Week Four- The Font Paradigm

     Of the readings for Week Four, Spiekermann and Ginger’s piece on font led me to the biggest realization- I’ve been showing up to dinner parties without paying attention to the dress code! To elaborate, I know so little about design; I take even font for granted. In class, we had the activity of matching the fonts to the shoe, and my group had no difficulty matching the fonts to the correct shoe. I recognized the font to match the object; however, I don’t utilize font myself to strengthen my pieces holistically. This realization makes me curious to learn the rules, so that I can begin to break them consciously. I believe I would have enjoyed learning fonts and design along typical academia topics such as the oft used chemistry I learned!

     In fact, I believe design is nearly discouraged. For most papers and projects I’ve encountered in high school and college, the format is limited. Font is limited to the famous Times New Roman or Arial.  In much the same way, the papers are limited to certain tones. A good “fuck”, despite how fitting, would not be appropriate in an academic setting. Furthermore, even the questions often drive the essay into a corner- a corner where the prompt spells diverting paths "F". 

I believe design is discouraged on an institutional level though, for at least convenience’s sake.     

     Following Ken Robinson’s video, Changing Education Paradigms, having increased free will does not fit into a manufacturing mindset. When I have approached professors, or taken a chance and diverted from the prompt without approval, I have found that the quality of my work improves exponentially, but more importantly my own investment in the work grows exponentially. Interestingly, in my own experiences the increased investment is noted and rewarded. Unfortunately, the course site was taken down, but in my past course I strayed so much from the topic the professor wrote me a personal note detailing that I challenged the assignment’s boundaries, but he was so impressed with the work he couldn’t take away from it.  Perhaps these limitations are imaginary –something to be disregarded by the brave- simply in place to fit the educational model.

     For those who haven’t seen Ken Robinson’s video, please take the time out of your day to watch. It’s fantastic.