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.

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. :)

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

As I have written before before, this past week was the Fourth Annual NC State University Graduate Student Research Symposium. Marty Maxwell Lane, Deb Littlejohn and I were asked to present our current research at the event. In retrospect, it was just like presenting for judges back in one of my high school science fairs… Presentations were made with the aid of posters. We participated in the Humanities and Design category, where I am happy to report that I was recognized with a first prize for the current research I am carrying out with my final project. :)


Duane Larick, Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, myself, JB Clark, Vice President, UGSA, and Terri Lomax, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies. Photograph by Rebecca Kirkland.

Symposium Winners. Photograph by Rebecca Kirkland.

Symposium Winners, by Category…

Agricultural Sciences
1st Place > Cary Rivard, Plant Pathology
2nd Place > Ramon Molina-Bravo, Horticultural Science

Education
1st Place > Matthew Campbell, Mathematics Education
2nd Place > Maura Murphy, Adult and Higher Education

Engineering
1st Place > Sumit Gangwal, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
2nd Place > Gheorghe Bunget, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Humanities and Design
1st Place > Alberto Rigau, Graphic Design
2nd Place > Jennifer Salazar, Landscape Architecture

Life Sciences
1st Place > Elizabeth Rueschhoff, Plant Biology
2nd Place > Monica Iglecia, Zoology

Mathematical and Physical Sciences
1st Place > Brian Williams, Physics
2nd Place > Justin Kennemur, Chemistry

Social Sciences and Management
1st Place > Erin Banks, Psychology
2nd Place > Roxana Toma, Public Administration

The University Graduate Student Association and the Graduate School hosted the Fourth Annual NC State University Graduate Student Research Symposium. The goals of the symposium were to showcase the outstanding quality and diversity of graduate-level research at NC State, and to share it with state decision-makers.

Marty Maxwell Lane, Deb Littlejohn and I were asked to present our projects at the event. We each made posters, like mine shown at top, to share and explain the goals of our investigations. We participated in the Humanities and Design category, where I am happy to report that I was awarded the first prize. :)