As a designer and researcher during the UI/UX design boom, I worked across academia and industry, witnessing how design was integrated, developed, and changed largely by the introduction of the smartphone. At the same time, I am a designer asking questions about how design serves the public at the smallest of scales—where design expertise is often not accessible, and the largest of scales—where public and private sector organizations struggle to effectively include the public in designing systems that impact daily life.
Clinton Carlson,
University o Notre Dame
This seminar will explore the history of one of the design discipline’s greatest accelerations (2007-2017), and our struggle in transdisciplinary work to decelerate our processes to design for, with, and through the public at all scales.
Clinton Carlson is a designer, educator, and researcher who explores the use of community-activated design methods at two scales: at the micro-community scale, his work explores how design can better serve in the communication of and advocacy for improved health and wellbeing; at the macro-community scale, his work looks at how communities can take an active role in defining and designing future large-scale public systems.
As a researcher, Clinton has worked on projects that address underserved public interest issues such as local history, social safety nets, restorative justice, food recalls, student loans, teacher development, Dengue fever, suicide, substance abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases.
As an educator, Clinton teaches courses in UI/UX, brand identity, community-based design, interaction design, and information design. As a designer, Clinton’s work has included for-profit and nonprofit organizations such as AT&T, Airtel, Toyota Racing, Intel, McGraw-Hill, World Vision, CARE, Compassion International, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His design work has been exhibited, published, and awarded internationally through Graphis, SEGD, AIGA, Communication Arts, Print, and others.