A sensory experience awaits with an exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Design Streak Studio at Illinois State University.
“Graphic design can engage all the senses,” said Design Streak Studio Creative and Art Director Archana Shekara, a professor of graphic design in the Wonsook Kim School of Art. “We want people to immerse themselves in the experience of design.”
The exhibit, titled Designing Discoveries, will run from October 27–December 18, 2022, at the University Galleries, 11 Uptown Circle, Suite 103, in Normal, Illinois.
An opening reception will begin at 3 p.m. November 3 at the Galleries with a panel of Design Streak alumni, including Caryn Aono, a faculty member at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. The reception will continue from 4-6 p.m.
A series of lectures throughout the month will highlight the anniversary, including famed graphic designers and educators Andrew Shea, Robin Landa, and Penina Acayo Laker (see details below).
Exhibit
From the scent of herbs that inspired the Town of Normal’s Refuge Food Forest to the interactive piece that infused the posters for TEDx Normal, the exhibit will be a celebration of the design process. It will also be a tribute to collaborations between Design Streak Studio students and the organizations throughout the area.
“I’m not sure people realize how ingrained Design Streak’s work is in the community,” said Shekara, who curated the exhibit. Design Streak projects have resulted in design work for numerous community and campus entities, including the logos for the Town of Normal, McLean County, the Normal Public Library; the YWCA McLean County’s Labyrinth Made Goods; the National Center for Urban Education; and the Illinois Art Station, which was lauded internationally.
Studio
The studio provides a capstone experience for senior students at Illinois State seeking a bachelor’s degree in fine arts or science. Design Streak Studio was founded in 1981 by Associate Professor Pam Tannura, who was succeeded by Associate Professor Julie Johnson from 2005 to 2015. Under the direction of Shekara, the studio-lab emphasizes cultural understanding in design and approaching design as human-centered community engagement.
“My research is in cultural identity, social design, and community engagement, so when I inherited Design Streak, I thought, ‘How can I bring that value to learning? How can we make it a part of Streak?’” said Shekara.
Panels and lectures
Events to help celebrate the exhibit will be on Thursdays at the University Galleries throughout the duration of the exhibit. The lectures are free and open to the public.
Caryn Aono
November 3
3 p.m.
Aono is a practicing Los Angeles graphic designer. She has worked in brand development and identity for Johnson & Johnson, Ogilvy, Motorola, Wieden & Kennedy, ReVerb and various studios and agencies. She has collaborated on works in the cultural sector for LACMA, the Japanese American National Museum, MOCA, and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. Her work has been recognized by AIGA, ACD, and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and is in the permanent collection at SFMOMA. Her work has appeared in “Clean New World: Culture, Politics, and Graphic Design”; “The Graphic Edge”; ID; Design Review and various publications. A former art director in the CalArts Public Affairs Office she has taught in the graphic design program since 1989.
Andrew Shea
November 10
11 a.m.
Shea is principal and creative director at MANY, a communication design studio in New York City. He is an assistant professor of integrated design at Parsons School of Design, where he teaches classes on topics such as design for behavior change, placemaking, and visualizing urban policy. He is the author of Designing for Social Change: Strategies for Community-Based Design and was an editor of LEAP Dialogues: Career Pathways in Design for Social Innovation. He has served as an advisor for various organizations and initiatives like Impact Design Hub and Human Impacts Institute, and on juries for Sappi Ideas That Matter, Design Ignites Change, Archinect, and the Center for Urban Pedagogy.
Robin Landa
November 17
11 a.m. (via Zoom)
Landa is a professor of graphic design at Kean University. She has written 23 books about design, creativity, advertising, branding, and drawing, including Nimble: Thinking Creatively in the Digital Age; Advertising By Design.; Build Your Own Brand; Graphic Design Solutions, and Designing Brand Experiences. The Carnegie Foundation counts Landa among the “Great Teachers of Our Time.” She has been honored with awards from numerous organizations, including the National Society of Arts and Letters, the National League of Pen Women, Creativity, New Jersey Authors Award, the ADCNJ, Graphic Design USA, and the KU Human Rights Educator Award.
Penina Acayo Laker
December 1
11 a.m.
Laker is an assistant professor of communication design at Washington University in St. Louis. She is a co-editor of The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Expression & Reflection. She is co-host of the podcast My African Aesthetic that showcases African architecture and design in Africa and the diaspora. Laker is a designer and educator whose work and research are centered around topics that utilize a human-centered approach to solving social problems. She developed an award-winning project about ailments associated with the spread, prevention, and treatment of malaria in Kibera, Kenya. She created and leads DesignEd Uganda workshops.
The exhibit and lectures are sponsored by Harold K. Sage Fund, the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts, the Wonsook Kim School of Art, and University Galleries. Those who need to arrange an accommodation to participate in any events related to the exhibit can contact gallery@IllinoisState.edu or call (309) 438-5487.
