Richard B. Doubleday is currently teaching a course Graphic Design in Britain
at Boston University British Programmes.

2006 Postcard Workshop and Web Exhibition:
“Design and the City – Berlin in London”

How does living in or visiting a city influence our way of thinking, our perceptions, our way of looking as graphic designers? What possibilities and opportunities do Berlin and London offer us to visually articulate these cities considering their geography, web sites, web logs, city maps, photographs, postcards, public transportation, traffic, statistical numbers, weather, language, noise, music, clothing, religion, history, social structures, and communication?

To find answers to these questions, students participated in a one-day workshop conducted by the German graphic designer and educator Armin Knoll.

The objective of the workshop was to compare and contrast Berlin and London by taking a closer look on public life, personal places, signs and typefaces in the streets of both cities. Knoll gave each student a package containing photographic images and small objects representing Berlin. Following a slide lecture about Berlin, he then asked them to conceptualize, juxtapose and utilize the contents of their received material and create new designs in the context of London. In addition, the students were asked to list five impressions of Berlin at the introduction and conclusion of the workshop.

The final design was a series of postcards.