THESIS

A S U R V I V O R ’S G U I D E

TO DESIGN IS TO INTEND

M. FOX ET AL
C CAC , FA L L 2 0 0 3
INTRODUCTION

Thesis (Graphic Design 5) is the culmination of your design education at CCAC. It was created by Michael
Vanderbyl to challenge and ultimately broaden our understanding of what it means to be a designer. The
class is largely self-directed and presents you with an extraordinary opportunity to identify an area of
interest and investigate it using design as the vehicle to present your findings.

Students are graded on the creation and presentation of four components: a thesis proposal, research, a
thesis project, and a process book.

A . T H E T H E S I S P R O P O S A L : a proposition or argument—usually based on an original

observation—which you intend to support through research. The proposal might detail your anticipated
investigation or address the potential implications of your proposition.

SUCCESSFUL THESIS PROPOSALS

Your thesis proposal is your map for the semester. A clear, well-written proposal will direct your research, the
form of your thesis project, and its design. A muddy, illogical proposal will lead you into the design wilderness
where animals, faculty, and other nasties will nip at your heels.

Let’s consider the following proposal (reproduced in its entirety) from Toshie Hayakawa:

I will examine how national identity is reflected and defined by the idea of size in the United
States and Japan.

You will find that brevity is a blessing for both inaugural speeches and thesis proposals. That aside, why is this
proposal interesting? Because one might assume that a) perceptions of size are a constant and not subject to
cultural differences; and b) that the idea of size defining national identity is a ludicrous concept. Toshie proved
otherwise on both counts.

Here is a more complex proposal written by Ellen Gould:

Text as Memory
Visual organization plays a crucial role in any effort to receive or recover written informa-
tion. I intend to show that the visual form of a text can serve as an aid to memory, by devel-
oping new mnemonic systems for the page. Drawing on medieval practices known as the
“Art of Memory,” I want to introduce the architectural mnemonic—the room as a unit of
memory—into the world of print, where the page becomes a unit of memory. Of particular
importance is the idea that typographic space provides an additional level of meaning and is
essential to the visual memory of text.

Longer, yes, but equally compelling. (If this were a steak, it would be large but lean—all the fat has been
trimmed off.) The observation? Reread the first sentence. The proposition? Reread the second sentence. The
anticipated investigation? Look at the third sentence. The map is neatly in place, for both the student and the
faculty.

(More examples of successful thesis proposals are reproduced on pages seven and eight.)
UNSUCCESSFUL THESIS PROPOSALS
Consider the following proposal:

Functional objects for the home are aesthetically enhanced as a method of enticing and de-
lighting the user. I intend to examine the relationship of the aesthetic enhancement to the
object and whether it enables, overpowers, destroys or eclipses its function. In addition, I
will examine the cases in which functional objects of business have been introduced and
popularized in the home office through aesthetic enhancement.

What is the student’s thesis? Reread the proposal.

There is no thesis because there is no argument. That functional objects for the home are aesthetically en-
hanced to entice and delight the user (i.e. the consumer) is well known and not surprising. What are objects
for the home supposed to do, anyway? Frustrate and torment the user? This is not an argument because no
one would argue the point. It is an observation only, and an obvious one at that.

Unsuccessful proposals tend to rely on sloppy writing which stems from sloppy thinking. Consider the follow-
ing statement excerpted from a proposal:

Technology has led to the death of interaction among people.

Really? The death? Don’t we use technology to interact when we make a telephone call? When we hand a
store clerk a credit card? There may be a decline in meaningful interaction in America in 2002, but is this
due to technology? If so, which technology? And what is meant by “technology” anyway?

The following cartoon was refused by The New Yorker’s fact-checkers on the grounds that it was illogical.
Can you identify the problem?

In America, highway fast lanes are on the left, not on the right. Because English is read from left to right,
and because punch lines occur at the end of a joke rather than at the beginning, the cartoonist merely
switched the standard order of the lanes. Ultimately, however, this is confusing and kills the humor as it
contradicts what we know of the world.

