I will be speaking at the 2024 SECAC Annual Conference: Wayfinding,, hosted in Atlanta, GA, October 23–26, 2024. I will present the paper Money v. Humanity: Design Education More Than Industry Ready. I have co-authored this paper with Saskia Van Kampen, Associate Professor of Visual Communication Design, at San Francisco State University. An abstract:
The design industry, for the most part, serves clients and consumerism, which continues to negatively impact society and the environment. Alternatively, design education is tasked with teaching students criticality to define skills and values that align with their career path. However, students, upon graduation, need and want a job. So, how can design educators balance respect for society and the environment with job readiness? Two design educators define ways that American universities can move design education beyond capitalism to promote humanity-centered outcomes.
This paper is being presented as part of the session entitled Graphic Design as a Catalyst for Collaborative Change: Envisioning (Post) Capitalist Futures. This session is chaired by Bryan Perry, Assistant Professor of Art: Graphic Design and Foundations at West Georgia University.
Session Presentations
- The Evolving Landscape of Graphic Design: Creating Positive Impact Through Emerging Media, Jessica Spowart
- Money v. Humanity: Design Education More Than Industry Ready, Johnathon Strube & Saskia Van Kampen
- Graphic Design and Generative Artificial Intelligence: Shaping a Holistic Future of Well-Being, Ewa Borowczak
- Empowering Designers: Navigating Post-Capitalist Futures through Systems Thinking Methodologies, Lilian Crum
- Packaging for Anti-Capitalists: Questioning, Constructing, and Co-creating, Helen Sanematsu
- Multi-Sensory Frameworks for Community Co-Creation and Understanding, Bryan Perry