Tactile Designers

I thought the that seeings as I'm always ranting about university consuming my life and blaming that for the lack of updates here, that I should share with you the things I'm studying.

I wont go into to much detail because it's seriously complex and my brain hurts anytime I think about it in-depth, but I will share with you my fascinating findings and exciting discoveries. Basically I'm looking into tactile design, and the effect that the introduction technology is having on graphic design education in regards to the value (or lack there of) placed on the ability to draw, sketch, craft, create, cut and paste etc.

It's very exciting stuff for me, partly because I am passionate about education, but also because I love making things with my hands, and I don't feel enough graphic designers do this. I think that if I pursue studying in the next few years, it shall be down this track.

So it was much to my excitement that my study partner found that the latest IdN magazine did a feature on tactile design. Maybe it's a buzz word, and just simply was once called craft or handy graphics, but I sure like the word. Tactile. It's reflective of the senses and the emotions which are attached to the way we get around in this world - feel, touch, learn.

Anyway, back to IdN. So much to my delight, they actually featured tactile designers, who consider tactility in their process a valid and important part of design, and quite often the outcome is in a sense, tactile.

Here are some very inspirational examples and their sources, which I highly recommend you check out.
Enjoy your week...

The work of Chrissie Macdonald

The work of This Is It Collective

And my most very favourite... Julien Vallée