual representations of sound and dialogue. This study analyzes the Tahilalats comic (2024 edition), which incorporates the hashtag #bersamastopjudol as part of a visual campaign against online gambling addiction. The narrative is presented entirely through images without verbal language. The research applies Primadi Tabrani’s Wimba theory to decode visual language and Roland Barthes’ semiotics to interpret symbolic …

Redesigning Responsibility: Closing The Knowledge Gap In Sustainable Design, Kaitlyn Faith Funk

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates the gap between awareness and application of sustainable practices in the graphic design industry. While sustainability has become a widely discussed topic, designers often lack accessible, practical tools to integrate it into their work. Through a combination of research, case studies, and design thinking methodologies, this project develops a comprehensive educational toolkit and accompanying campaign, ReDesigning Responsibility, that equips designers, educators, and students to make informed, environmentally responsible choices in both print and digital media. The deliverables include a printed reference guide, an interactive microsite, and a branded campaign, all aimed at fostering sustainability as a core …

Citational Justice In Design Education: Teaching/Learning Relationality, Lisa Baumgarten

Nordes Conference Series

This paper explores how Citational Justice can transform design education, challenging the dominant narrative of the isolated creative genius in favour of design as inherently relational and collaborative. Through a case study of a design theory seminar with 16 bachelor students, the paper demonstrates how Citational Justice reshapes teaching practices by revealing networks of influence and knowledge in design work. Drawing on relationality and care perspectives from Escobar and Puig de la Bellacasa, the research implements power-critical pedagogies such as “brave spaces”, and collaborative feedback. Results show three key transformations in students’ understanding: a new attitude toward inspiration and influence, …

Lost In Generation: Illustrating Stable Diffusion Ai’S Colonial Bias In Representing South African Communication Design, Kyle Rath, Fatima Cassim, Adrie Haese

Nordes Conference Series

Generative AI (gAI) image models are increasingly being used as tools for conceptualisation and visualisation in design. These models are, however, not neutral owing to training datasets that prioritise Western aesthetics. Consequently, an emergent challenge is that AI-generated images tend to disregard nuanced representations. Li et al. (2024) echo this critique, acknowledging AI’s inability to comprehend cultural complexity, a critical issue in South Africa’s given its colonial and apartheid past. Accordingly, we use a relational design lens to critically examine how Stable Diffusion fails to engage with South Africa’s diverse cultural makeup; we present a qualitative content analysis of AI-generated …

Aestheticising Material Imperfections: Diverse Waste, Nikoline Sander, Linda Nhu Laursen

Nordes Conference Series

Using discarded materials from manufacturing is a design strategy to support a sustainable future by using already circulating resources. This study introduces the visions of pluralism to the design activity of designing an aesthetic unity with materials previously rejected for their imperfections. Drawing on the psychophysical, organisational, and meaningful properties, the research examines a best-case study involving the design of an indoor door made from wasted pinewood. Emphasising the design of joints and transitions internally in the door, the designers achieve aesthetic unity through the deliberate composition of pinewood pieces, characterised by soft, rounded transitions between them. Designing meetings between …

Design Facilitation Skills: Discrepancies Between Research Focus And Industry Needs In Us Job Postings, Wenqi Zheng, Mauricio Mejia, Catalina Cortes

Nordes Conference Series

In design, designers often act as facilitators, helping cross-functional teams capture, evaluate, and integrate diverse ideas to create improved products. While the broader application of facilitation has been extensively explored, the specific demand for design facilitation in the industry remains understudied. This study bridges the gap by exploring the call for design facilitation in the U.S. job market. Through a content analysis of job postings and a novel approach for tracking skill trends over time, we identify key design facilitation-related skill employers seek, uncovering four patterns. We also discuss implications for design education, proposing curriculum changes to better prepare students …

Digital Biophilia In Web Interface Design For Accessibility And User Well-Being, Bryana Michelle Peifer

Theses

This interdisciplinary study explores the intersection between horticultural therapy and web design, focusing on the impact of biophilic design principles in shaping contemporary practices within digital interface design. This exploration addresses the multifaceted relationship between humanity and the natural world, particularly how this connection serves as a source for the emergence of nature-inspired elements in digital expressions and their subsequent integration into modern web design for accessibility and well-being. As digital environments increasingly dominate daily experiences, the need for digital wellness through nature integration has become critical, especially for individuals who have physical disabilities, limited mobility, or limited access to …

The Technological Impacts Of Graphic Design: Visual Adaptations Of English Borrowed Terminology In Arabic - A Case Study Of Arabic Typography, Safaa Jahameh, Faten Al-Jazzar

