Design History as a Model for Contemporary Practice, Alexander Tochilovsky

Does design history really impact what designers do or make today? Should it? My answer is an emphatic yes—just not in the way we've been taught in design schools. This lecture will closely analyze examples of work by designers, such as Herb Lubalin and Karl Gerstner, through the lens of their relevance to contemporary practice. Design history is rich with examples of what one can make, but it also has lessons on how to be a designer. The lecture will be framed from my perspective as a curator of a design archive, as an educator, a historian, and most importantly, as a graphic designer.