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What does this mean for your thesis proposal? Namely, don’t disregard logic (or what we know) to try to
prove your point. A proposal that raises questions because it is illogical or confusing is unhelpful to both
you and your audience. Recall that design is a communication art, not an obfuscation art.

Tips:
1. Start with what interests you. What are you obsessed with? What are you passionate about? What do
you like reading and thinking about? What topic will sustain your interest for fifteen weeks?
2. Make sure you HAVE A POINT. What are you arguing?
3. Do not base your proposal on the obvious. For example, noting that “gardens have become a pseudo-
version of nature” is not a new or original observation, and few would argue this point.
4. Shorter is usually better. Pretend your proposal is a logo: if it ain’t necessary, take it out.
5. Think through your claims. Are they true? Logical? Do you believe them? Will others believe them? If
they are true, what are the ramifications? (Exploring the ramifications may be the bulk of your project!)
6. Do not make sweeping statements for dramatic effect or without supporting them with documentation.
7. Define your terms. What do you mean by “aesthetics” or “utopia”? And use the most common definitions
of these terms! A proposal that depends on the least-used definitions of key words is doomed.
8. Do not claim that you will prove anything—we are designers, not cold-fusion scientists.
9. Please be aware that you will revise your proposal as your research dictates and your process evolves.
(Sometimes it will change completely—including your topic!) The fortunate aspect of this is that all of your
writing and rewriting will become content for your process book.

B . R E S E A R C H : your readings, visual audits, interviews, and bibliography.

Generally speaking, research will form the backbone of your project: it is the structural support on which your
design flesh will hang. Done properly, research will help you generate ideas and hone your concept. The
following notes on research were adapted from a text written by Karen Fiss.

Research for this class involves developing a thesis (a proposition or argument) which you will support
with primary and secondary sources. The purposes of your research are many: to understand how to
evaluate what you see and read; to develop your own opinions and critical frameworks based on informed
judgements—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; and, ultimately, to have
the chance to explore a topic which interests you in a more in-depth fashion.

You can use materials from your everyday life as research, but you should also be reading texts of intel-
lectual merit. Generally speaking, a source has “intellectual merit” if that source has been “juried.“ (All
university press books and journals are juried.) This means that each manuscript is first sent out to a
series of “experts“ in the field of inquiry and then rewritten and edited according to their recommenda-
tions. Realize that you cannot overly depend on one source, but that you will need to find multiple sources
offering different perspectives on your subject. You will then need to evaluate these different opinions in
order to forge your own argument.

You should develop a bibliography first. Make sure you can get your hands on the materials and determine
the usefulness and merit of each source. When you find a good text, you should mine its footnotes and
bibliography for additional sources. You should also use catalogue databases. There are dozens of special-
ized databases devoted to different disciplines. Only a few are available through our library, but many more

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are available through the San Francisco Public Library system. (These can be accessed through the Public
Library’s web site.) You can consult Michael Lordi, the CCAC SF Campus librarian, for help in directing your
database research. This “book and article” research should become an organic component of your work-
ing process. You need to learn how to delimit your topic, when to stop reading, when to make things, and
when to return to reading to refine your ideas.

The web can be a useful research tool. A word of caution, however: you need to learn how to evaluate web
sites just as you need to learn how to evaluate the scholarly merit of printed texts. In the humanities, print-
ed texts still tend to be more reliable than web sources.

Tips:
1. Let your topic dictate the type of research you do, and have an idea of what you are looking for.
2. Maintain a level of cynicism. Be critical of your sources, and do not merely adopt a point of view without
reading competing sources/opinions.
3. Consult with an expert mentor in your chosen field of study. Their input will be invaluable.
4. Develop a system for note-taking as you read. Transcribe salient thoughts and quotes as you encounter
them so you won’t waste time looking for them later.
5. Footnote your sources.
6. Avoid reading pseudo-science. Remember Chariots of the Gods ? (It held that extraterrestrials built the
pyramids at Giza. It was a best-seller.)
7. Interviewing all of your friends about your topic is not research of intellectual merit.

