Design Design #2 and Writing Assignment
Proposal due Friday, 11/16 (worth 2.5 % of overall grade in course)
Final design (PDF or other) due to basecamp before class Friday 11/30
(worth 10% of overall grade)
Hard copies of design AND paper due in class Friday, 11/30 (worth 10% of overall grade)
Presentations 11/30 or 12/14 (worth 2.5% of overall grade)
Design a “Design History Family Tree”
(Create your Branch in History)
Metaphor Alert: The tree is a metaphor here. You do not need to illustrate an actual tree, but
you can if you’d like. The idea is to position yourself within the lineage of modern design.
The Assignment:
Think about your own creative interests and design a diagram — a visual lay-out — that positions
yourself within the history of modern design (1850-1960).
Rather than attempting to cover the entire history of modern design, think about specific designers,
styles, motifs, or ideas that have caught your interest during this course or elsewhere. How do your
creative interests relate to them? What commonalities can you find among them?
Narrow your interests down to 1 or 2 of your own creative interests.
Choose 5-8 points in design history that relate to your creative interests. These 5-8 points will form the
“branches” of your “tree.” You will explore how your interests intersect with or stem from them. Your
points must cover a range of historical eras (e.g. not all of your points should be related to mid-century
modern, but a couple of them could be).
These 5-8 branches might include: designers, styles, motifs, materials and forms (chairs, wallpaper,
glassware, jewelry, posters, etc.), colors, compositional techniques, typography, or ideas (handcraftedness, gender, unity, the avant-garde, tradition, relationship with the machine, etc.).
Try to be specific (e.g. Rather than saying, “I am interested in the history of interior design.” Try to
narrow it down to something like, “My interest in linear patterns can be related to William Morris’s wall
paper, Art Nouveau interiors, and Art Deco furniture.”)
The Proposal:
Please type up one page that lists:
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1 or 2 of YOUR main creative interests
At least half of the 5-8 points in design history that will form the “branches” of your “tree”
2 potential sources, besides your textbook and lecture notes. (You will end up needing 4,
besides your textbook and lecture notes.)
2 ideas for your design – quick sketches are fine here. You are not locked into these ideas.
The Design:
You may approach your design in a variety of ways, but the focus should be on the clear VISUAL (not
textual) lay-out of lineage or connectedness. The emphasis should be on the creative composition of
key words, phrases, dates, and images. Lengthy sentences and paragraphs should be placed in your
paper, not in your design.
Include images OR clear visual indications of your chosen points in history.
You may go high-tech or low-tech with this assignment. Creating a hand-drawn diagram can be effective,
particularly if you are exploring forms that involved drawing: e.g. design sketches, book illustrations,
fashion trading cards, or catalogue entries.
Be creative! Really think about the overarching connections among your selections. How will these
similarities – or differences – help guide your creative choices as you design your family tree?
Which elements of historical styles can you play with in your design? Consider using appropriate
lettertypes/fonts, color combinations, or patterns for your design.
You must include your own main creative interests. Where will you position yourself? How?
The Paper:
6-8 page typed, double-spaced research paper.
Consider this format:
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Introduction with clear indication of your creative interests, why you are interested in them, and
why you are drawn to the historical points or “branches” of your tree.
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One-two paragraphs on each historical point or “branch.”
- Don’t forget nice transitions between paragraphs!
Conclusion where you restate and flesh out your introductory remarks and summarize the
connections among historical points.
Research:
You must conduct basic research on the historical contexts, forces, and influences that surround your
chosen branches of design history.
Consult your textbook and lecture notes for background material AND consult at least 4 additional
sources.
You must indicate which sources you’ve used throughout the paper through footnotes, endnotes, or
parenthetical citations (I don’t care which style you use — Chicago Style, MLA, etc. — just pick one and
be consistent.)
You must also include a bibliography.
Yes, you may use books AND on-line sources.
On-line sources are only acceptable if they contain valid, verifiable information. Do NOT cite Wikipedia
in your paper. Academic journal articles that are available on-line are great!!! The websites of art and
design museums are reliable sources of reliable information and images. Also consider using ARTstor for
searching images.
The Presentation:
You will be presenting – briefly – your design in class. Please be prepared to:
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Discuss your own creative interests.
Select about half of your “branches” to discuss. Discuss – briefly – their historical context and
their relationship to your own interests. (This is not a full report on every item in your design.)
Discuss a few of your choices in laying out your “family tree.”