Digital Information Design (DID) Camp

Digital Information Design (DID) Camp

Many traditionally trained, professional designers wonder what the next generation of computing technologies might bring to their field. At the same time, many digitally trained, professional designers feel that they have missed out on some of the cornerstones of a traditional design education. To work towards a common ground between the digital and traditional design sensibilities, during the summer of 2005 Professor John Maeda organized the first "Digital Information Design Camp," a three-week-long exploration, completely in cyberspace.

Week One / Type
Typography is the study of letterforms and how they assemble into legible texts. Of all the areas of visual design, typography is perhaps the most basic skill. Visually composing texts requires almost no effort at all (because you grow up communicating in text), however doing it well can take a lifetime in both the dimensions of form and content.

Week Two / Form
Form precedes type. You can't make a letter unless you have form. The reason why we start our camp with type is because the study of form is ... formless. Form is about that which is abstract. Things that are abstract can be somewhat frightening because your mind has difficulty holding onto that which lacks definition. As you age, however, all that was once conceptually daunting to you can suddenly become a source of great beauty and hope. Let us plant that seed in your coming exercises in form.

Week Three / Diagram
In the same way that a movie represents the culmination of a number of people's individual talents and skills, a diagram is where many of the skills in manipulating form and content unite as one. If the art of "making sense" lies at the fundamental responsibility of the visual designer, then there is no greater challenge than making a diagram that can enlighten.