kHyal and Karl. Photo by April Greiman at her studio in Los Angeles.
The USC Roski School of Art and Design two-year MFA in Design program focuses on experimental design, social practices and teaching methods and is housed in the new At Mateo complex in the downtown Los Angeles’ Arts District.
The Designer in Residence Forum provides a deep-dive for students and select audiences into the creative processes of leading designers from around the world and is run by visiting professor April Greiman.
My residency began at the beginning of March, during which time USC went from in-person classes and programs to testing larger classes as online-only gatherings to mandatory online classes for all but studio work and one-on-one meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
My class, which focused on the theme of color via a semester-long notebook project, was among the first at the university to switch from in-person teaching to Zoom.
During my tenure, I implemented experimental teaching processes with 32 MFA Design students. Simultaneously, I explored independent design projects in the studio, maker lab and Arts District focusing primarily on wearable art and character design.
Fellow creative activator and educator Karl Heine joined me during week two and collaborated on student reviews and interactive performance stills of my wearable works in off-site locations. With his deep expertise in materials and bookbinding, he was invited to teach a follow-up class via Zoom to help students ideate and complete their journals.
Check out the PDF case study and the work I did in residence here.
(Photo: kHyal and Karl at Made in Space, Los Angeles ©April Greiman)