Katie Leigh Evans

TᕼOᑌGᕼTᔕ on ᖴᖇIᗪᗩY 13th ᖴebruary 👻 ᗯᖇITTEᑎ on ᔕᗩTᑌᖇᗪᗩY 14th ᖴebruary 💗 𝙒riting as my heart and head feel full with things to still untangle. Yesterday, Margherita Huntley, @emily.j.wood and I hosted the rescheduled GDEN conference at CSM, and were reminded of the need and desire for a community of practice within design education (①̣̣̣) Ⓣⓞ ⓣⓗⓔ ⓢⓟⓔⓐⓚⓔⓡⓢ: @economic_waste and @amy.ether.work thank you for contextualising your interrelated positions of resistance to AI so thoughtfully, and sharing them in a format that we could take home and chew over 📓 (2̶) @rifke.world thank you for the passionate reminder that there is a need for ‘desirable difficulties’ in order to make learning environments and experiences transformative 🐦‍🔥(𝟹) JP Hartnett thank you for thinking out loud through the mess that is academic writing in the wake of AI and for playfully prompting us to alphabetize our own reactions and associations 🔤(կ + ގ) Kevin Biderman thank you for the call of resistance and revolt in exploitative and racist institutions, a reminder there is solidarity in numbers 🗣️(6͙̜̤ͩ̆) @hnnhlls thank you for your openness and vulnerability on navigating grief personally and professionally, and for making me cry with you, having felt the weight of “performance” after the death of my best friend last year 🩶(7҉) @laylagharibdesign thank you for reflecting on your doctoral research on Decolonising Design Education so generously, for walking the tightrope of critique and imagination ☯️ (8͡) Thank you to Sheena Calvert who gallantly summarised our day together, noting the shift and co-existence of ‘non-human’ tools to real human lived and shared experience 🤝 C̤̈̈ä̤̈r̤̈̈r̤̈̈ï̤̈ë̤̈d̤̈̈ ö̤̈n̤̈̈ ï̤̈n̤̈̈ c̤̈̈ä̤̈p̤̈̈ẗ̤̈ï̤̈ö̤̈n̤̈̈s̤̈̈…

Starting tomorrow, A School for Collective Thinking departs from last year’s program with a new, critical stance on practice. As the shared reality we inhabit as makers, thinkers, and designers shifts faster and grows more complex, we’re coming together with 20 participants to question how can we operate in this a-temporal present to uncover new directions for active resonance. Rediscovering what it means to develop a discipline through conversation, each day we will engage in panel discussions on topics that touch on the social, the political, the conceptual, the philosophical – and more. We’re not aiming for answers, but to ask the important questions… 💭💭💭💭💭💭💭💭 A School for Collective Thinking Summerschool 2025 A project by Katie Evans and Michela Zoppi @kleevans @zoppi.michela Hosted in 2024 and 2025 by Central St Martins Study Abroad program 30 June to 17 July 2025 Monday to Thursday, 10–16 Thank you to our guests 💘 Nina Carter @ninarosiekelleycarter Georgia Hablützel @georgiasophia Paola Ristoldo @paolaristoldo And to @csmgraphics

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For Issue 11 we were lucky enough to work with graphic designers @josephmenage and @kleevans . In asking ‘who shares knowledge?’ their design concept was based on the role of ’the critical friend’ – a person who; you lean on for advice, isn’t afraid of sitting with something, and encourages dialogue. This framing informed the layout, colour, illustrations, and typeface choices, as throughout the issue they collaborate and exchange with one another. The updated heading typeface Affigere is designed by students Alexandre D’Hubert, Daphné Lejeune, and Romain Laurent, and was created around the small collection of wooden typefaces in the @esad_valence letterpress printing workshop. The front cover infographic and centre spreads were designed by IFLA!’s @matthevvlevvis inspired by Madhuri Karak’s feature: ‘Knowing from Above’. The cover has been created from a forest dataset, produced by satellites/sensors. Deforestation is easy to spot, as it follows grid-like patterns that cut through the organic shapes in the natural landscape.

Dumping ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ dumpe, dumpa, falling, thumping ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ On a coach coming back from a field trip in Antwerp, with the first day back lecturing on the horizon for tomorrow. The time on the long bus is drying me out but is allowing me the time to chew over the sweet summer months. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ 1-4. Cobbles and Clichés. It started in another city where it is was equally hard to tell the road from the pavement. Girona was hot. The place we stayed had a print of Klimt’s Kiss above the bed. Like my parents had in their first home, like my sister and her partner have in theirs now. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ 5-8. School Snapbacks. I came back to a brain child @zoppi.michela and I brewed over phone calls, shared readings and diagrams. A School of Collective Thinking. (Iteration I?). A time in my teaching practice I’ll hold nearly and dearly. Snapshots shared from editing workshop ran with @ninarosekelleycarter and the final exhibition. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ 9–13. Lavender Lost Bois. Yeeted ourselves off rocks. Swam miles. Hiked upstream. Ate our way around the van – pizza on the roof, noodles at the back, sweets in the front seats. Sunbathed our bods. Bit many peaches. Got bitten back. Soothed bites with boiling metal spoons. Purple Provence. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ 14–15. Pretty Proud. Marched. Danced. @Dykes_on_Decks provided the perfect Pride soundtrack from the Friday through to Sunday. Cherries and Berries. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ 16–19. Midges and Bridges / Feral and Ferries. Went semi-Cathy in the Outer Hebrides. Phone off, hair down, hat on. Bath with bay views. The light and the light house. Eagles swirled and spiralled while the bright turquoise sea spat. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ 20. B is for. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