C . T H E T H E S I S P R O J E C T : 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 form that
it takes should be determined by the nature of your proposal and its content: “Form-making in the service of an
idea,” as Michael Vanderbyl has put it. Some proposals will best be explored in a time-based medium like
video; other ideas will communicate more effectively as installations or as books. The goal is to wed your pro-
posal with the most appropriate form for your message. (You may not know the exact form your thesis will take
until midterm or shortly thereafter.) Successful thesis projects have taken a variety of forms over the years,
and have included book design, furniture design, installations, multimedia design, painting, performance,
sound design, type design, and video.

Interestingly, Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, works in a similar way to Thesis students.
Louis Menand describes her creative process: “The response is where Lin starts her work as a designer.…
There is no image in her head, only an imagined feeling. Often, she writes an essay explaining what the piece
is supposed to do to the people who encounter it.” The form of the project only comes to Lin after she has
articulated the purpose/intended effect of the project.

Regardless of the form your thesis project takes, you should be aware that you are creating a narrative—
that you are in fact engaged in the process of making an argument. What is your core message? (What is
the one thought your audience will walk away with after experiencing the piece?) What are your second-
ary messages, and what is their relationship to the core message? What are the ramifications of this
message? (What is its meaning to you, to me, to society, to design?) How are you supporting this core mes-
sage? What evidence—visual and otherwise—are you supplying to argue your point? The novelist Anna
Quindlen offers a piece of advice for writers that is applicable to thesis students: Learn to distinguish

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between those details that simply exist and those that reveal. Do not merely compile information, in other
words, but choose, edit, and present your content to inform, surprise, entertain, challenge, and argue.

Think about the sequence and pacing of this narrative. What is your introduction? (A well-written thesis
proposal usually functions as a de-facto introduction.) What is your conclusion? Consider the tone of your
narrative. Is it authoritative? Reverential? Tongue-in-cheek?

If your thesis project explores a personal theme, it is incumbent upon you to make the personal universal.
As Vanderbyl has noted, “Communication is the crux of thesis and the crux of the profession.” If your pro-
ject is so personal that it fails to communicate, it fails.

Tips:
1. Do not have preconceived ideas about what form your project will take. Let the form be determined by
your proposal and content.
2. Create a written outline of your narrative/argument diagraming your core and secondary messages. This
outline, when paired with visuals and select research, will serve as a guide to the realization of your
thesis project.
3. Give your audience “multiple access points” to your content. Deliver your information on several levels:
the “quick read,” or overview, as well as the elaborations. The overview will allow you to hook them and
then lead them deeper into your content.
4. The visual language of your thesis should be appropriate to your subject/content. (Bauhaus Modernism
might create a cognitive dissonance if your subject is poodles, for instance.)
5. If you are unfamiliar with your chosen medium—video, for instance—don’t assume you will successfully
accomplish your project in 10 (or 7 or 5 or 3) weeks. Make realistic time allowances for the inevitable
learning curve.
6. Approach the idea of creating an installation with some trepidation. It is extremely difficult to do well!

D . T H E P R O C E S S B O O K : a bound record of your thinking and design process.

Your process book should include your writing, research, design experiments, successes and failures—in
short, it should document how you got from point A to point Z in fifteen weeks. (Include all of your steps,
including abandoned topics!) It should also include annotated footnotes and a bibliography. For those who
create something temporal as their thesis project (like a performance piece or installation), the process book
is quite likely the only artifact from thesis you will be able to show a prospective employer in an interview.

Tips:
1. Work on your process book in tandem with your thesis project. Sometimes at midterm it becomes clear that
the process book is actually a better model for the thesis project than your proposed prototype. (If you
haven’t worked on your process book you lose the opportunity to make this observation.)
2. Consider hiring a bindery to bind your book. It’ll look swell…

M I S C E L L A N E O U S : more information that may prove helpful.

S T R AT E G I E S
The gulf between an interesting topic and a workable proposal can be vast. The goal here is to elucidate an
original observation about your topic—to make us (your audience) reconsider the topic or see it in a new light.

