In spring 2024, I asked my ARGD 3060 students to explore UGA’s Special Collections library archives to select items of visual communication they believed would be valuable contributions to submit to the People’s Graphic Design Archive (PGDA). The PGDA is a crowd-sourced virtual archive of inclusive graphic design history that aims to “stand guard for overlooked design history.”
The objects the students chose, researched, and submitted to the PGDA ranged from an illuminated page from a 15th-century prayer book to a promotional program for the Danish opening of the film, To Kill a Mockingbird. There were issues of the WWI-era French illustrated journal, Le Mot, a signed print by Sister Corita Kent, and ads from early 20th-century circus programs.
Check out the class posts on the People’s archive using their class tag, UGA_GraphicDesign_sp24.
I was fortunate to be invited to share my experience with this archival curation project here on the People’s Graphic Design Archive blog.
This endeavor was related to my experience in 2023 as a UGA Special Collections Faculty Fellow, which supports the development of archives–centered pedagogy. In previously posted more about the Special Collections experience here.
