Stephanie Vacher

I can see that I’m part of a generation that will have had experienced a textbook-only learning space, and one where the internet provides all of the contextual information for learning. This is exciting.

During my time at Emily Carr I was assigned a number of textbooks and coursepacks, most of which were really excellent and worth the cost. For the most part, though, my instructors used Moodle to distribute coursework and links for online readings. In my last two years of school, the majority of my coursework was done online and I don’t think I bought any textbooks. For that, my bank account is thankful.

I know that my education wouldn’t have been complete without help from a few hard-copy sources. I’d like to introduce you to a few who have helped me to expand my world:

Before University: Nicolaides -  The Natural Way To Draw

This book belongs to my mother, and she used it during college. Though it was written in the 30′s, the information is current and the teaching methodology is sound: it’s all about the experience of drawing, and creating with all of your senses. Even before I started University, I learned that creativity is not about working from divine knowledge, or a special ‘gift.’ Creativity is learned, and practiced, and that your style is developed from your experience.

Foundation: Tufte -  Beautiful Evidence

In my first semester, my drawing teacher dragged me by the arm to visit the design school and introduced me to some of the instructors. At some point, Tufte’s name was mentioned and I decided to embark on some independent research. This book is incredibly good propaganda for encouraging young people to decide their major.

Second Year: Hofstadter – I am a Strange Loop and Turkle – Evocative Objects

I bought Evocative Objects on the suggestion of a communication design instructor who used it as a textbook for her design core class. The book was also one of my first introductions to MIT’s Media Lab, and became a motivating force in the development of my grad project.

The impulse to read I am a Strange Loop actually came from an xkcd comic. This might seem almost entirely tangential, but I’m not lying when I say that the book is the leading motivating factor behind being willing to navigate the infinitely silly complexities of bureaucracy at University. It’s the tome that taught me how to keep a smile on my face.

Third Year: Sowa – Conceptual Structures

There is nothing more important in design school than being able to justify and defend every decision you make. I didn’t buy this book solely for its practical components. You can get an O’Reilly book if you want to learn how to program. Conceptual Structures contains a philosophical and scientific defense for programming and knowledge representation. Design can learn so much from this kind of critical and analytical defense.

Senior Year: McLuhan – Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man and Buxton – Sketching User Experiences

There is one paragraph from Sketching User Experiences that I want to highlight:

“…you must foster an overall culture of creativity within your organization–one that not only has good ideas, but also understands them, is receptive to them, and knows what to do with them. Otherwise, you will lose both the benefit of the ideas that you paid for as well as your most creative people. Good ideas are not sufficient and innovation and creativity cannot be compartmentalized.” (p. 223)

That says it all, I suppose. This book is about much more than teaching the designer new ways to sketch.

Admittedly, I read Understanding Media well before my senior year. I would suggest this book to everyone, ever, and think that it should be mandatory reading for anyone who has ever used technology. It wasn’t until my senior year that I began to apply the learning from this book into my work, and I was delighted to watch my designs grow and change rapidly with the advent of each new medium.

- – - – -

Each of these books is special to me, in ways that are more profound than what I’ve described. I wouldn’t call this list definitive, nor would I ever guarantee that these books would help a design student to become a better designer. I really believe that your education will only become what you make of it, based entirely on your willingness to learn and grow. Books help, though- whether digital or hard copy, they contain the ingredients for learning.

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