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A perfect example of this can be found in Michael Pollan’s book The Botany of Desire. In it, Pollan proposes a
refreshing thesis: namely, that plants have evolved to gratify certain human desires so that humans will grow
these plants and further their species. In short, plants are using us. (If you are interested in how he arrived at
this observation, you should read the first few pages of Pollan’s introduction.) Pollan’s thesis was (uncon-
sciously) arrived at by adopting a conceptual strategy. He took prevailing opinion—humans use plants—and
proposed the opposite: plants use humans. This is a strategy of opposition, and is the basis for a student
arguing that “suburbia is utopia,” or that “driving an automobile is an illusion of freedom.”

Other strategies include using the personal to communicate the universal; examining societal taboos (the
public/private space of the public bathroom); proposing new avenues for design (designing a typeface for
dyslexics); or elevating the little-noticed to a place of prominence in the world (“the mechanical click is an
essential intermediary between humans and machines”).

Tips:
1. Your topic is separate from your thesis proposal. It is possible to have a promising topic and a problematic
thesis proposal. Learn when to jettison your topic and when to merely rework your proposal.

SEQUENCE/SCHEDULE
Jennifer Morla recommends adhering to the following sequence of work:

Research> Analysis> Design Intent> Methodology> Fabrication> Documentation

Research: From readings, visual audits, interviews, observations, etc.

Analysis: What have I learned from this research? What does it mean? (Diagrams are organized research.)
Design Intent: What could I do with this research? What point am I trying to make? (What is my thesis?)
Methodology: How could I do it? What would be the best form to convey my ideas? (Is it a book, film, etc.)
Fabrication: How will I make it? Do I need to collaborate with anyone to make it?
Documentation: Your process book.

Your own experience will no doubt be more fluid than the sequence outlined above, but this should help you
create a schedule so you know you are making progress at the correct pace. In a perfect world you will have
determined your Methodology by midterm.

MIDTERM
Generally speaking, your midterm crit will be more challenging than your final crit. There are two reasons for
this: you will be reviewed by the full thesis committee for the first time, and they will be unfamiliar with your
thesis; moreover, at midterm there is still time to address fundamental deficiencies in your thesis proposal. At
midterm you will present a refined thesis proposal and a detailed prototype (or layouts, storyboards, scale
drawings, et cetera) of your thesis project. Your process book—truly “in process” and not bound—and a
schedule detailing how you will execute your thesis project in the remaining weeks is due as well.

Tips:
1. Tape record your midterm crit so you can review the committee’s comments at a later date. Some of the
criticism may not make sense to you until later and you risk forgetting valuable insights.
2. Take responsibility for your critiques. What is it you want to know? What feedback are you looking for? Ask
questions. If your crit is generating unhelpful information, change the direction of the crit.
3. If your thesis proposal and project are insupportable at the midterm, you should seriously consider with-
drawing from the course. You have until the tenth week of the semester to do so.

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THE THESIS COMMITTEE

In addition to your regular instructors, there is a committee of approximately ten faculty members who
review thesis proposals at the beginning of the semester and attend the midterm and final crits. (Your letter
grade will be determined by averaging all of the grades you receive from the full committee.) Past commit-
tee members have included Doug Akagi, Bob Aufuldish, Leslie Becker, John Bielenberg, Dennis Crowe,
Melanie Doherty, Karen Fiss, Steve Hartzog, Eric Heiman, Terry Irwin, Jim Kenney, David Meckel, Jeremy
Mende, Jennifer Morla, Marty Neumeier, Jennifer Sterling, and Lisa Sullivan. The committee is comprised
of faculty teaching graphic design at levels one through four, and of practicing professionals in the fields
of design and architecture.

CONCLUSION

This class may be the only time in your life that you will be encouraged to research an area of personal
interest, author an original viewpoint, and then design a piece of your choosing to showcase this research
and viewpoint. It is a tremendous opportunity that should be both challenging and fun. Make the most of it!
As your faculty, we are committed to helping you do so.

