Elena Caratti | Politecnico di Milano (original) (raw)

Books by Elena Caratti

The book constitutes a theoretical contribution analysis within the basic teaching of communicat... more The book constitutes a theoretical contribution analysis
within the basic teaching of communication design, the objective is to explore and make represented a complex reality, which
is layered over time according to approaches and experiences
very different.
In addition to regulating the design of a framework communication and analysis of trends
latest in research methodologies for teaching and learning, there is attempt to construct an interpretation, a summary recurring elements in the teaching of basic communication design. The framework is represented by the Laboratory of Visual Communication within the first year of the local scenery and
International Private Schools and Universities of Design. In summary, this work aims to make express a range of proposals for methodological basic training of communication design,
systematize a number of different perspectives ordered and framed within some basic guidelines.

Papers by Elena Caratti

Our everyday life is influenced by an overproduction of images and by an iconogenic surplus that ... more Our everyday life is influenced by an overproduction of images and by an iconogenic surplus that is connected to the proliferation of media. These contribute to both the quality and quantity of communication, but simultaneously amplify the knowledge gap between an audience that is able to critically process messages and another that is affected uncritically by prejudices and stereotypes. The need for a critical “media education” (Bellino 2010) is required to address this gap by encouraging the development of students' critical thinking and social awareness. In this paper we will discuss the results of a didactic experiment in which visual communication design students explored the potential of metaphor to critique the role of media in perpetuating cultural stereotypes. Where stereotype simplifies reality, metaphor extends beyond the simplification of reality toward the discovery of new communicative opportunities; here the link between ethics and esthetics is reinforced. To supp...

Swiss Design Network Symposium 2021, Design as Common Good / Framing Design through Pluralism and Social Values, 2021

Magazine design has seen, in recent years, a series of innovations not only related to their form... more Magazine design has seen, in recent years, a series of innovations not only related to their formats, visual and typographic languages, or to the phenomenon of their hybridization with the digital. Another relevant element of transformation is represented by a renewed attention to content concerning social issues. In this paper, we assume that social change can be supported by a series of independent magazines intended as catalyst tools for transferring and sharing themes, concepts or values within a constantly changing social context. This brings us back to the origin of the English term "magazine" (or French "magasine"), which derives from the Arabic "makhzan", in Italian "magazzino", a room used for the conservation and storage of different types of goods. From this perspective, a magazine is intended here not only as a physical medium but also as a "container multiple texts" dealing with social issues. More specifically, we conceive independent social magazines in terms of complex communicative artefacts, defined by a plurality of codes and in which converge a series of translation processes, intended for readers who are heterogeneous in culture, age and geographical origin. Given these premises, the paper aims to explore the relationship between independent magazine design and the process of editorial translation through a series of experimentations in the social editorial field. In other words, the interest is directed to the design of independent magazines about social issues, but also to the "translation processes" that characterize them (mental, intersemiotic, intralinguistic and interlinguistic, intertextual, metatextual, intermedia and cultural translation). These transfers are intended as transformative activities, aimed at reformulating, interpreting, reducing and disseminating analogue and digital social content in order to identify opportunities for "changing the current order of things". From a pragmatic point of view, alongside an initial exploratory and analytical research phase (translation as a deconstruction of independent magazines), the experimentations concerned a series of design activities (cultural translation of social issues, intertextual and intermedia translations), whose aim was to produce a critical point of view on the contemporary social context and promote new visions and opportunities for change. The results of these experimentations are represented by a series of independent social magazines, the nature of which, according to Jenkins (2006: 95), is to be "cultural attractors" (artefacts that unite different communities by offering them a common ground), and "cultural activators" (artefacts that invite the readers to social content interpretation, exploration, re-elaboration and extended sharing).

DRS2016: Future-Focused Thinking, 2016

In this paper we explore the concept of translation, starting from the assumption that it constit... more In this paper we explore the concept of translation, starting from the assumption that it constitutes an essential reference for design culture. We assume that a designer (and in particular a communication designer) is a "translator", since he realises a continuous process of mediation, transfer and re-transcription between the systems of departure and arrival. This perspective leads us to suppose that the application of the "translational paradigm" within the design domain can generate new design sensitivities and new research opportunities into language and into the processes of transferral between different supports and media. We believe that design has specific affinities with the field of translation on several levels and, at a general level, has at least two main shared characteristics, one relating to content and the other to process. If design is translation, what are the nodes of pertinence and the implications in terms of research?

The International Journal of Visual Design, 2021

This contribution considers some didactic experimentations in the area of independent magazine de... more This contribution considers some didactic experimentations in the area of independent magazine design, realized by our master’s degree students in communication design within the studio course “Magazzino sociale.” The main goal was to invite students to analyze, interpret, to re-elaborate (textually and visually) social issues concerning education, welfare, human rights, environment, and health. The intention was dual: to build a critical point of view on how we produce content on social issues, but also to identify opportunities for changing the current order of things. Textuality, intertextuality, and translatability were the basic theoretical references for the development of the projects.

