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Letterpress printing is a rich craft at the intersection of art and technology that is being used in a wide range of modern design applications including typography, packaging, stationery, and posters. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn about the relationship between graphic design and this centuries-old craft. You will get to see traditional techniques alongside new creative processes while getting to make your own prints with hand techniques or on one of four presses in our pop-up print studio.

We will be sharing our collection of vintage movable type and printing blocks, along with newer types of matrices that have been adapted to be used with 100-year-old presses like photopolymer plates and LEGO (Yes, LEGO). Our goal is to give you an overview of the letterpress process to help you quickly create your own design or message. Make your own souvenir to commemorate your design camp experience, and maybe even get inspired to learn more about letterpress and the rich Minnesota letterpress community!

Whether you want to learn about designing for print or setting up your own workspace, bring your curiosity and a willingness to get inky and you will find a takeaway no matter your background.

You never second guess showcasing client or student work in your design portfolio. But can these projects accurately advertise YOU, your voice, and the unique skills you bring to the table? In this workshop, led by Hannah Edwards from Greater Than, you'll be introduced to the power of personal work and learn why it has a rightful place in your book. During the session, you’ll have a chance to engage in collaborative brainstorming that's designed to assist in the ideation of your own self-authored projects. You'll focus not only on content and form, but will also work to integrate angle and spin into your storytelling. Upon completion of the workshop, you’ll feel inspired to take on your next personal design endeavor to help build a compelling and competitive body of work that more fully communicates who you are as a multi-faceted designer.

Text plays a versatile role in data visualization. It can encode data, define data, represent data, as well as be the data itself. It’s an essential component of all visualizations, whether it is placed as a caption on the side or brought into the focus as word clouds. By approaching text from a data perspective, designers can move beyond traditional semiotics and typography to explore new avenues of creative inquiry, analytics, and storytelling.

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This talk will highlight the past and current methods in which text is used in data-driven graphics. We will review several examples where type is employed to represent data, ranging from word clouds to experimental fonts. Later, we will delve into the creative opportunities available to graphic designers in the realm of textual visualizations. Regardless of whether you specialize in market research, creative coding, or consider yourself a generalist, my hope is that you'll leave this session with the understanding that textual data can be a malleable material for creative practice. When used properly, data can be molded into various experiences, each serving a unique purpose. We do this not merely as an academic enterprise, but also as a means to observe the world around us and reflect upon our discipline.

Whether you are entry-level, mid-career, or senior, let’s talk about how to help you level up. How to get that dream assignment. Or how to land your next great gig.

The Design Doctor is back with career path, job search, and entrepreneurial resources you can put into practice today. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll start with networking and writing personal brand statements, look at LinkedIn profiles and explore alumni connections, and develop next steps you can commit to. Think like a marketer, present like a creative!

Bring business cards, your digital device, and your biggest fears to this session. We'll get you ready to move confidently ahead!

The counter story sheds light on the untold stories that make up the larger narrative of our social justice movements and experiences. Zines have historically been used to support these stories and voices, many of which have been marginalized and silenced due to the constraint of publicly accessed forms of media. Attend this zine making workshop to explore zine history and culture, craft your story, and create your own zine!

As our tools and our deliverables move increasingly into the digital sphere, many graphic designers are hearing more about the field of UX, or User Experience. But what exactly is a "UX Designer"? The IxDF defines UX Design as "the process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users" which includes research, strategy, ideation, and creative output – not just to make something look great, but to make someone's experience better. 

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This session presents a path forward into UX for design professionals looking to broaden their perspective from the world of pixels to the world of people. We will discuss how graphic design and visual communication skills translate to the field of user experience, the new mindsets we need to embrace, and how user experience designers are uniquely positioned to succeed in a world of changing tools and technologies. Whether you've been thinking about transitioning your career, or your work has been edging into the design of interactive apps or websites, this session has something for you.

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