In an age of globalization and connectivity, the idea of ¿mainstream culture¿ has become quaint. Websites, magazines, books, and television have all honed in on ever-diversifying subcultures, hoping to carve out niche audiences that grow savvier and more narrowly sliced by the day. Consequently, the discipline of graphic design has undergone a sea change. Where visual communication was once informed by a designer¿s creative intuition, the proliferation of specialized audiences now calls for more research-based design processes. Design Studies, a collection of 27 essays from an international cast of top design researchers, sets out to mend this schism between research and practice. The essays presented here make a strong argument for performing rigorous experimentation and analysis. Each author outlines methods in which research has aided their design ¿ whether by investigating how senior citizens react to design aesthetics, how hip hop culture can influence design, or how design for third-world nations is effected by cultural differences. This comprehensive reader is the definitive reference for this new direction in graphic design, and an essential resource for both students and practitioners.

Audrey Bennett is a College Art Association professional development fellow and associate professor of graphics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.