Abstract:
Investigations into the role of theories and practices of observation and imaging
is commonplace in a range of established intellectual endeavours. The potential
of such investigations applied to photo-based image-making, in visual
communication design, is significant, yet at this point, under realised. In this
paper we advance the proposition that careful observation, in an iterative
framework, is a necessary pre-condition for any intelligent and informed
photo-imaging practice. We outline a curriculum approach that is premised
on a process of research, concept development and project management, within
a critical and iterative framework, using photo-observation as the key tool. In
this scenario, photo-imaging is used to engage with the world and develop a
knowledge of it that feeds into the development of the final outcome. In short,
the (re)presentation or fashioning of the world- the central activity of design.
