Below is this week’s list of materials. For the full module resource list, please refer to Talis Resource List. We encourage you to also carry out your own independent research into themes delivered. Remember to use the Ideas Wall to share new ideas and thoughts.
Snapshot
David Carson’s talk “Design and Discovery” offers a window into his career as a designer and typographer, blending his experiences as a surfer and sociologist with his approach to graphic design. The central idea is that design is never a finished product but a continuous process of exploration and discovery. Through humour, storytelling, and striking visuals, Carson emphasizes that the emotional impact of design comes before content is read, shaping how audiences engage with his work.
Objectives
Carson’s main objective is to shift the perception of graphic design from merely arranging text and images for legibility to using design as a vehicle for emotion, intuition, and personal expression. He challenges traditional assumptions about hierarchy, readability, and “correct” layout, inviting his audience to see design as a space for interaction, surprise, and engagement. By doing so, he encourages designers to embrace experimentation and playfulness rather than simply following rules.
Methods
In the talk, Carson relies on retrospective and visual methods. He presents slides of his work, found imagery, and examples from his career, often accompanied by anecdotes that reveal how specific designs came about. By contrasting different treatments of similar messages or experimenting with typographic forms, he shows how subtle changes in design can drastically alter audience perception. His approach combines personal narrative, visual case studies, and reflective commentary, making abstract ideas concrete and memorable.
Key Findings
The key insights from Carson’s talk are that design communicates emotion even before content is read, that legibility alone does not guarantee effective communication, and that intuition and play are valuable tools in the creative process. He repeatedly stresses that design is a journey rather than a destination, and that incorporating humour and risk into the process can lead to more impactful and engaging work.
Results
The examples Carson presents demonstrate that prioritizing emotional connection, experimentation, and rule-breaking can create designs that resonate more deeply with audiences. His own work, which often pushes the boundaries of conventional layout and typography, shows that breaking rules can enhance identity, recognition, and impact. The results of this approach suggest that allowing for exploration and discovery in design leads to stronger engagement and more memorable experiences.
Conclusions
Carson argues that creative work should be viewed as an ongoing process of discovery. Designers should consider the emotional tone their work sets and embrace intuition, play, and surprise. By moving away from rigid adherence to rules, they can provoke meaning, encourage interaction, and foster innovation. Design is not about finding the “right answer” but about asking new questions, generating experiences, and connecting with audiences on a deeper level.
Snapshot
In her Design Indaba 2018 talk, Morag Myerscough brings to life her mission of transforming everyday built environments, hospitals, public plazas, children’s spaces, into immersive, colourful places of belonging. Growing up in London’s Holloway area and raised in a bohemian household surrounded by art, music and textiles, she brings a deeply personal narrative to her work. She describes belonging not as being part of a tribe but as having a space and a place to escape to; this notion underpins her large‑scale installation Embrace the Unknown, commissioned outside the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town for Design Indaba 2018, where she re‑imagines a concrete square as a playground of colour, pattern and communal interaction.