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This thesis was written as a supporting paper for a graphic design exhibit for a Master of Fine Arts Degree. The focus of my design is the creation of successful pieces of expressive graphic design that defy many traditional or formal rules of design. This thesis begins with a brief explanation of my methods and what I feel makes for good expressive design. These include a heavy reliance upon intuition, the necessity of traditional design education, historical and contemporary influences. I then characterize my motivations and methods of creating graphic design. Followed by the relation of my work to historical and contemporary influences. I conclude with a summary of the design work achieved in pursuit of this degree.

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This dissertation examines the ways in which design and design practitioners have defined value in the design discourse through the vocabulary and concept of goodness since 1870. These definitions of value have been central to design discourse both past and present and deal with the impact and purpose of design work as well as its role in the creation of the approaching future. Since before the coalescence of graphic design as a separate field of design, these questions have been tied to the form, function or social impact of the objects created by designers. Despite the prevalence of this line of inquiry in the discourse, current usage tends toward uncritical and uninformed usage because of a separation of the terminology from the historical context in which this conversation developed. The purpose of this investigation, then, is not to segment terms into “right” or “proper” definitions, but to apply a critical historical lens to the vocabulary of goodness as it has been used in the larger design discourse since 1870 in order to better understand the state of current discussions of value and to inform paths of future inquiry. In order to do so, this investigation developed a framework by which to understand the ways in which goodness has been contextualized over the last 150 years. This historical context does not limit us to a historicist approach to design, and it not presented as an essentialist or teleological marker of things to come. Instead, knowledge of the historical context and various uses of a term makes us better educated practitioners of design who are more capable of combating the individualistic fallacy of the enlightened genius. Through a fuller knowledge of the critical historical context in which our field’s vocabulary developed, we can better understand notions of creativity that position designers as expert guides through networks of information and meaning.

This project explores the notion of participation within the graphic design and problem-solving process. Through projects using generative tools and collaboration, I explore ways to instigate controlled participation from designers and non-designers. I observe and document how the methods and means of participation affect the creative process during these projects.

Authenticity is what we want from the world around us, from others, and crucially from ourselves and what we make. As it relates to graphic design, I define authenticity as a perceived match between form and purpose. For the designer, its quality is found in the process of simultaneously developing a concept and crafting the design/object.

Every city/place has unique, distinctive qualities. Individuals acquire a sense of place in accordance with their own experiences and perspectives, which may not be the same as the experiences and viewpoints of another person. In this project, I explore, analyze, and re-interpret three places that have creatively and emotionally influenced me and remained in my memory: Times Square, New York City; Insadong, Seoul, South Korea; and Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia. To comprehend and draw a sense of place, I observe, feel, and document the characteristics of each place through different methods and processes, based on my own experiences. In addition, I integrate, apply, and transform my experiences and emotional reaction to the objects, obtained from each place, into new visual form to grasp how the built environment can be used as inspiration and stimulus in developing creative methods and processes in graphic design.

Culminating with a dream, this project transverses theoretical and geographical boundaries with explorations into the message-carrying potential of video, sound, performance, print, and web. Stories and content are extracted from an autobiographical history of one small western town turned boomtown. That town, the center from which the project emerges, is Vernal, Utah.