Jordan Journal of Applied Science-Humanities Series

This study explores how English terms used in Arabic visually adapt due to technological influences on graphic design. It examines the impact of Western visual design technology on Arabic visual terminology and aims to reveal the extent of these influences. The research highlights how technology reshapes language, focusing on both visual culture and linguistic adaptations. It investigates new English terms related to the Arabic language and analyzes the evolution of Arabic typography across various technological stages. The findings are based on discussions about language interaction, such as how exported technological language interacts with the host language. The study also reveals …

How Do You Know? Parsing The Infocalypse Using Art-Based Data Visualization, Michelle Sylvia Weintraub

Theses

Since the advent of the World Wide Web, vast interconnected digital networks have increasingly provided access to diverse data sources for Internet users. Towards the turn of the 21st century, social media sites opened opportunities to produce and consume (i.e., prosume) data, empowering users to publish their own content online (Manovich, 2009). The ability to publish user-generated content results in more voices being heard, creating more seats at the proverbial table. However, more recently, persuasive media has increasingly been weaponized to disseminate misinformation and disinformation online (Howard, 2020). Consequently, the agency exercised by Internet and social media users is diminished. …

Tellings Of The Pacific Ocean: A Landscape-Based Approach For Multispecies Design And Hci, Maliheh Ghajargar

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Environmental disturbances induced by climate change have caused significant changes in our ecosystems and are threatening the health of our environments. As a response to this issue, a growing body of work has emerged in HCI and design, which seeks to foreground more-than-human stories in support of making more sustainable and just futures. This research contributes to this broad agenda by probing graphic novels as a multispecies storytelling method for design and HCI. Combining ideas from Anna Tsing’s adventures of landscape and from HCI and design’s use of sequential art (e.g., storyboards), we use landscape as the main protagonist of …

Ray Collection: Forging A New Fashion Genre, Olivia R. Cooper

Graphic Communication

This senior project addresses a gap in the fashion industry by creating a new genre through a unique collection and comprehensive branding. The "RAY" collection draws inspiration from the designer's artistic roots and is a deeply personal homage to influential female artists like Frida Kahlo, Louise Bourgeois, and Leonora Carrington, whose works have inspired the designer's creative journey. Each piece in the collection draws direct inspiration from these artists, reflecting the creator's vision and self-expression, a key element of the streetwear genre incorporated into the designs.

The project also heavily emphasizes fashion branding, encompassing a logo, brand identity, social and …

Till Tender, Karli R. Ehl

Masters Theses

Vulnerable, young, sensitive to pain, immature, not tough. These are some of the words and phrases that come up when you do a quick search of the definition of tender. I have felt every single one of these emotions over the past two years in depths I have not before. I have worked tirelessly, back and forth and in between, to try and figure out what it means to become oneself, while slowly untethering myself from the devotion to my Southern family. Trying to find the visual language for this process has transformed me into a tender being with no …

Gesture And Trace, Luisa M. Heindl

Masters Theses

I approach type as both gesture and trace: something made and something read, impulse and afterimage, formed through action, reception, and reuse.

My work focuses on the smallest components of written narratives: the shapes that form and encase letters, and the typography that enhances the emotional and cultural resonance of text. I explore how type and language encode meaning through various lenses, whether through the ideological ‘freight’ of reviving or using historical styles, the emotional charge of certain forms, the possibilities of variable font technology, or the curated (and sometimes instrumentalized) narratives embedded in nostalgic-feeling visual trends.

Typographic expression embodies …

No One Thing, Kate Brown

Masters Theses

Graphic design has mobility. It is oriented toward action, travel, and distribution.

My projects put me in touch with people and ideas, language, and visual form. They’re broad, conversational, and curatorial in spirit. They allow me to cut a path through the discipline of graphic design, and to branch opportunistically out to others, when I can—to art, architecture, fashion, writing. I expand my field of operations. Make it as big as you are. Make it 1:1. Take the part and run with it. Fold it up, send it away.

More Than 9 Lives: Improving Shelter Cat Intake And Adoption Rates, Arthur S. Loomis

Masters Theses

Municipal animal shelters across the United States struggle to properly care for the cats housed in their facilities due to overpopulation. The sheer volume of cats entering shelters greatly outpaces the rate in which they are adopted out, resulting in an immense resource strain that too often results in the euthanasia of millions of shelter cats across the country each year. The enormous influx of cats is largely due to abandonment or considerable populations of feral, stray, or community cats living on the streets. In addition, shelter cat adoptions occur at a much slower pace, with many cats spending months, …

Notetaking Reimagined: The Impact Of Combining Text And Visuals For Effective Learning, Sarah J. Mussetter

Art 895 Research Papers

This Mixed-Methods Narrative Case Study examines previous research on the effects of visual/ illustrative notes and their effect on knowledge coding, retention, and retrieval processes. It adds to current research in the form of a case study of a high school advanced photography course in Livingston, MT and the effect that adding visuals to notetaking practices affects student performance and memory throughout the semester. This study also proposes a method of introduction to visual notetaking that can be implemented in classrooms regardless of subject matter.

