Thesis II (DES-799-07)

Class Materials

• Syllabus
• Class Slides (password: pratt)

Resources

• What's a Compendium - Frances Pharr
• FROM PROCESS ARCHIVE TO LIBRARY SUBMISSION - Frances Pharr

Assignment 1

• Read Every Book Starts with an Idea - Armand Mevis and prepare to discuss it next week.
• Finish the Welcome Back Survey after restructuring your compendium and reading the syllabus.

Class Materials

• Class Slides (password: pratt)

Resources

• Remediation: Understanding New Media - Bolter & Grusin (excerpt)
• What is the history of the book? - Robert Darnton
• Print Culture as Distributed Social Network
• Aspen: The Magazine in a Box - Adam Synth
• Agrippa (A Book of the Dead) - William Gibson
• Between Page and Screen - Amaranth Borsuk and Brad Bouse

Workshop Material

• Example Sketch

• Binder.js Docs

• HTML Basics

• CSS Basics

• HTML & CSS Cheatsheet

• Typography - CSS reference.io

• Using Google Fonts

Assignment 1

Upload the Finished File Here

• Using Bindery.js, create a web to print book using any Wikipedia page and customize the layout with CSS/JS.
• Bring the sketch to class next week to discuss and share with your peers! What did you learn from the process? What was challenging? How did it change the way you think about books and print media?

Assignment 2

• Bring 3 books you like to class. They can be physical or digital, fiction or non-fiction, old or new. We will discuss the design and layout of these books and how they relate to the content and the reader's experience.

Class Materials

• Class Slides (password: pratt)

Resources

• CAPSLOCK: How Capitalism Took Hold of Graphic Design and How to Escape From It, Ruben Pater
• Women Scribes: The Technologists of the Middle Ages
• 31 Years of Amazon Website
• The 60 Best and Worst International Covers of Lolita

Workshop Material

• Introduction to the Paratext
• Performative Materiality and Theoretical Approaches to Interface - Johanna Drucker

Assignment 3

Upload the Presentation Here

• Drawing inspiration from your body of work, thesis question and the compendium, draft a very rough sketch of your thesis book. Using the 4 different materiality we discussed in class (Forensic, Formal, Distributed, Performative), how would you like to construct your thesis book?
• Is it an academic book? Is it a playful book? Is it a thick book or a thin book? Would it have a digital component? How would the materiality of the book shape the content and the way you present your thesis? The goal of this assignment is to start thinking about the "paratext" of your thesis book, and how the materiality of the book can shape the content and the way you present your thesis.
• Prepare a 5 minute presentation to share your sketch (it cannot be just refernce or just writing, it has to include some sort of visual representation or concept diagram) and your thought process behind it. We will share and critique each other's idea in class next week.
• The idea is to use the "paratext" as a guide to create limitation and constraint for ourselves, and help brainstorm how we create the content of the book. The materiality of the book will shape the content and the way we present our thesis, so it's important to start thinking about it early on in the process.

Class Materials

• Class Slides (password: pratt)

Resources

• Collaborative Workflows by Andre Castro
• Markdown to Indesign with Pandoc

Workshop Material

• Pandoc for People - generate ICML
• Hackmd.io
• CSS Typography Reference
• Markdown Guide

Assignment 4

Upload the Content here

• For this assignment, you will use either markup (.html) or Markdown (.md) to create a structured, readable version of their thesis content. Use any tool you like to write it, Google Doc, Notion, or any other writing tool that can export to HTML or MD.
• The content needs to include:
  • Annotated table of contents
  • A writing sample that demonstrates the structure and hierarchy of the content. This can be a chapter, a section, or a few paragraphs of your thesis.
  • A detailed writing plan (timeline, outline, or roadmap) for the next 2 months leading up to the thesis submission.
• Using either Bindery.js or InDesign, create a print-ready PDF of your thesis book using the content you created in the first part of the assignment. You cannot just copy and paste the content you wrote in the first part of the assignment. If you're using InDesign, practice using ICML to import your content and format it using InDesign's tools. If you're using Bindery.js, practice using HTML and CSS to format your content and create a visually appealing layout for your thesis book.

