Visual design for non-designers. A participatory Experience Based on Web 2.0 Tools in a Multidisciplinary Master Degree Programme

The need for specialist multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary training, continuing education and the new learning dynamics supported by digital technology are reshaping the methods and tools, especially in hybrid disciplines such as visual design. This challenge requires the coexistence of multiple cultures, disciplines, methodologies and theoretical and training approaches that need to find a meeting point even if from different bases. Starting from the experience gained from teaching in different cultural contexts – mono-disciplinary, extra-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary – the research project explores the potential of participatory educational training. Starting from a constructivist pedagogical perspective, the Visual Communication and Interface Design course – held inside the Theory and Technology of Communication a technological master Degree Programme at Milano-Bicocca University – was designed and improved, exploiting the potentiality of collaborative dynamics of web 2.0 & social networks. Classe’s activities were focussed on retrieving, discriminating, elaborating, discussing, sharing, producing and disseminating cultural content on basic visual design main issues. Students – divided in team working on monographic issues like: the grammar of visual design, digital typograpy, the language of colors, use and meaning of images and so on – were supported in a selfdevelopment and self-teaching process trohught a collaborative approach. The students were allowed to grasp the methodological approach in order to learn theoretical aspects and metodologies. In this approach, the role of didactics was to coach and to enable the learning process based on the experience, to gain the ability to disciminate between internet sources and materials, or to propose theorical or disciplinaty point of views. The class was supported by a FaceBook Page to post links, videos, images and other stuff, where invited practictioners and experts shared in an open dialog the knowledge and professional experience. Seminars and interviews were other supports to discover, from leading contributors of the field the recent history of graphic design. The final assignement was to edit and publishing on a print-on-demand platform and ePublishing free distributors a professional – althought User Generated – essay to direclty implement in a real project the learned and shared principles and notions. Learning in practising really allowed students to confront from the beginning a sequence of relevant aspects of the professional procedure, that will remain otherwise unexplored if the learning will be directed only to the theoretical acquisition of the research methodologies; in addition students were applying at the same time inside the project knowledges and methodologies from different disciplines and cultural contexts.