Call for papers

María Ramos

"Visual design: the periodical page as a designed surface"
November 2017
Philipps-Universität Marburg (Germany)
Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the research unit organizing the event
More info: https://journalliteratur.blogs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/call-for-paper-internationale-tagung-visuelles-design-23-25-11-2017-philipps-universitaet-marburg/

Andreas Stötzner

Citation from the source referenced:

“The conference Visual design: the periodical page as a designed surface is concerned with the visual design of the Journal, taken to mean the whole spectrum of periodical print publications, including amongst others newspapers and magazines. Interest is thus focused on the periodical page (or double-page spread) as a visible printed surface on which words and images appear in a designed context. The premise is that the written and pictorial content of the periodical are not realized in abstraction (as disembodied and placeless), but remain tied to the materiality of the periodical, which provides for a two-dimensional and sequential arrangement of diverse visual elements.”

- sorry, but for me this briefing is just pseudo-intellectual blah-blah; no one involved seriously in magazine layout design could ever come up with such a rediculous no-brainer text mocked up as an academic abstract. A free beer to anyone how convinces me otherwise about this proposal.
Happy Christmas to all of you ***

Thomas Phinney

It's a common academic problem of NewSpeak. They turn off a large portion of their possible audience with the passive voice, overly complex sentences, and unnecessary verbiage. There is content here, but it is impenetrable for many of the people who actually practice what the conference is about.

REVISED:

The conference Visual design: the periodical page covers the whole spectrum of periodical print publications, including newspapers and magazines, with a focus on the page (or double-page spread). The premise is that the visual content (words and images) of periodicals is not abstract, but remains tied to their two-dimensional and sequential physical presentation.

ORIGINAL:

“The conference Visual design: the periodical page as a designed surface is concerned with the visual design of the Journal, taken to mean the whole spectrum of periodical print publications, including amongst others newspapers and magazines. Interest is thus focused on the periodical page (or double-page spread) as a visible printed surface on which words and images appear in a designed context. The premise is that the written and pictorial content of the periodical are not realized in abstraction (as disembodied and placeless), but remain tied to the materiality of the periodical, which provides for a two-dimensional and sequential arrangement of diverse visual elements.”

Chris Lozos

Or:
Selection, Design, layout, placement of elements on a two-page spread is the focus of, "Visual design: the periodical page as a designed surface".

James Puckett

When I read text like that I assume the whole project is run by someone who hasn’t got tenure and is insecure about it.

Chris Lozos

I always like it when they say, "Multiplicity of dichotomies" ;-)

Russell McGorman

Chris Lozos said:

... "Multiplicity of dichotomies" ;-)

Story of my life.

María Ramos

I think it would be important to focus in what the conference is about, and what one could contribute to make it a good one. A conference is not just about who is organising it, it is always a platform to share knowledge. It is specially important when the conference is not only about type design and typography. I feel sometimes this industry is rather endogamic.
I agree the topic could be explained in a more accesible way, but read the part where they say "Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the research unit organizing the event". Not many events are accesible to speakers who cannot pay these expenses.

Nick Shinn

It’s quite humbling (for someone whose career spans the transition from analog to digital media) that the connectedness of content and visual form, in print, has become the novelty, worthy of mention and investigation.

That is some kind of paradigm shift!