Teaching Critical Analytical Methods in the Digital Typography Classroom

Abstract

Digital technology enables designers to physically create almost anything imaginable, yet students still need to critically consider and evaluate their communication design in the context of metaphoric, ethical, historical and paradigmatic perception. Students must engage in processes of critical analysis with regard to their work. They must be taught to evolve contextually based criteria regarding why they accept what they accept, and why they reject what they reject. Without this background, they are slaves to technology. An example of a studio project designed to help students: 1) utilize the digital environment to organize typography and images that represent the socio-political context their solutions were required to identify, and 2) explore the empirical variables that help their readers to access and effectively contemplate the content presented by their text is disclosed.