The foregoing notwithstanding, please be aware that your four instructors may at times give you competing
feedback or even conflicting advice. As an upper-classman you are expected to find your own voice, and
as a result you must take responsibility for the creative decisions you make in the class. Using competing
suggestions as an excuse for indecision or lack of progress on your part is not acceptable.

Bob Aufuldish, Leslie Becker, Karen Fiss, Terry Irwin, Jim Kenney, Jennifer Morla, and Michael Vanderbyl
contributed to the ideas and text of this guide.

A D D E N D U M O N E : further examples of successful thesis proposals.

A proposal by Jennifer Thomas:

Science has shown that during long distance driving, brain waves revert into a state of al-
tered consciousness— the theta state —producing the same brain wave patterns seen in
shamanistic practices and disciplined zen meditation. I believe this theta state in long dis-
tance driving is conducive to legitimate spiritual experience, one with the potential for en-
lightenment, transcendence, and self realization.

A proposal by Leslie Myers:

Average in America
In order to place ourselves within the context of others, we are often compared to an aver-
age. Considering the fact that 80% of all Americans label themselves as above average, do we
really know what average is and, if we do, would we still want to be labeled above average?

I will examine who and what is average in America today, and will explore if below average
is perhaps the more desirable label to attain.

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A proposal by Thomas Kwak:

PhontFont: A Typeface Inspired by Phonetics for the English Language

The English spelling system, also known as Traditional English Orthography (TO), is not pho-
netic-based, and as a result is plagued with numerous irregularities. For example, the eight-
letter word scissors can be spelled phonetically only one way, sizerz. In English, however, it
can be spelled over a half-million different ways. The initial s sound can be spelled six differ-
ent ways, the short i sound can be spelled fourteen different ways, and so on. These are multi-
plied together to arrive at the over half million unique spellings, only one of which is ortho-
graphically correct.

Many reformers have proposed alternative spelling systems, similar to highly phonetic lan-
guages such as Spanish or Italian. Converting to a new spelling system achieves regularity,
however it creates unfamiliarity with new word patterns. Instead of altering the way we spell,
I intend to investigate the characters of our existing alphabet. I will modify our current Roman
letter forms to reflect the physical productions involved in speech to create a system that re-
tains our current spelling methods and, at the same time, provides a guide for correct pronun-
ciation.

A proposal by Ellen Malinowski:

Context Yields Definition

A word’s meaning consists of its inherent definition and the interpretation implied by the con-
text in which it is used. Context is the tool we use to grasp meaning, and in some cases it dic-
tates meaning when the definition of a word is unintelligible. I intend to show that a word
does not have meaning without context regardless of its established definition. I will under-
mine the process by which language is understood in order to subvert the idea of definition.

A proposal by Wendy Li:

We live in a world of globalization, an age of fast information exchange and mobility. With
the blurring of boundaries, what in the world is authentic? I intend to question the existence
of authenticity. In my exploration, I will examine the notion of authenticity by juxtaposing
the old to the new, the primitive to the modern, and the natural to the artificial.

A proposal by Viola Sutanto:

What we acquire defines who we are. There are two ways in which we acquire objects: we
buy the object (commodity exchange) or we receive the object (gift exchange.) I contend
that the objects acquired through commodity exchange reflect who we perceive ourselves
to be, while those objects we receive through gift exchange reveal what others think of us.
Yet, unlike the commodities we choose to acquire, gifts are in fact unexpected “intrusions”
that challenge the way in which we see ourselves and our social environment. I will explore
the transformative power of gifts as a significant force in challenging perceptions of the self.

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A D D E N D U M T W O : advice and observations from fellow students.