11th EAD Conference Proceedings: The Value of Design Research, Jul 5, 2016

The paper addresses, from the perspective of Communication Design, the issue of the representatio... more The paper addresses, from the perspective of Communication Design, the issue of the representation of women through the media; in particular it concerns the value of Communication Design research in the promotion of a critical media education (Bellino, 2010) among younger generations. By means of a structured "research through design", the discipline faces the design of new tools (analogical/digital) and new communicative models that can be easily transferable, sustainable and repeatable in educational contexts. According to this perspective Communication Design plays the role of facilitator in the process of visual experience. It's common opinion that in our everyday life we encounter images that describe female figure starting from degrading and stereotypical models: women are depicted in a quite different way from men because the image of the woman is designed to flatter the ideal male spectator (Berger, 1972). We think that a new visual imagery of feminine, new communicative models (beyond aesthetic criteria or sexism) can be diffused and adopted in our society, starting from concrete actions in the places of education. For this purpose, communication design operates from a multidisciplinary perspective (closely related to humanities), for designing dedicated tools, new formats, new artefacts that are able to change the ways of seeing, consuming, distributing images. This could be a starting point to generate positive actions, lifelong learning and active encouragement in our society. This paper presents a structured research that includes experimental activities by the research group "dcxcg" (Communication Design for Gender Cultures) of Politecnico di Milano, Design Department. The group works with the goal to offer a critical view of the forms of representation of genders (female, male…), but also to support, through experimental teaching, the proposal of new models of communication and new opportunities to raise awareness in everyday life (private and public). The goal of experimental teaching consists in the design and in the sharing of a range of communication aids (re-media toolkit), for approaching images: critical tools for analysis, for the deconstruction of stereotypes, for the synthesis of the experience and active participation in the classroom. The aim is the integration of a gender perspective in everyday life and the shared construction of new hypotheses of intervention in the social context.

The International Journal of Visual Design, 2021

This contribution considers some didactic experimentations in the area of independent magazine de... more This contribution considers some didactic experimentations in the area of independent magazine design, realized by our master’s degree students in communication design within the studio course “Magazzino sociale.” The
main goal was to invite students to analyze, interpret, to re-elaborate (textually and visually) social issues concerning education, welfare, human rights, environment, and health. The intention was dual: to build a critical point of view on how we produce content on social issues, but also to identify opportunities for changing the current order of things. Textuality, intertextuality, and translatability were the basic theoretical references for the development of the projects.

Design as Common Good / Framing Design through Pluralism and Social Values, 2021

Magazine design has seen, in recent years, a series of innovations not only related to their form... more Magazine design has seen, in recent years, a series of innovations not only related to their formats, visual and typographic languages, or to the phenomenon of their hybridization with the digital. Another relevant element of transformation is represented by a renewed attention to content concerning social issues.
In this paper, we assume that social change can be supported by a series of independent magazines intended as catalyst tools for transferring and sharing themes, concepts or values within a constantly changing social context.
This brings us back to the origin of the English term "magazine" (or French "magasine"), which derives from the Arabic "makhzan", in Italian "magazzino", a room used for the conservation and storage of different types of goods. From this perspective, a magazine is intended here not only as a physical medium but also as a "container multiple texts" dealing with social issues. More specifically, we conceive independent social magazines in terms of complex communicative artefacts, defined by a plurality of codes and in which converge a series of translation processes, intended for readers who are heterogeneous in culture, age and geographical origin.
Given these premises, the paper aims to explore the relationship between independent magazine design and the process of editorial translation through a series of experimentations in the social editorial field. In other words, the interest is directed to the design of independent magazines about social issues, but also to the "translation processes" that characterize them (mental, intersemiotic, intralinguistic and interlinguistic, intertextual, metatextual, intermedia and cultural translation). These transfers are intended as transformative activities, aimed at reformulating, interpreting, reducing and disseminating analogue and digital social content in order to identify opportunities for "changing the current order of things".
From a pragmatic point of view, alongside an initial exploratory and analytical research phase (translation as a deconstruction of independent magazines), the experimentations concerned a series of design activities (cultural translation of social issues, intertextual and intermedia translations), whose aim was to produce a critical point of view on the contemporary social context and promote new visions and opportunities for change.
The results of these experimentations are represented by a series of independent social magazines, the nature of which, according to Jenkins (2006: 95), is to be "cultural attractors" (artefacts that unite different communities by offering them a common ground), and "cultural activators" (artefacts that invite the readers to social content interpretation, exploration, re-elaboration and extended sharing).

