The M+M al·pha·bet
objects
Course Abstract
Language is the principal method of human communication, consisting of words used in a structured and conventional way. Language has a hierarchical set of letters when combined, creating sounds that express ideas that our brains can synthesize cohesively to understand their meaning.
We can say the same about architectural typologies and our understanding of the details that form them. A house, for example, has volume and area. When we hear the word house, we imagine a cube. When we hear door, we see a rectangle that our mind associates with the entrance. A window equals transparency, a floor, something flat where one can stand, etc. Combining these letters into words allows us to associate primitive geometries with preexisting types that sometimes limit our design thinking.
When we are exposed to assembly line design methods, we are programmed to follow a set of rules that only a few can understand and explore their geometrical interest. The majority of us follow the steps we are taught, and when the next challenge is set, it is difficult to apply the same rules when the variable is specific to the new challenge.
Course Description
'Alphabet' proposes a new set of design methodologies that redefine Making+Meaning—an alphabet that will rewire students' typical understanding of design. The goal is to teach the participants four different geometrical production methodologies to display unique ways of making.
E to H will be the letters describing this year's structure of the M+M formal alphabet. Each stage will give students access to methods of 'making' with various design and software techniques, with each letter corresponding to an object with its associated word (eg E for Earring). By the end of the program, students should be equipped with four different form- finding methods that they can apply to their design language.
The program should empower students to explore design with tools they can expand on as they continue their design development in academia. Class '21 began the geometrical syntax that became the base for new Making+Meaning typography by analyzing the root of our way of communicating: the alphabet. The rules are a basic understanding of form generation that can be applied to multiple scenarios. Class '22 will continue exploring by understanding the next set of letters as objects.
Sections
Virgil – (E) earrings
Batliner – (F) Fashion
Parthiban – (G) Gelato
McConnell – (H) Hyperspace
Course Organization
The program will be divided between the four instructors. Each section will cover a new design skillset within the four-week program to take students from form making to representation. With these weekly design approaches, students will rotate with another instructor to introduce a different making method within their section utilizing a different software. The students are exposed to four form-making techniques, four different approaches by four different instructors in four different platforms—each section working with four letters of the alphabet. Following the design stage, the four production techniques will be 3D printing, Poster Design, animation, and Augmented Reality (AR).
The weeks will be broken into cumulative exercises, culminating in a final exhibition of work produced at the end of each week. Weekly attendance is mandatory, M-F from 9-2pm, and students are expected to produce new work each week that rehearses the arsenal of techniques and tools covered in class. No work will be accepted or presented if not formatted as required.