News

Pratt GradComD student Wenkang Kan designed a recent cover for New York Magazine's "Best of New York" issue while interning for designer Rodrigo Corral.

Congrats!

Check out the full project here.

New York Magazine is a weekly magazine with an annual "Best of New York" issue with tips on food, nightlife, shopping, home, and health.

Maura Frana, Leigh Mignogna, and Liz Seibert will present Five Conversations on Graphic Design and Creative Writing at the Blunt: Explicit and Graphic Design Criticism Now.

Five Conversations on Graphic Design and Creative Writing is the first publication of the Pratt Institute Press, Graduate Communications Design Department. For more information or to receive a copy of the book, please email des@pratt.edu.

The designers Stefan Sagmeister (Pratt GradComD Alumnus) and Jessica Walsh are known for their experimental typography and striking visual imagery. Six Things: Sagmeister & Walsh, on view at The Jewish Museum from March 15 through August 4, 2013, marks the first exhibition of their newly minted design firm Sagmeister & Walsh.

On Thursday, May 2 at 6:30pm, Stefan Sagmeister will talk about his recent projects including the exhibition, Six Things: Sagmeister & Walsh.

For the last ten years, Sagmeister has researched the nature of happiness, asking, “Is it possible to train my mind in the same way I can train my body?” In five short films and a sculpture, the studio investigates six things, culled from Sagmeister's diary, that he believes have increased his personal happiness such as: “Now Is Better” and “If I Don’t Ask I Won’t Get.” In addition, intrigued by a recent nationwide survey in which Jews reported the highest levels of well-being of all religious groups, Sagmeister & Walsh are placing a text in the gallery that connects this scientific data to hi

The current exhibit at the Center for Architecture on ‘Broadway 1,000 Steps’ features student work from a Public Project engagement with the Mary Miss studio, Spring 2012. This studio class explored how visual thinking and design can engage and activate participation in building cities that respond to environmental challenges.

The exhibit includes projects from the following students: Lisa Marie Anastasio, Maria Barreix, Elisabetta DiStefano, Heba Elmasry, Janice Rudan, Lindsay Taylor, and Radhika Unnikrishnan. Learn more about the work produced in this class here.

More info about the exhibit here. Show runs until April 10, 2013.

The idea to launch Destination PSP came about four years ago when Jeffrey Bernstein and Oscar Chamudes moved to Palm Springs but had a tough time finding just the right souvenir to send to their families.

Full article here.

“So we said, ‘Why don’t we just make it?’ ” recalled Bernstein, who along with Chamudes, Clark Bason and Mark Esposito started the Palm Springs-based company a little more than a year ago.

“The idea was to create products such as souvenirs and collectibles inspired by the Palm Springs lifestyle,” Bernstein said.

FREE SCHOOL is a full day of free art and design classes open to the public, and taught by young, talented designers in the field of Graphic Design. Designed as an outreach event to the community, the classes are unique and quirky, offering fresh perspectives on design that might be hard to get in a typical classroom environment. Ever thought about Design and Science Fiction, or Design and Upcycling? When was the last time you practiced your hand lettering skills? Free School is a chance to challenge your thoughts about design and hone your critical thinking skills, while giving recent graduates a special opportunity to teach.

Saturday April 6, 2013

We encourage others from the Pratt Community and those from the larger New York art and design community to attend. Classes are open to everyone and designed to be beneficial for all.

Sign up and more info - http://prattfreeschool.com/

THIS IS NOT GRAPHIC DESIGN is the 2013 Communications Design MFA Thesis Show at Pratt Institute. The exhibition explores new currents in graphic design and reflects the ongoing expansion of the field through critical, interdisciplinary and research-based practices.

Opening reception Friday, May 3, 2013. On view until Friday, June 7 in the GradComD Gallery.

THIS IS NOT GRAPHIC DESIGN is the collective thesis work of André De Castro, Joseph Cuillier, Maura Frana, Rob Gonzalez, Devin Grosz, Will Hoffman, Yanwen Hu, Leigh Mignogna, Greg Riestenberg, Liz Seibert and Karin Storm Wood.

not.prattgradcomd.com

The Graduate Communications Design Department will present three talks as part of its spring 2013 design lecture series on Thursday, February 21; Thursday, March 21; and Monday, April 1 in Manhattan. The series will feature talks by Sonnenzimmer (Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi), The Post Family, and Greg D'Onofrio of Kind Company.

All talks will begin promptly at 6PM.

Sonnenzimmer
Thursday, February 21, 6 PM
123 West 18th Street, Third Floor, Room 301
Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi are Sonnenzimmer, a Chicago-based art and print studio founded in 2006 that is influenced by pop-culture and driven by form and technique. The duo model their business on the idea of a music studio -- making, performing, and touring with their designs. Their work combines typography, printmaking, graphic design, and fine art, creating a sophisticated and contemporary aesthetic.

Inspirational and intriguing designer Stefan Sagmeister is recognized for a career based on imaginative and often unorthodox design solutions to both commercial and social communication challenges, which often reveal design’s potential for addressing vexing social problems within popular culture.

Full story here.

The medal of AIGA—the most distinguished in the field—is awarded to individuals in recognition of their exceptional achievements, services or other contributions to the field of design and visual communication. The contribution may be in the practice of design, teaching, writing or leadership of the profession. The awards may honor designers posthumously.

The medal of AIGA—the most distinguished in the field—is awarded to individuals in recognition of their exceptional achievements, services or other contributions to the field of design and visual communication. The contribution may be in the practice of design, teaching, writing or leadership of the profession. The awards may honor designers posthumously.

Pratt GradComD Professor Graham Hanson's studio, GHD, has designed a second set of iconic NYC letterforms for Google's NY headquarters entrance.

