Kevin Byrne

Bio: Kevin Byrne is an academic researcher from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The author has contributed to research in topics: Context (language use) & Communication design. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 11 citations.

A ‘semantics’ of visual design: the care and feeding of studio projects within a communication-theory context

Abstract: This paper has three parts. In the first part I describe a communication-theory context for the visual designer and educator. I try to conceive of and position a number of major concerns, notably the literature one reads, the graduate schools one recommends to students, and lectures and projects that one develops for a classroom or studio. In a second part I report at a moderate level of detail on the genesis and development of four projects from the conceptual context proffered in part I. Prospects are endorsed in a concluding section.

Design as communication: exploring the validity and utility of relating intention to interpretation

Abstract: The relationship between how designers intend products to be interpreted and how they are subsequently interpreted has often been represented as a process of communication. However, such representations are attacked for allegedly implying that designers' intended meanings are somehow ‘contained’ in products and that those meanings are passively received by consumers. Instead, critics argue that consumers actively construct their own meanings as they engage with products, and therefore that designers' intentions are not relevant to this process. In contrast, this article asserts the validity and utility of relating intention to interpretation by exploring the nature of that relationship in design practice and consumer response. Communicative perspectives on design are thereby defended and new avenues of empirical enquiry are proposed.

Correspondences and Divergences between Teachers and Students in the Evaluation of Design Creativity in the Design Studio

Abstract: The assessment of design creativity is a fundamental issue in the educational curriculum in schools of architecture. Assessment in the form of criticism is carried out in the design studio, where students acquire skills and knowledge, forge judgments about their design outcomes, and get feedback from their instructors. This study focuses on the assessment of creativity in design problem solving. The major objective of this research was to test to what extent architects and design students share the same conceptions of creativity, and how similar they are. Contrasting differences were found between the two groups. While architects focused on innovation aspects, students paid more attention to operational aspects, such as dealing with design requirements. It is maintained that handling these differences by means of intervention programs in the design studio may promote the acquisition of design processes and procedures by the students, and also that, it will contribute to bridging the gap between the way te...

An Application of the Semantic Differential to Icon Design

Abstract: Previous studies have indicated that the semantic differential was effective in evaluating comprehension of icons. However, the capability of semantic differential ratings depends on whether the un...

Understanding a corporate symbol

Abstract: After discussing the nature of corporate symbols and the factors involved in understanding them, this paper reports two studies. We test various conjectures about the process of comprehension using a single, complex corporate symbol. Three sources of information are shown to contribute to an individual's understanding of the symbol: (1) the purpose of the communication; (2) the properties of the symbol-graphical and referential; and (3) the context in which the symbol is seen. We also show that the process is constrained in predictable ways. We consider these studies to be a step in the development of a psychological theory to inform the process of designing symbols

Applying Semiotic Theories to Graphic Design Education: An Empirical Study on Poster Design Teaching.

Abstract: The rationales behind design are dissimilar to those behind art. Establishing an adequate theoretical foundation for conducting design education can facilitate scientising design methods. Thus, from the perspectives of the semiotic theories proposed by Saussure and Peirce, we investigated graphic design curricula by performing teaching experiments, verifying the adequacy of applying these theories to poster design. During the teaching experiment, a matched groups design method was used for assigning 30 students to either an experimental group or a control group. The results of the experiment revealed that compared with the control group students, the experimental group students, who applied the semiotic theories to their poster designs, performed more favourably in image creativity, picture aesthetic, typography, and total poster design score. The posters created by the students were submitted to International Triennial of Ecological Posters ‘the 4th Block’, and a total of 4 creations from the experimental group were accepted. The results of the teaching experiment verify that applying semiotic theories to graphic design curricula facilitates improving student ability to observe objects and cultivating their capability to design posters and reinforce the visual tension in the posters.