Class Materials

• Class Slides (password: pratt)

Resources

• InDesign Data Merge - Advanced Tutorial (Multiple records per page)
• InDeisgn Data Merge
• Aesthetic Programming
• Fork a book

Assignment 5

Upload the Content here

• For this assignment, you will source the content for you thesis book. This can be a combination of text, images, data, or any other type of content that you think is relevant to your thesis topic. The content needs to be organized and structured in google spreadsehet or any other tool (notion database etc.) that can export to CSV or Excel. You can use any tool you like to source the content, but it needs to be in a format that can be easily utilized later.
• Break your content into different categories or sections, and create a clear hierarchy and structure for the content. Think about what content you can pull from your compendium, your research notes, your interviews, or any other sources you have. The goal of this assignment is to practice sourcing and organizing content for your thesis book, and to create a clear and structured dataset that can be used for the next steps of the thesis process.
• Be prepared to discuss this along in 1-on-1 meetings next week on zoom.

• Class moved online and 1-on-1 for the Pratt career fair. Please sign up for a 1-on-1 meeting with me to discuss your thesis progress, your goals after graduation, and any questions or concerns you have about the thesis process.
• The goal of these meetings is to provide personalized feedback and guidance on your thesis project, and to help you prepare for the next steps in your career. Please come prepared to discuss your thesis content, your writing plan, and your goals after graduation. I look forward to meeting with you!

Class Materials

• Class Slides (password: pratt)

Printing Resources

• Paper Coating FAQ
• Glossary of Terms
• Glossary of Paper Terms
• Preproduction Video Series

Risograph

• Secret Riso Club (Brooklyn)
• Lucky Risograph (Brooklyn)
• RisoLAB – School of Visual Arts

Artist Book Ecosystem

• Printed Matter
• NY Art Book Fair
• TXTbooks (artist-run publishing collective)

Papermills

• Paper Sizes
• Mohawk Fine Papers
• Neenah Paper
• Monadnock Paper Mills
• French Paper Company
• Finch Paper
• Domtar
• Boise Paper
• Hazen Paper Company
• Fedrigoni
• Gmund Paper
• Lessebo Paper
• Arjowiggins
• Favini
• Cordenons

Popular Self-Publishing Printers

• Mixam
• Blurb
• Printique (NYC based)
• Bookmobile
• 48 Hour Books
• Gorham Printing
• InstantPublisher

Print-on-Demand Platforms

• Lulu
• Amazon KDP
• Draft2Digital POD
• IngramSpark

Printing Cost Calculators

• Lulu Pricing Calculator
• The Book Patch Print Calculator
• Gatekeeper Press Cost Calculator
• InstantPublisher Cost Calculator
• DiggyPOD Book Quote
• 48 Hour Books Price Calculator
• QinPrinting Quote Tool

Assignment 6

Upload the Content here

• For this assignment, you will create a proof copy of your thesis book. You need to use the actual writing, content and data you have sourced and organized so far, and start laying it out in a print-ready format. Think about all the things we have discussed so far in terms of design, layout, sourcing, and organizing content, and apply those principles to create a simple physical proof copy of your thesis book. Don't worry about binding yet.
• The goal of this assignment is to practice creating a physical test of your thesis book, and to start thinking about the printing process and the size, material, design of your book. Make sure to bring 2 copies of your proof to class after spring break to discuss and share with your peers! What did you learn from the process? What was challenging? Is there anything you would change or improve for the final version of your thesis book?
• How many pages do you have? What size is your book? What kind of paper did you use? How did you print it? How much is the cost? Did you print it at home or at a print shop? How many copies are you planning to print (You need at least 3)? Can you estimate the total cost? Be prepared to discuss this along in 1-on-1 meetings after spring break.

Assignment 7

• You will start preparing for your goal after graduation. This can be a job, a project, a research, or anything else you want to do after graduation. The goal of this assignment is to start thinking about your future and how your thesis can help you achieve your goals. You will need to create a plan for how you will use your thesis to achieve your goals, and what steps you need to take to get there.
• What do we need to do to get there? Have you prepared your portfolio? Do you have a resume or cv? Do you have a deck or a presentation ready? Do you have a website or an online presence? Do you have a network of people who can help you? Do you have a plan for how to apply for jobs or projects? Do you have a plan for how to promote your thesis and your work? Be prepared to discuss this along in 1-on-1 meetings after spring break.

