Richard Mehl: Teaching Design
Students working on color experiments with Color-aid paper, from the in-person course, Color Workshop: Life Beyond Black, White and Red.
In a rapidly changing world where learning about digital media, marketing and web branding has increased in demand among students, the Division of Continuing Education at SVA wanted to take an in-depth look at some of our core design curriculum. Richard Mehl, designer and SVA faculty member since 2002, teaches an array of design courses through SVACE: Color Workshop: Life Beyond Black, White and Red; Graphic Design: Learning from the Masters; and Principles of Visual Language: Form and Color. His newest addition to the fall 2021 course offerings was Principles of Color: The Seven Color Contrasts. We asked Mehl to give us some insight on how his courses foster budding designers, along with the shift in student engagement as online learning has increased exponentially due to the pandemic.
Student work by Jorge Asuaje, Shigeo Fukuda Master Study, from the online course Graphic Design: Learning from the Masters.
SM: How do your courses support aspiring designers?
RM: Many of my SVACE students are interested in becoming professional graphic designers. Some of these students have backgrounds in related fields but have never had formal training in design principles and color theory. Some have experience in fine art and want to refresh their foundational training. For all of these students, there is no better place to begin than with the intensive study and practice of design principles we offer in Principles of Visual Language: Form and Color. Some of these students go on to further study in my course Graphic Design: Learning from the Masters. While the lectures, demonstrations and assignments in both of these courses focus attention on color theory—in addition to composition, typography and visual communication—students who wish to further develop their color awareness take my Color Workshop course.
Student work by Qimei Fu, Color Stripe Diptych, from the online course, Principles of Visual Language: Form and Color.
SM: Have you seen a shift in your students’ work this past year?
RM: The classes have gotten a lot larger! In my experience teaching online, there are more people taking SVACE courses during the pandemic than before. I think the pandemic has given people a chance to reexamine their vocational options. People who want to work more independently are attracted to the design profession—they realize that many design-related activities can be performed remotely.
Student work by Cameron Cerezo, Color Star, from the online course Principles of Visual Language: Form and Color.
Student work by Noah Coustineau, Elaine Lustig-Cohen Master Study, from the online course Graphic Design: Learning from the Masters.
Student work by Whitney Brooks, Corita Kent Master Study, from the online course Graphic Design: Learning from the Masters.
Video screen capture showing Richard Mehl demonstrating hand-drawing a roman capital letterform, from the online course Graphic Design: Learning from the Masters.
SM: Do you see the design industry shifting in the future as a result of the pandemic?
RM: Yes, I think the pandemic has profoundly changed the way designers work. The pandemic required designers to work remotely and proved that they can do the work successfully. The experience can be as good as working in an office or even better.