Check out the photo set here.

Awesome work, Graham!

GD USA listed GradComD MFA student Liz Siebert as a student to watch in 2013 and profiles her in their current edition. Past winners include Rebecca Weiner (2010), Ekta Mody (2011), and Natalie Sims (2012).

Student Yue Chen's film poster "The Skin I Live In" selected for inclusion in TDC's annual competition (student category).

The poster was done for Professor Scott Menchin's Illustration class.

Congrats Yue!

Pratt’s Graduate Communications Design 40th anniversary publication, by Brenda McManus, Esteban Pérez-Hemminger, Richard Hall, Nick Misani, and Chantal Fischzang, has been featured by Behance's Student Show Gallery.

View the full project here.

As part of the 40th anniversary of Pratt Institute’s Graduate Communications Design program, a limited group of 4 students was chosen to develop and produce a limited-edition publication. Under the guidance of Professor Brenda McManus, the team decided to re-define what a university catalogue should include and what topics it should address. In short, what do prospective students want to know, what information are they seeking when comparing graduate design institutions.

Please join us for an opening reception for our current exhibition by Savage Brands + Savage Good.

This exhibition, "Good on Purpose" showcases the power of design for social impact and demonstrates how design can drive change.

Please join us for a brief presentation by Doug Hebert followed by the reception on January 29th, 4:00 - 6:30 pm at the GradComD Gallery.

The exhibition is open to public and will run from January 29 through April 22.

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Did you know you could get a discounted subscription to Communication Arts? Student subscriptions are only $39 for a full year.

Mention JEFF BELLANTONI and your affiliation with Pratt when subscribing to get the special rate.

Subscribe here:
http://www.commarts.com/students

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Frank Lloyd Wright’s sprawling architectural masterpiece,
Taliesin West, embodies his obsession with design and the
power of nature to teach and inspire. Today, it continues to
influence students, architects, designers and the public at large.

One spring 2013 graduate will be chosen to spend a year living and working at this extraordinary place. Projects will be for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and Taliesin West itself. The work will include traditional graphic design, magazine design, marketing, signage, product design and more.

The Fellowship includes room and board at Taliesin West in
Scottsdale, Arizona. It also comes with a stipend of $20,000.
This term will begin in July 2013 and last for a period of one year.

Pratt Portfolios is now on the behance.net! All undergraduate students, graduate students, alumni, faculty and staff from Pratt Institute are invited to join to gain broader exposure for their work.

There is an in depth FAQ on our Behance Portfolio site with directions and suggestions on how to upload and tag for the gallery. Pratt will also be organizing a series of workshops hosted by a Behance representative to answer any questions our community might have on how to use the site to its fullest.

This network will be a great opportunity to promote student and alumni work for years to come.

This fall, Business Insider polled over 600 design professionals to identify the world's best design schools. Pratt is ranked #6 out of the world's best 25 design schools.

To see read the full article and to see how other schools ranked, check out BI's posting here.

The GradComD office emailed survey assignments for this fall on Friday afternoon. A listing of the assignments is attached to this post. Please sure to review your assignment and address any concerns ahead of time.

GradComD student Esteban Perez is hosting an event on November, 29, 2012 at W14th to discuss certification for graphic designers.

certifyD is a dialogue between the graphic/communications design industry and the possibility of certification in the USA. This one-night symposium intends to build an open conversation between a panel of designers, students and business professionals and the audience. certifyD is Esteban Pérez’s thesis inside the Graduate Communications Design program at Pratt Institute Manhattan. Bring an open mind and join the conversation.

For more event info and to attend, please visit the EventBrite site here:

http://certifyd-eorg.eventbrite.com/

For more information on certifyD, please visit Esteban's website:
http://certifyd.org/

The Pratt Disaster Resilience Network is a new student/faculty partnership that is dedicated to grassroots action and long-term planning for disaster resilience.

One of our primary goals is to unite the Pratt community in our response to the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Please join us THIS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8 FROM 12:30-1:30 pm IN THE STUDENT UNION to find out how you can get involved. Going forward, we will coordinate:

- the collection and distribution of donations
- volunteer opportunities, at Pratt and in the community
- capacity building for local organizations struggling to meet the needs of their neighborhoods
- short-term and long-term policy initiatives

GradComD student Esteban Pérez's thesis forum on certification for graphic designers was reported on in IMPRINT, Print's online magazine; and his design for the GradComD 40th Anniversary Bookplate was recognized by the AIGA.

Congratulations Esteban!

We're excited to announce the 2012 Visualizing Global Marathon sponsored and hosted by Visualizing and GE. From November 9-11, students around the world will immerse themselves in the field of data visualization, catch workshops and presentations from data visualization experts, connect with students from different cities, and collectively work to solve some of the world's most complex issues.

Students can participate virtually or at one of their hosted meetups, and they'll be awarding more than $10,000 in prizes.

Registration is now open!

For more information, please contact Prof. Warren Bernard at wbernard@pratt.edu.

Important! GradComD Advising for Spring 2013 has begun!

Spring registration begins on October 29th. Your exact date for registration can be found on page one of your degree audit (accessible at my.pratt.edu).

Please read through the 3 PDF's attached to this post below.

If you would like to meet with an advisor in person, please call 212-647-7573 or stop in the GradComd office to make an appointment.

Graduate Communications Design at Pratt is celebrating 40 years in 2012 with an exhibition and alumni reception.

2012 marks 40 years since the Graduate Communications Design department was created by joining the Package Design degree program with Communications Design. It is perfectly timed with Pratt’s 125th year celebration. A two-part exhibition is being held at the GradComD gallery, 144 West 14th St-7th floor, September 29-October 27.

A gallery of the posters designed by faculty can be viewed here.