I have a number LD3921 .GRAPH. DES. .R54

When I thought my final project process at NC State University was finished, this morning I had an unexpected surprise when I realized that my research investigation has already been catalogued into the library system. I realize this is a trivial thing… but I have to say it made me smile.

Last week, due to the birth of my nephew Gonzalo, I got to spend some time in the maternity wing of the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital. It was indeed a short time, yet most of it was spent waiting for the baby to make its appearance. I had time to look around. A few things came to my attention, but this particular emergency door stood out the most out of anything else that caught my eye.

An Emergency Door in the Maternity Wing of the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The subject in question is located on a hallway directly across from the nursery of newborns. As you can imagine, a lot of people congregate in this area. Upon further investigation, four things were of interest to me:

1) The standard, internationally used emergency exit sign;
2) An ink-jet printed sign which informs that this door does not provide access to the ground floor;
3) The familiar red sign that indicates to use this exit in case of an emergency; and
4) A photocopy which explains, in paragraphs, what to do in case of a problem.

Can you imagine what would happen, God forbid, if there was an emergency in this space?

As humans, we rely on the construction, understanding and employment of schemas for the day-to-day operation of our motor behaviors. These are particularly important when it comes to emergency situations, for it is through these schemas that we instantly know, without thinking, to go to the nearest emergency exit. Clearly not thinking about this, the hospital exit is a disaster waiting to happen. If a moment came when there was a true reason for the people inside to evacuate, I can bet you anything that you will get a high concentration of them showing up in this door. Just the standard, official-looking red exit sign will do the trick.

If this were an emergency, I can imagine a few possible interactions that could take place: in a state of panic, people would not read the two home-made signs and spiral down into a dead-end; someone could reach the door and try to read the signs, but the avalanche coming from behind would just push him or her in, again on a path to no exit; or maybe people might stand to read the signs, but others behind them, with no visible access to the text, might get impatient and run to find another way out, thus creating chaos on the space.

An easy fix? Remove the top sign labeling this door as an emergency exit. I think the cost of the electrician that needs to do that job is worth not having a major disaster in a hospital. Or so I would think. If by law this door has to remain labeled (it happens), recognize that there is not easy way for potential users of your signs to manage this overload of badly placed and hierarchically misleading information. Add a graphic or map to illustrate where people have to go. Again, not that much of an investment. If it comes to spending a bit of money, label the floor with a red line that people can follow from this space directly into the right exit.

In the end, more things could be suggested, but it is important to understand how a failure in logical thinking can affect human behavior in ways that can lead to unwanted outcomes.

Recently, a few people have asked about the work I carried out in graduate school. Part of my time in the last few weeks has been spent formatting the work to share it online. Today I am happy to share:

http://www.estudiointerlinea.com/archives/category/designwork/graduate-school

You can visit and see a selection of some of the larger investigations carried out, many as part of larger collaborative groups. The final project is the only one not up yet. It will be coming soon.

On May 9th 2009, NC State University’s College of Design carried out its graduation exercises. The event recognized undergraduates, graduates and PhDs who successfully met the degree requirements in one the disciplines of Architecture, Art and Design, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, and Landscape Architecture.

As part of the event’s protocol, students were individually called onto the stage to receive a diploma from Dean Marvin Malecha, FAIA, and each of the department chairs. In the case of the Graphic Design Department, Santiago Piedrafita was there to give us an official hug.

When each student is called, a photograph is projected on a screen in the stage, and as you can expect, the master of graphic design graduates came together and agreed on a template*:

Thanks to Sidney Fritts and Cady Bean-Smith for having the initiative for these colored-sunglasses images. Without them, we would not have been able to pull this off.

Thank you Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Marty Maxwell Lane and Kelly Murdoch-Kitt, it was a good run!

* It is also important to share that the undergraduates in graphic design also came together and created their own little system for the graduation slideshow. They made 3-D images of themselves and handed out red/green glasses to the audience. Pretty cool.

At the end of every spring semester the College of Design hosts a Student Awards Ceremony for the current graduating class. This is an opportunity for each of the departments to hand out a series of awards to both graduate and undergraduate students.

