The Student Publication<\/a><\/em> itself has a storied past, going back to the earliest days of the college. From 1950 to the early 1980s, it came out annually or semi-annually, before taking a hiatus. In the early 2000s, the publication saw a resurgence under the advocacy of Dean Marvin Malecha, who fundraised heavily to create an endowment to support the publication\u2019s production. Students would become interested in a topic, and manage all aspects of the publication\u2019s production and distribution. \u201cWe always encouraged students to challenge the status quo,\u201d said Tania Allen, associate professor and director of graduate programs for media arts, design and technology and faculty advisor for The Student Publication<\/em>. <\/p>\n With Allen as its advisor, the college explored producing the publication as part of a class, exploring all aspects of writing, design, and production, with the core focus of soliciting writings from established designers. Now it\u2019s back to an independent student group with Steven as editor at the helm.\u00a0<\/p>\n Early on, he identified the core concept \u2013 Artificial Apotheosis<\/em>– exploring the convergence of the design world and 21st-century technologies, ranging from cyberspace, synthetic biology, generative code and predominantly artificial intelligence. Pulling inspiration from Victor Papanek\u2019s essay Towards the Spiritual in Design<\/em>, he wanted to question how these fields of design and technology can be used to transcend the material and embody spiritual values; namely having a deep concern for our environments and the most vulnerable in our society. \u201cThere\u2019s currently a lot of angst about where design is headed,\u201d Nohren says. \u201cFrankly, I think we\u2019re in a renaissance of design and the potential of designers. My peers and fellow professionals are worried about when AI supersedes design and this issue is interested in exploring the ways our roles will inevitably shift.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the core concept was formed, Steven took his pitch on the road – attending talks on AI, going up to past conference panelists and describing the publication, \u201cshowing up and shaking hands,\u201d he says. From his outreach, he\u2019s formed a core cohort of professionals to contribute essays. <\/p>\n On campus, he\u2019s working with students on the nitty-gritty of production – soliciting graphic designers and editors, exploring budget and production timelines, and dreaming up distribution networks. <\/p>\n \u201cThe thing that\u2019s really interesting about this cohort,\u201d says Allen, \u201cis that they\u2019re pushing it further than in the past – exploring ways that AI can be used to generate content for the publication itself. Utilizing AI tools for brainstorming, ideation, and content creation, they\u2019re working hand in hand with these technologies to further the work.\u201d<\/p>\n Nohren says the project has challenged him academically, socially, professionally and emotionally. He struggles with translating the immaterial subjects and nonphysical themes into compelling visuals for the 75+ page book. It\u2019s all worth it to see his creative vision become embedded within the college\u2019s history, cataloged in its archives as representative of a moment in time. <\/p>\n As of now, it\u2019s a race against the clock to complete the work before his graduation in May. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to tell myself, you get there when you get there,\u201d he says. He hopes the publication permeates throughout the college, and is taken by future students as they complete their admissions tours. <\/p>\n \u201cI want to open some eyes and some hearts to new ways of thinking. And if one person who reads it feels that way, I think my job is done. I want it to be conversational \u2013 I\u2019ve been given an incredible platform and I want to do something with it.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Editor](\"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/the-student-publication-steven-nohren_web-1024x576.jpg\")
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