Class Materials

We're presenting the proof of concept of our thesis this week, so we will not have a lecture or discussion. Instead, we will have a workshop to help you prepare for the printing process and to discuss the design and layout of your thesis book. We will also have 1-on-1 meetings to discuss your thesis progress and your goals after graduation.

Assignment 9

• Continue to develop your thesis book and prepare to discuss your layout, design, and printing process in class next week.
• What are the key design elements of your book? Why are you using this font and this paper? Why are you choosing this color scheme and this layout? Why are you choosing this size and this paper, material or pritning method? Why are you organizing your content in this way? How does the design relate to the content and the reader's experience? What are the challenges you are facing in terms of layout and printing, and how are you addressing them?
• Be prepared to discuss these questions in class next week, and to share your design choices and printing process with your peers. Don't worry about having a perfect design or a perfect printing process, the goal is to share your progress and to get feedback from your peers and from me.
• We will have more discussions about the design and printing process in the next few weeks, so don't worry about having everything figured out at this point. The goal is to start thinking about these aspects of your thesis book and to start experimenting with different design choices and printing methods.

Class Materials

• Class Slides (password: pratt)

Assignment 10

• Continue to develop your thesis book and prepare to discuss how you're strategizing your micro and macro typography choices.
• Bring your work to class next week to share with your peers and receive feedback. We will do our internal crit on the book design and layout next week, so be prepared to discuss your design decisions and how they relate to the content and the reader's experience.
• Think about why you are making the design choices you are making. What do you want to communicate through your typography and layout? How does it enhance or detract from the content of your book? Be ready to articulate your design choices and how they contribute to the overall experience of your thesis book.

Typography

• Micro-Typography: Space, Kern, Punctuation, Marks, and Symbols
• The Art of Typography: A Beginner’s Guide
• Detail in Typography - Jost Hochuli
• The Crystal Goblet, Sixteen Essays on Typography, Cleveland, 1956

Class Materials

• Class Slides (password: pratt)

In Class Exercise

Upload the Content here

All of us will upload our working files (PDF) to the Google Drive, whether they are finished or not.

Assignment 11

• Make sure to have your thesis book ready for the internal crit next week. This means that you should have a close-to-finish physical copy of your book, including all the content and design elements, and be prepared to discuss it with your peers and receive feedback.

In Class Acitivity

• We've invite Amy Xiaofan Jiang to speak to us about her experience running Underground Art and Design (UAAD), a platform called dedicated to uplifting experimental practices across art, design, and emerging technologies.

• We will have a book share in class where everyone will have the opportunity to share their thesis book with their peers and receive feedback. This is a great opportunity to see how others have approached the design and content of their books, and to get feedback on your own work.

Assignment 12 - Thesis Book

Upload Image of Your Book Here

• Please upload photos of what we've taken in class to the Google Drive. This will be a great way to document our progress and to share our work with others.
• If you have successfully dropped off your book, please make sure to make 2 more books! The bookfair one will be archived by the department, one will be for the Pratt Show (and archived by Me) and one will be for you to keep. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Assignment 13 - Final Presentation Preparation

• We are going to start preparing for the final presentation of our thesis projects. This will be an opportunity to share your work with a wider audience and to receive feedback from your peers and instructors.
• In two weeks, we will have a final presentation where you will present your thesis project in class to guest critics in Steuben Hall. We will prepare for this presentation this week.
• This presentation will be about 5-6 minutes for each person. It will not only be able about the book, but also the process and the research behind it. You can use slides, videos, or any other materials to support your presentation. The goal is to communicate your project effectively and to engage your audience in a meaningful way.
• Next week we will do a run-through of the presentation in class. You don't have to finish the presentation by next week, but you should have a clear idea of what you want to present and how you want to present it. We will provide feedback on your presentation and help you refine it for the final presentation in two weeks.

In Class Activity

• We will review the Library Submission Checklist for your thesis documentation and final materials.

Assignment 14 - Library Submission Checklist

Library Submission Folder

• Please follow the Library Submission Checklist carefully and complete all required parts for your submission.
• Students also need to submit all of their library submission in the above Google Drive folder for review. Please make sure to organize your files according to the checklist and include all necessary documentation, images, and materials as specified.

In-Class Presentation Preparation

• We are not meeting at Pfizer next week. Instead, we will have a run-through of the final presentation in class at Steuben. The date is to be announced in email.
• This will be an opportunity to practice your presentation and to receive feedback from outside critics.