The graphic design department has traditionally handed out the Book Award. The basic idea is that a faculty member in the program awards a student with a book that will be of benefit in life after graduate school. This year, I shared the graduate book award with Rebecca Tegtmeyer and Marty Lane. Each of us was awarded a different book by a faculty member… I was given The Design Dictionary: Perspectives on Design Terminology (Board of International Research in Design). :)

During the graduation ceremony of the College of Design I was awarded with one of the three Wings on Wings Dean’s recognitions. Better than explaining what it was all about, I have included the original text as read by the College’s Dean, Marvin Malecha, FAIA:

On occasion there are individuals who stand out among the graduating class for outstanding citizenship in the College community and academic excellence. For this reason I have established the Dean’s Award known as Wings on Wings. It is inspired by the constructivist painting of Natalia Goncherova depicting the Archangel Michael, the good citizen angel, astride Pegasus, the ancient symbol for opportunity. It is a fitting symbol to recognize individuals who have taken advantage of the opportunity that the College presents and acted as a good citizen.

It is the practice of the College that nominations come to me from the academic units and since it is the dean’s award I make the final choice. There have been ceremonies when no award is made, very infrequent thankfully, but our usual custom is one, maybe two recognitions. Perhaps I am becoming soft this year because I could not make one, or even two choices. I have chosen to recognize three outstanding individuals from our graduating class. This is a reflection of just how good our students are!

The third recipient is graduating with a Master of Graphic Design, Mr. Alberto Rigau. In the nomination Professor Denise Gonzales Crisp observes, “Alberto has been a tireless contributor to the design community as a T.A., a teacher at the College Design Camp Program for aspiring design students, as a designer for the Student Publication and for the University undergraduate information publication The Brick. His enthusiasm is responsible for new curricular ideas in the Graphic Design Program. He was a student leader in 2007 for the Graduate Graphic Design Symposium, Option-Shift-Control. He has consistently had papers accepted at professional conferences around the nation. Most recently, he has won the first prize at the NC State University Graduate Research Symposium for the Humanities.” Alberto, please come forward to accept your much-deserved recognition.

Thank you Denise for your faith and support!

The presentation was a 25 minute summary of the research and work carried out on my final study at the graduate program: Design as Choice Architecture: informing consumers about debt-related behaviors. The following video is a recording of the original May 4th exposition.

In retrospect, having worked on this final project felt more like a rite of passage than anything else, signaling a transition into a deeper and meaningful design life. I am happy to report that all requirements for graduation were successfully met and I have been granted the degree of Master of Graphic Design. :)

Last summer I collaborated with Rebecca Tegtmeyer and Marty Maxwell Lane in the design of two projects for NC State University.

In May, Marty and I worked for the First Year College to design The Brick, a 120 page book to welcome and orient the 2008 incoming freshman class into the university. The rest of the summer, Rebecca joined us as we worked for the College of Design on Collective Intelligence, Collaborative Design, the college’s research publication.

Last night, our work was recognized with two Merit Awards from the AIGA Chapters of Charlotte and Raleigh in their Fifth Biennial Design Competition, BOOM!

In addition to our work, other students of the College of Design were also recognized. Becca Mayfield, Nicole Kraieski, Lena Bondar and Ioana Balasa received a Merit Award for the design on the 2008 Windhover; while Libby Levi, Josh Smith, Paul Venturo and Becca Mayfield won a Silver Award for the 2007 Windhover.

The event, carried out at Charlotte’s Mint Museum of Art, meant to celebrate design that makes an impact—creative solutions that leave an impression, demand our attention, make us think and initiate change.

It was a fun night of design!

BOOM! Identity designed by ABZ Design Group.

The judge's pics for the editorial category included 5 publications, and I am happy to report that 4 were designed by College of Design students.

Collective Intelligence, Collaborative Design, designed by Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Marty Maxwell Lane, and Alberto Rigau.

The Brick, designed by Alberto Rigau and Marty Maxwell Lane.

The awards presentation.

A Merit Award for the design of Collective Intelligence, Collaborative Design.

A Merit Award for the design of The Brick

[/caption]

The award winning pieces were all showcased for the public to enjoy.

The main lobby provided a space for us to congregate, mingle, eat and have some fun.

Charlotte's Mint Museum of Art.

The interface for my final project is slowly changing… incredible the difference that a small change can produce…