May 4 - 19, 2007
Reception: Tuesday, May 8, 6 - 8pm

School of Visual Arts presents “Fresh Crop: Design Entrepreneurs,” an exhibition of socially and environmentally aware products developed by 19 students graduating from the MFA Design Department, also known as the Designer as Author program, at SVA. The projects on view realize the potential of design in various forms--graphic, motion, Web and 3D--to be both commercially viable and culturally significant. The exhibition is curated by Dorothy Twining Globus, an SVA faculty member, Museum of Arts & Design curator of exhibitions and independent curator.

The featured designers move beyond the traditional role of graphic designer in developing their original concepts to include market research, a brand strategy and a business plan. With such a comprehensive scheme for their products, these designers act as designer-entrepreneurs to explore how their ideas can positively influence society.

Many designers in the exhibition have built new tools for information and learning. Products for hikers and backpackers by Shannon Lowers illustrate step-by-step instructions for “no-trace” techniques. The Amazing Project is Randy Hunt's online showcase of grassroots community-service projects that aim to change the world for the better. Other online resources include Stop and Start Over by Lara McCormick, an interactive community providing support to young adults in drug and alcohol recovery programs; Amanda Spielman's Bookfool, a resource for fiction recommendations based on such factors as readers’ moods, current events and geography; and Sarah Foley's Y'all Behave, an online etiquette guide. Clement Wu’s Killer Cantonese DVD aims to teach the language using Chinese gangster films. Jessica Jackson hopes to improve penmanship in this digital age with her Penwrite handwriting kits.

A number of the thesis projects on view involve a new take on personal accessories. Elana Dweck's line of pill cases that function as jewelry are both beautiful and practical. Julie Tinker's We the People line of apparel clad with Constitutional rights provides a new look at patriotic messages. Jacqueline Schoeffel’s type-patterned blankets, Lettura, are both comforting and visually expressive. Masood Ahmed presents Phat Kats, a line of collectible, erotic toys influenced by urban street trends and pop-culture icons.

A critical or historical look at visual culture is the approach taken by some designers. Naz Sahin documents Turkish culinary pleasures with stories, recipes and other tidbits in her book Lokma. Darren Melchiorre examines the impact of album cover art from the 1940s to the present day in a proposed exhibition entitled Cover Culture. Serifcan Ozcan creates an online resource for Turkish design with Biyografik. Bekky Pollock offers Sift, a collection of patterns inspired by the piles, stacks and bundles found on the sidewalks of New York.

Games and fantasy are the basis for other projects. In Maria Delaguardia’s online social strategy game, Smeared, players compete to win high school class elections. Ikonoki is a unique card game by Sharon Noh in which players learn about some differences and similarities between Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Thai cultures. Inspired by his childhood illustrations, Ryan Feerer takes us into the fantasy world known as Murkville via a CD and book compilation. And, finally, Turkish fairy tales are animated in stop-motion with puppets in Pelin Kirca's Three Curious Apples.