First session sold out! We are excited to be bringing a second session to Index Greenpoint.

This 2-part course invites writers, designers, and creatives of all kinds to explore what it means to construct historical archives with digital material. How can we use archival materials to experiment with narrative, structure, and visual design? How can we construct a new visual language?

Drawing from existing histories, participants will collect and write metadata for artifacts made up of images, sound, and video and curate a visual archive on the web.

We will treat the archive as both creative form and method, from labels to metadata to systems of organization. Pay attention to visual hierarchy, compose and design narratives as you learn to experiment with archival elements.

By the end of the course, you’ll leave with your own digital prototype with practical skills for designing visual and structural elements in Figma. Contribute a deeper understanding of how to experiment with archival materials in your personal practice and how to historically situate media.

• Use archival materials as a space for creative experimentation
• Explore the visual arrangement, labeling, and structure of archival materials
• Learn and apply digital design principles in Figma

Week 1 – Theory & Collection

An introduction to archives as creative and digital forms. Discuss the authority of the archive and what it means to interpret digital artifacts. Define key interests in history that you are interested in archiving, personal or external. Over the course of the week, gather artifacts in the form of images, sound, video, and text into a structured dataset. Add metadata and labels.

Week 2 – Design

Design your digital prototype. Experiment with hierarchy, layout, and views. Share with others how you decided to curate your digital archive.

Divya Mehra (b. 1992) works with text, image, and code. Her writing and art examine power and gender dynamics, visual culture, and narrative form. She teaches at Parsons and NYU.

Index scholarships are designed to benefit underrepresented groups, BIPOC members of our community, and those for whom the class price is not accessible. These need-based scholarships will go to the candidates who best demonstrate why they should be chosen for the free spot to our class based on the following criteria:

• Belong to groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the graphic design and creative industries
• Do not have jobs that would pay for these courses as professional development
• Cannot independently afford the class at list price
• Share our value of intentional community

The number of selected applicants chosen is subject to the discretion of Index and the instructor, but every course will select at least one. Apply for a scholarship here. Applications close October 13th.

We get that things come up, but we rely on headcounts in our programs to survive as a business. If you request a refund...

More than 4 weeks before offering begins → 100% refund

More than 2 weeks before offering begins → 50% refund

Fewer than 2 weeks before offering begins → No refund

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