School of Visual Arts presents “The Process,” an exhibition of work by students who completed the Visual Literacy course designed and taught by BFA Advertising and BFA Design Chair Richard Wilde. The projects on view are responses to assignments focused on developing a personal visual vocabulary coupled with the ability to generate new ideas. The emphasis of these assignments is on the relationship between form (image making) and content (conceptual thinking). The exhibition is on view March 12 through April 11 at the SVA Gramercy Gallery, 209 East 23rd Street, New York City. Admission is free and open to the public.

The exhibition coincides with the publication of The Process: A New Foundation in Art and Design (Laurence King Publishing), a compendium of 4,000 solutions to 13 experimental assignments that Wilde devised with his wife Judith.

Of the method he and Judith devised, Wilde explains: "The Process focuses on struggle, in the form of questioning and pondering, coupled with a sensitivity to what might present itself. The Process projects try to eradicate the baggage that we call carry in the form of fear, procrastination, insecurity and relying on clichés, which always lead to predictable solutions."

BFA Advertising students at SVA work with industry leaders to develop critical thinking along with execution skills such as typography, digital production and design. As they advance through the curriculum, students move from working on single ads to developing entire campaigns in traditional and digital formats, developing a portfolio that demonstrates their grasp of various creative roles, from art direction and copywriting to typography and television commercials. Select courses meet at the agencies of faculty members, all of whom are working professionals, and fourth-year advertising students gain automatic membership to the Art Directors Club and The One Club.

Under the guidance of Art Directors Club Hall of Fame laureates and AIGA medalists as well as the industry's rising talents, SVA BFA Design students focus on conceptual problem solving—based on visual literacy, technological skills and an in-depth study of formalism—while preparing a marketable portfolio that showcases their individual voices. Multidisciplinary in its curriculum and faculty, BFA Design offers four concentrations: 3D Design, Graphic Design, Interactive Design and Motion Graphics. The program facilitates student participation in major design competitions and graduating students attend a job fair to expand their network of prominent industry professionals.

Exhibition

The Process

SVA Gramercy Gallery

Reception