International Journal of Art & Design Education

Our everyday life is influenced by an overproduction of images and by an iconogenic surplus that ... more Our everyday life is influenced by an overproduction of images and by an iconogenic surplus that is connected to the proliferation of media. These contribute to both the quality and quantity of communication, but simultaneously amplify the knowledge gap between an audience that is able to critically process messages and another that is affected uncritically by prejudices and stereotypes. Bellino argues for a critical media education to address this gap by encouraging the development of students' critical thinking and social awareness. In this article we will discuss the results of a research-driven design project in which visual communication design students engaged with theories of cultural stereotypes and critiqued the role of media in their perpetuation. We adopted Kolb's model of experiential learning as recent published research demonstrates that art and design students have difficulties in conventional academic approaches to learning theory. In this regard students learned theories of stereotype through doing and making and embodied this learning in their critical project outcomes.

Swiss Design Network Symposium 2021, Design as Common Good / Framing Design through Pluralism and Social Values, 2021

DRS2016: Future-Focused Thinking, 2016

The International Journal of Visual Design, 2021

11th EAD Conference Proceedings: The Value of Design Research, Jul 5, 2016

The International Journal of Visual Design, 2021

This contribution considers some didactic experimentations in the area of independent magazine de... more This contribution considers some didactic experimentations in the area of independent magazine design, realized by our master’s degree students in communication design within the studio course “Magazzino sociale.” The
main goal was to invite students to analyze, interpret, to re-elaborate (textually and visually) social issues concerning education, welfare, human rights, environment, and health. The intention was dual: to build a critical point of view on how we produce content on social issues, but also to identify opportunities for changing the current order of things. Textuality, intertextuality, and translatability were the basic theoretical references for the development of the projects.

Design as Common Good / Framing Design through Pluralism and Social Values, 2021

Magazine design has seen, in recent years, a series of innovations not only related to their form... more Magazine design has seen, in recent years, a series of innovations not only related to their formats, visual and typographic languages, or to the phenomenon of their hybridization with the digital. Another relevant element of transformation is represented by a renewed attention to content concerning social issues.
In this paper, we assume that social change can be supported by a series of independent magazines intended as catalyst tools for transferring and sharing themes, concepts or values within a constantly changing social context.
This brings us back to the origin of the English term "magazine" (or French "magasine"), which derives from the Arabic "makhzan", in Italian "magazzino", a room used for the conservation and storage of different types of goods. From this perspective, a magazine is intended here not only as a physical medium but also as a "container multiple texts" dealing with social issues. More specifically, we conceive independent social magazines in terms of complex communicative artefacts, defined by a plurality of codes and in which converge a series of translation processes, intended for readers who are heterogeneous in culture, age and geographical origin.
Given these premises, the paper aims to explore the relationship between independent magazine design and the process of editorial translation through a series of experimentations in the social editorial field. In other words, the interest is directed to the design of independent magazines about social issues, but also to the "translation processes" that characterize them (mental, intersemiotic, intralinguistic and interlinguistic, intertextual, metatextual, intermedia and cultural translation). These transfers are intended as transformative activities, aimed at reformulating, interpreting, reducing and disseminating analogue and digital social content in order to identify opportunities for "changing the current order of things".
From a pragmatic point of view, alongside an initial exploratory and analytical research phase (translation as a deconstruction of independent magazines), the experimentations concerned a series of design activities (cultural translation of social issues, intertextual and intermedia translations), whose aim was to produce a critical point of view on the contemporary social context and promote new visions and opportunities for change.
The results of these experimentations are represented by a series of independent social magazines, the nature of which, according to Jenkins (2006: 95), is to be "cultural attractors" (artefacts that unite different communities by offering them a common ground), and "cultural activators" (artefacts that invite the readers to social content interpretation, exploration, re-elaboration and extended sharing).

International Journal of Art & Design Education

Our everyday life is influenced by an overproduction of images and by an iconogenic surplus that ... more Our everyday life is influenced by an overproduction of images and by an iconogenic surplus that is connected to the proliferation of media. These contribute to both the quality and quantity of communication, but simultaneously amplify the knowledge gap between an audience that is able to critically process messages and another that is affected uncritically by prejudices and stereotypes. Bellino argues for a critical media education to address this gap by encouraging the development of students' critical thinking and social awareness. In this article we will discuss the results of a research-driven design project in which visual communication design students engaged with theories of cultural stereotypes and critiqued the role of media in their perpetuation. We adopted Kolb's model of experiential learning as recent published research demonstrates that art and design students have difficulties in conventional academic approaches to learning theory. In this regard students learned theories of stereotype through doing and making and embodied this learning in their critical project outcomes.

In this paper we explore the concept of translation, starting from the assumption that it constit... more In this paper we explore the concept of translation, starting from the assumption that it constitutes an essential reference for design culture. We assume that a designer (and in particular a communication designer) is a “translator”, since he realises a continuous process of mediation, transfer and re-transcription between the systems of departure and arrival. This perspective leads us to suppose that the application of the “translational paradigm” within the design domain can generate new design sensitivities and new research opportunities into language and into the processes of transferral between different supports and media. We believe that design has specific affinities with the field of translation on several levels and, at a general level, has at least two main shared characteristics, one relating to content and the other to process.
If design is translation, what are the nodes of pertinence and the implications in terms of research?