THREE TIPS
1. Don’t believe ANYTHING you’ve heard about the instructors, none of it is true. Those preconceived notions
might cause you to be on the defensive during crits rather than receptive to helpful advice and criticism.
They know what they are talking about, and they know a lot.
2. The more original the topic, the more fun you will have and the better response you will get. The more cliché
the topic, the more struggle you will have finding an interesting angle that hasn’t already been done.
3. Stating a thesis means you have to MAKE A POINT. (Ellen Malinowski)

DON’T BE SCARED
Michael Vanderbyl is actually hilarious, and not intimidating at all. True with all of the instructors, I think that
there is a lot of “urban legend” stuff going on about you guys that everyone believes. I was terrified of Thesis
from level one. Which, in a way, is good, because otherwise I may not have taken it so seriously. I wish I had
realized sooner that the experience wasn’t about passing or failing, but about me getting to explore an idea
that I really was into and to devote an entire semester into making something really cool. When is the next time
I will be encouraged to do something like that? (Jen Thomas)

TA L K T O F O R M E R S T U D E N T S
I was really lucky. I got a great deal of advice from former students like Heather Crank, LIndsay Daniels, Katie
Repine, etc. Their guidance kept me from falling down many manholes. So I would say “talk to previous
students, particularly those who worked in your medium.” (Bonnie Berry)

MAKE A SCHEDULE
I made a very rough schedule for my project right after the first class. I divided the semester into six phases
according to the steps Jennifer mentioned (research, analysis, design intent, methodology, fabrication), so
that my project could be produced properly. I think it was very helpful for me to maximize the limited number of
crit sessions. I needed to do a lot of work everyday to meet the schedule, but I found that the more I investi-
gated during the week, the more I could show at the crit. The more I showed at the crit, the more feedback I
received. A schedule enabled me to work steadily to complete the project, and spared me from doing every-
thing at the last moment. (Aya Akazana)

MAKE CONNECTIONS
Imagine thesis as a cross between a research paper and a design project. Once I realized the connection
between assembling a research paper and assembling a design project, things started to happen for me. I had
to learn how to connect seemingly disparate ideas together, and not to be afraid to look outside the cultural
theory realm to find some answers. (Amy Lam)

RESEARCH WITH INTENT

Address students to do research in SUPPORT of their project. Some people were just doing research randomly
and wasting their time because they were simply told to do so. (Helena Seo)

MAKE WITH INTENT

The best piece of advice I got was from Michael Vanderbyl. It was, “Everything you make should be in service
of the idea.” Think about this every time you make anything. And MAKE, MAKE, MAKE and then MAKE some
more. (Bonnie Berry)

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TRUST YOURSELF
It’s impossible to please all four instructors so, ultimately, you must make decisions based on your own intuition
and design sense. (Amelia Leclaire)

This class was set up in such a way that each week we were looking for approval. There came a point at which
waiting for approval was counterproductive and I just had to have faith that I could run with the concept.
(Rosana Mojica)

LAST THOUGHTS
Words cannot justly describe how profound an effect thesis had on me. In addition to the self discipline, thesis
pushed me to really see things as a designer and artist in a whole new realm. The vigor and intensity have
given me a whole new approach to my work. (Rachel Pearson)

This class really helped me to learn how to THINK, how to PLAN, and how to CONVEY. And not only the aspects
of improving my visual skill, it gave me a great opportunity to understand myself better. I found out what I’m
good at, and more importantly what I’m NOT good at. (Helena Seo)

I appreciated the thesis faculty’s interest in my project. Up to this point most of my work was seen as “weird”
by instructors and students alike. It still is, but I see it as a strength now. Weird is good. Weird is me. The class
had the level of thoughtfulness and intensity I looked forward to when I enrolled at level three. (Eugene Young)

Pick a topic that you are actually interested in. Anything you are seriously into can be made into a thesis topic
somehow—you just need to find a way. For instance, I knew I was going to be driving 200 miles each way to
school each week. I like driving, and it seemed like if I could think up some theory about driving for my topic,
the commute wouldn’t be such a waste of time. So I tried and tried for weeks to come up with some idea that
would allow me to use driving in my topic. Then I read an article about a road trip where the author mentioned
that there was some scientific study that proved that driving for long periods of time puts you into an altered
state of consciousness. That fact provided the “scientific” basis for my theory. (Jen Thomas)

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