Graphic Design Thesis: A Survivor's Guide

Graphic Design Thesis: A Survivor's Guide
by Michael Vanderbyl

Graphic Design Thesis is designed to define the complex intersection between personal voice, conceptual understanding, and the ability to conduct and use research effectively in the service of creating a compelling, finely crafted public communication.

Four major components:
• Thesis proposal
• Research
• Thesis project
• Process book

The Thesis Proposal
The thesis proposal is a proposition or argument - usually based on original observation - which you intend to support through research. The proposal might detail your anticipated investigation or address the potential implication of your proposition.

The Research
The purposes of research are many:
• To understand how to evaluate what you see and read
• To develop your own opinions and critical frameworks based on informed judgments - not simply on what you like and don't like
• To acquire the critical skills to discern reliable/useful sources from the junk
• To evaluate your own work in light of what you learn through research
• To develop your own understanding of the relationship of history/theory to practice
• To have the chance to explore a topic that interests you in a more in-depth fashion

The Thesis Project
The thesis project is a proposition or argument explicated by design and supported by research. Your thesis project is the physical manifestation of, and the conclusion to, your thesis proposal. The for it takes should be determined by the nature of your proposal and its content.

Process Book
A bound record of your thinking and design process. Your process book should include your writing, research, design investigations, successes, and failures - in short it should document how you got from point A to point Z in 15 weeks. It should include all steps, even abandoned topics. It should also include footnotes and a bibliography.