Lines Of Thought: The Cartoon As A Phenomenological Object And A Philosophical Tool, Thomas Attwood

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

Cartooning’s greatest strength is its simplicity. This essay argues that the cartoon’s inherent modesty and accessibility are central to its philosophical utility, and that its spare visual language conveys more than meets the eye. Drawing on phenomenology, it considers cartooning as a process grounded in the body, and it investigates the bodily encounter between the viewer and the cartoon. Through an analysis of cartooning work by Saul Steinberg, R.O. Blechman, and Liana Finck - a “family of cartoonists” - it demonstrates how a line-drawn, representational cartooning language can transform the act of looking into a participatory experience that interrogates issues …

America Is Banking On You! Selling American Ideology During World War Ii, David W. Maupin

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This essay uncovers advertising from World War II found in tear sheet archives. Through deep reading and contextual analysis, this essay seeks to determine what these advertisements—found in magazines, newspapers, and posters—were asking their viewers to do in response to the global conflict of the 1940s. It argues that advertisers used emotions and racism to entice citizens of specific classes to invest, enlist, and align their values with American ideals. The creators of these advertisements were hired by American companies, who used government sponsored tactics to woo citizens to the American Ideology while keeping the corporate brand in the public …

Medical Illustrations Of Human Facial Muscles And Heart Anatomy, Molly G. Ecroyd

Honors Projects

Wrote a research paper on the history, careers, and future of medical illustration. I created twelve drawings total, six of the musculature of the human face and six of an enlarged human heart. I worked hands-on with a real human heart in the cadaver lab and used a human face model for reference in my drawings. The human face drawings were drawn from the anterior and lateral views. The human heart drawings were drawn from the anterior and cross-sectional views.

Geraldo De Barros’S Fotoformas: Towards The Construction Of New Forms Of Legibility, Jay Bravo

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the legibility and reception of Geraldo de Barros’s Fotoformas within Western art institutions, using MoMA’s 2021 Fotoclubismo exhibition as a case study. It argues that the integration of Brazilian modernist photography into canonical narratives often hinges on strategic affinities with Euro-American frameworks. Drawing on institutional critique, postcolonial theory, and the concept of Anthropophagy, the study explores how Fotoformas challenges conventional photographic discourse and reveals broader dynamics of artistic legitimacy and representation.

Review Of Designing Gender: A Feminist Toolkit, Madhumita Mazumdar

Book Reviews

No abstract provided.

Differentiated Instruction For Students With Special Needs: “How Can We Better Equip Students, School Systems, And Society For Differentiated Instruction For Students With Special Needs In Career And Technical Educational Environments?”, Mikala A. Highsmith

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Career and Technical Education (CTE) plays a vital role in preparing students for the demands of the modern workforce by providing essential knowledge, technical skills, and industry-recognized certifications. As the number of students with disabilities, including neurodivergent learners, continues to rise, CTE programs face increasing pressure to adopt innovative, inclusive educational practices. Integrating creative teaching strategies and leveraging technology are now critical tools in addressing diverse learning needs that promote effective classroom management and enhance student engagement. Moreover, CTE programs emphasize the development of professional competencies, workforce protocols, and transferable skills that strengthen students’ employability across industries. This paper examines …

20th Century Graphic Design Development: Bridging Theory, History, And Practice Through Russian Constructivism, Oscar A. Gonzalez Jr.

Theses

This project centers on examining Russian Constructivism as a design movement and its influence on contemporary graphic design practices. It focuses on bridging historical theory and visual style with modern studio work, particularly through the creation of LGBTQ+ advocacy posters inspired by Constructivist aesthetics. The aim is to analyze the formal visual elements of Russian Constructivism while producing original designs that engage with current issues of identity and inclusion. Additionally, the project explores how the integration of analog and digital techniques can elevate visual messaging and creative expression.

Realistic Symbolism, Bekah Renee Anderson

Theses

This project focuses on the tools and techniques of realistic oil painting. By analyzing historical artists like Audrey Flack and Johannes Vermeer, we learn new and innovative ways to enhance the production of oil paintings. The project is interpreted through the scope of metaphoric allegorical creations based on my interpretation of vanitas, dramatic lighting, and symbolic presence of family.

Nudging Creativity In Typography With Font Pairing Prompts, Thomas Jockin

Masters Theses

Graphic designers face an overwhelming abundance of font choices in the digital marketplace, leading to difficulties in creating innovative typographic pairings and a tendency to rely on familiar options. Current industry practices and typography education lack effective methodologies to foster creative and diverse font use. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by introducing Font Flow, a web application designed to enhance typography creativity through randomized font pairing prompts.

The proposed system leverages structured constraints to challenge designers, prompting them to work with unexpected font combinations that may initially appear incompatible. By engaging in this problem-solving process, designers develop a deeper …