SAVE THE DATE!: Crossing the Line: The 2010 D-Crit Conference, Moderated by Kurt Andersen

Join us on Friday, April 30 for the first annual Design Criticism MFA conference, organized by the D-Crit class of 2010, and moderated by WNYC’s “Studio 360″ host Kurt Andersen.

Visionary design thinker John Thackara will deliver a keynote address on contemporary critical practice, setting the stage for the 15 graduating D-Crit students, who present on their thesis topics. Their topics—ranging from the design of personal memorial objects to the use of smell as a communicative tool in design and architecture, and from design and visual language in the films of Jean-Luc Godard to the applications and implications of car sharing—will fascinate, delight and provoke. We invite you to join the discussion.

The fast-paced, daylong event takes place at the new SVA Theatre, designed by Milton Glaser, and is open to the public. Join D-Crit students, program faculty, and other design professionals for a meeting of the minds that will re-chart the future of design discourse.

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SVA MFA in Design Criticism now accepting applications for Fall 2010

The new MFA in Design Criticism at the School of Visual Arts is now accepting applications for Fall 2010. This innovative two-year program trains students to research, analyze, and evaluate design and its social and environmental implications. Study with some of the best design writers and thinkers of our time, including: “Studio 360″ host and author Kurt Andersen; MoMA’s design curator Paola Antonelli; former editor of I.D. Magazine Ralph Caplan; Metropolis contributing editor Karrie Jacobs; and architecture critic Justin Davidson.

Download the D-Crit Section of SVA’s new Graduate Catalog.

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First-Year Student Avinash Rajagopal Publishes on Change Observer: The Nano Effect on Urban India

Avinash Rajagopal, a first-year student at D-Crit, writes for Change Observer on how the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano—which seemed like a dream vehicle for India—has “come with some hidden costs.” Read his article online: The Nano Effect on Urban India.

D-Crit First-Years Comment on Curating the 2010 Spring Lecture Series

From SVA’s Visual Arts Briefs:

On Tuesday, March 2, the MFA Design Criticism Department kicks off its spring lecture series with design curator Zoë Ryan from The Art Institute of Chicago. The design blog UnBeige raves about “the outstanding line-up of speakers,” which includes documentary filmmaker Gary Hustwit (Helvetica, Objectified) and branding authority Brian Collins. Equally noteworthy is that this series has been organized by first-year students in the department, who will also introduce the speakers. Read more ›

Zoe Ryan, Design Curator at Art Institute of Chicago launches the D-Crit Lecture Series next Tuesday

Zoë Ryan, Neville Bryan Curator of Design at The Art Institute of Chicago, will talk about her role as the Institute’s first curator of design, focusing in particular on her most recent exhibition “Konstantin Grcic: Decisive Design.” Read more ›

Talk About Taste (or Lack Thereof)

In Dan Nadel’s last class, students present taste-driven omissions from critical dialogue: Crocs, Wendy Williams’ Wigs, Eiffel Tower souvenirs. More on the first-year course here.

Announcing the D-Crit Spring 2010 Lecture Series

D-Crit is proud to announce an excellent line up of speakers for the Spring season of its Tuesday Night Lecture Series. First-year students have curated this Spring’s list, which includes Art Institute of Chicago design curator Zoë Ryan, GSA director of Design Excellence and the Arts Casey Jones, documentary filmmaker Gary Hustwit and author David Barringer, among others. Students will host and introduce their selected speakers and we invite you to join us in the department for a lecture and some lively discussion followed by drinks and snacks. See the list here.