On Friday we hosted the @gdenetwork event ‘Small Things’ at @camberwellgraphicdesign . A series of workshops were ran to discuss the micro acts graphic design educators’ are currently practicing, from mapping strategies and studio set ups, to soup making and setting boundaries. As the committee is in a transition stage, my workshop considered what small (or big) things the network should or could do to support moving forward. Borrowing from Brian Eno’s ‘Axis Thinking’, the group plotted the past and future of the network, with smaller suggestions and wider hopes on the potential structure, purpose and actions of GDEN. To frame the session I started with a poem written based on words found in committee, snippets shared here: “C-O-M-M-I-T-T-E-E – There is an I and there is a ME. But there is no U… and that doesn’t feel so right (…) There is COME and MEET, which sound inviting. But there is also MITEs, MICE, and EMOs… so maybe some stayed away because of those? Perhaps they haven’t seen or felt the ME in these spaces.” Thank you to everyone that came, felt good to be back in a shared space together.

A School for Collective Thinking is an enquiry. Transcending traditional graphic design education the school proposes a rediscovery of alternative teaching and learning. It inquires about the meaning of creative practice. A School for Collective Thinking challenges the dominance of the male perspective in design. It intentionally includes female tutors and references to support alternative histories. Unburdened by assuming a political stance, the school is a means to question discipline while bringing together what we believe are the most talented discipliners. We would like to thank those who have supported us in exploring: The Visual Practice: Paola Ristoldo @paolaristoldo The Design Practice: Emma Singleton @e__margaret The Kunstandwerk Practice: Nadire Gökmen @gokmennadire The Architectural Practice: Georgia Hablützel @georgiasophia The Critical Practice: Nina Carter @ninarosiekelleycarter The Collective Practice: the 18 beautiful souls who participated in this year’s course and made some incredible works. This year, the school collaborated with the Saint Martins Study Abroad program, taking over the communication and design course for three weeks. ASFCT is @kleevans and @zoppi.michela The syllabus was created and designed by Michela Zoppi with the critical and design support of co-tutor Katie Evans. @kleevans 🎤🥁🎸 We express our gratitude to Central Saint Martins and the UAL Study Abroad team, as well as GF Smith for their partnership and material support. @csmgraphics @csm_news @ualstudyabroad @gfsmithpapers

Yesterday @zoppi.michela and I started ‘A School of Collective Thinking’ as part of @csm_news study aboard programme. We’re really excited to have participants joining us from America, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Thailand to explore what Graphic Communication means for them over the next 3 weeks. Positioned at the intersection of disciplines, five incredible female practitioners from various fields are joining us to lead practice-based workshops: Paola Ristoldo, @e__margaret , @gokmennadire , @georgiasophia & @ninarosiekelleycarter . Some snippets from the first introduction day and syllabus in pictures above. Of course the first exercises set were based on conversations, diagrams and collective writing – this is us 🌀💬✍️😈.

In bed with a 🫘 infection. While I’m living in trackies, here’s some Semester 1 lifties 💙💚🏴‍☠️⬛️⬜️🐝🌹💐🥤👔🗓️🍊

Hand on rock, rock in hand. In order of appearance / spotting / discovery / connection. May come back to caption later, may leave like this, running off 3G.

An odd swipe, but let’s play. A scenario created from finding three pairs of black high heels by the bin down the road this morning. (1) I wonder where they were dancing and whether the tissue trick soothed their feet. (2) I’m curious how far they walked, how much they danced. (3+4) I hope they ate some food and lined their stomachs. (5) Maybe they said “see you again” to someone. (6-8) I assume they found a light source to guide their way. (9) I expect they may have been tempted by a dip in the sea, who isn’t? (10) Bed time.

With heartbreak comes: (1) Murky reflections. Hackney Marshes. (2) Camouflaging. These printed barrier things always make me stop and smile. (3) Independence. The watermelon lollies are the chosen snack of the summer. Another gift from Rowntrees along with vegan fruit pastilles. (4) Spot acceptance. @gabrielam_m in the leopardy number. (5) Memories and walks. The labyrinth in the marshes has been sprayed again as it is every year during summer solstice, this time with different brighter colours and the word love at its center. (6) Friends. Celebrating @johnphilipsage in full wood theme. (7) Identification. Tree appreciation in Bristol with @stephstrudel . (8) Peeping in and out. Next two are snippets from Flo Brooks’ show ‘Harmonycrumb’ at Spike Island. (9) The finding of meaning in most things, be it a artwork, a lyric, a line or sign. (10) The compulsion to hide. Scene from Asmaa Jama & Gouled Ahmed’s film ‘Except this time nothing returns from the ashes’.