MA Design Research, Writing and Criticism presents an exhibition, with live presentations and critiques on Wednesday, May 13, that focuses on design research as a vital tool of critical inquiry.

The exhibition turns the spotlight on the thesis research process. It seeks to retrieve the gold dust often buried in footnotes at the bottom of the page, to expose and examine the research trails, the behind-the-scenes travails, the legwork, the drama, the breakthroughs, doubts and dead-ends that are part-and-parcel of in-depth research, but normally smoothed over by the linear narrative of scholarly writing. By zeroing in on these tiny superscript numerals and the riches they contain, we celebrate the research process as well as its products.

This year’s graduating students will showcase the diverse manifestations of the deep research that underpins their thesis projects as well as highlighting methods and approaches useful to all interested in investigating design and its impact. Follow the year-long journeys of these design researchers as they navigate such intertwined themes as digital prosthetics, design piracy, publishing as performance, the branding of Space 2.0, the design of death, cognitive biases and design education. Bodies of research will be linked and filtered by an overarching set of questions and analysis.

Presentations by MA students:
Brittany Dickinson on stitching sustainability into fashion design education;
Lisa Silbermayr on how we talk about affordable housing in NYC;
Trilby Schreiber on the mutating skins and surfaces of Times Square architecture;
Alper Besen on unboxing how architects think;
Christina Milan on digitizing the design museum experience;
Susan Merritt on the design of body bags, coffins and caskets;
Molly Butcher on Mars and extraterrestrial branding.

Presentations by MFA students:
Meg Farmer on enlivening architectural preservation practices;
Lauren Palmer on the problematics of archiving the ephemeral;
Mariam Aldhahi on the presence and intention of design districts;
Justin Zhuang on piracy as a force of innovation in design.

Special guest critics include architecture and design critic Alexandra Lange, Museum of Modern Art bibliographer David Senior, NYU Law professor Christopher Sprigman and Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center sociology professor Sharon Zukin. Presentations and critiques moderated by Nicola Twilley. This exhibition was organized in collaboration with Superscript co-founder Molly Heintz, graphic designer Neil Donnelly and architect Jens Holm, founder and director of HAO/Holm Architecture Office.

Exhibition

Exploding Footnotes: Design Research in Action

Reception