The poster session as fusing theory and practice in art and design education : Exhibiting an occluded genre

Abstract

While the academic poster has been used extensively in the sciences, its particular pertinence in art and design education remains unrecognized. Posters (outputs) and the poster sessions that accompany them (processes) form an ‘occluded genre’ in design education. The secondary literature about academic posters is typically ‘how-to’ rather than pedagogical analysis. We identify the benefits of using posters in design education, whether as formats for ‘regenring’ the conventional contextual studies essay or as iterations towards essay work that draw on the skills students are developing in their design briefs, thereby bridging theory and practice, and accommodating diversity. Based on our pedagogical research in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, this article reflects on how students respond to the benefits of the poster, and the poster session, and provides teachers with a clear rationale for their increased use in design education.