Introducing Our New Spring Lecture Series
Starting this Friday! Get your tickets and save the date.
Design & Community: Exploring Multidisciplinary Creative Practices
This spring, our Design & Community lecture series spotlights community-driven creative spaces and multidisciplinary design practices that reflect our school’s core values. The series brings together designers, studios, archives, and creative collectives whose work bridges art, design, education, publishing, and community engagement.
Through inspiring talks, we explore how these groups foster collaboration, social impact, and cultural dialogue, celebrating hybrid creative practices that blur disciplinary lines while building meaningful, supportive networks. Join us as we explore the role of design in building and sustaining community, and how hybrid approaches are shaping the future of creative work.
This Friday:
The Noble Path: Preserving New York’s Vernacular Signs and Stories with Noble Signs and David Barnett
Signs are the storytellers of New York; even after a business shutters, its history lingers in the form of peeling paint and discarded panels. In this talk, David Barnett—cofounder of Noble Signs and Director of the New York Sign Museum—dives into the city’s rich vernacular signage tradition. Barnett examines how signs act as both design artifacts and vessels of collective memory, preserving the human stories and visual language that give the city its soul. Drawing from his work at Noble Signs and its growing museum of vintage signage and advertising, Barnett makes a compelling case for why saving old signs isn’t just about nostalgia. It is about providing vital community resources to share the craft of sign-making, collecting a shared visual history to ensure no story is forgotten, and creating positive change on every block in New York City.
🗓️ Friday, February 6, 2026, 1-2 PM ET
📍 Online via ZOOM
💸 Free to attend! Support us with a donation to keep these lectures accessible.
Each session will feature a 30–45 min presentation followed by a short conversation, and an open Q&A for attendees.
🔗 RSVP
Upcoming Lecture Dates & Speakers:
Feb 6 — Noble Signs with David Barnett
Feb 13 — The Chicago Graphic Design Club with Christian Solorzano
Mar 6 — Buena Gráfica Social Studio with Tatiana Gómez and José R. Menéndez
Mar 20 — Zamme Projects with Karen Mata Luna and Sonia Malpeso
Apr 3 — Letra Muerta with Faride Mereb and Oriana Nuzzi
📌 Stay tuned—registration links coming soon!
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Kate
These all look great!