Education is a designed thing. The design of design education is a doubly designed thing. As we move more tangibly from the information age into the design age, what new roles might design education play in relation to design practice and in relation to the larger economy? What will the future of design education look like in response to changing models in higher education? What does a design education teach? What are its core values? What is design education for?

20th-century graphic design was deeply intertwined
with countercultures and underground scenes, from yippie graphics of the 1960s to Act Up in the 1980s. By the 00s designers felt empowered to repackage mainstream culture to look and act like counter-cultures they loved, uninten-tionally erasing the line between "us" and "them" in the process. A recent resurgence in nostalgic design has intensified the blurring: that line now runs down the middle of each of us. In a world where mass culture absorbs anything interesting, can counter-cultures still exist? If so what do they really counter? And what is the potential of graphic design in counterculture?

Despite the ongoing economic crisis, the U.S. is experiencing a design boom. After a decade and a half of postmodern globalism, and as we watch the 2012 campaigns unfold, are we finally seeing the emergence (or re-emergence) of American Design? What are the conditions of the U.S. culture and economy that affect design practice in New York City? Are there unique dilemmas which come into play when New York designers attempt to engage both contemporary culture and the larger American sensibility?

Many designers are abandoning the idea of serving clients, and moving towards serving customers/users/audience instead. At the same time, there is a resurgence of craft, earnest service and artisinal self-respect in being a service provider. But design anxiously lags behind, still torn between contradictory desires for avant garde practice, social-relevance, white collar status, and success. What is the relationship of design to service?

Are we experiencing a rise in speculative design projects that occur outside client relationships? What is the role of speculation in funding interactive projects in New York? Isn't every design project speculative by nature? Why is engagement in speculative projects the only standing taboo within graphic design?

Is there a graphic design culture in New York? Are there many cultures? Or no culture at all? Is culture something that happens organically, or intentionally? If culture is increasingly asynchronous and custom-tailored to the recipient, is it even possible to have “a set of values, goals, and practices that characterize an institution, organization, or group”? Do companies have stronger cultures now than schools, disciplines, or independent groups? How have socioeconomic forces affected the formation of culture in groups both within and surrounding graphic design?