K and output: Two Student Publications in Light of Mid-Twentieth Century Graphic Design Education

Abstract

Previous historiography of graphic design education in the mid-twentieth century is shaped by published theories and educational principles of a limited circle of design teachers. As a counterbalance, this article stresses the relevance of a marginalized source: design student magazines. It juxtaposes K and output, published in the early 1960s at the Basel School of Design and the Ulm School of Design. Both magazines intended to open critical debates at their schools, but took opposite paths regarding design, editorial concept, content of articles, and critical engagement with their respective schools' design philosophies. An analysis of their reception and context reveals the magazines' corrective potential for design education by raising crucial issues within the design discourse of the 1960s.