NO WORDS: GRAPHIC DESIGN + APHASIA

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For my undergraduate senior exhibition, I worked with Arts @ the Clinic a program from University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum’s Art in Health. There are 10 workshops that teach painting and drawing to persons with aphasia, their caregivers and clinicians. Aphasia is a condition that typically occurs after a stroke, and results in the loss of the ability to understand or express speech but does not affect intelligence.

As an intern of the art clinic I developed NO WORDS: GRAPHIC DESIGN + APHASIA, the product of two graphic design sessions created to teach the clients of the workshop basic elements and principles of design. The intent was to create a design experience for the clinic’s clients that would add to their visual expression, creativity and communication. The artwork produced by the clients in the workshop were incorporated into a speech aid that informs the public about how to interact with those affected by the condition.

Because I was an intern of the clinic, I was able to spend time with the clients and understand how aphasia affects them on a personal level. One of the most important factors of my research was learning the recommended guidelines for designers creating materials for people who have had a stroke. This, along with interviews and discussions, contributed to the development of the design sessions.

The sessions were broken up into two parts: a warm up and a project. As part of the warm up, the clients completed traditional exercises using pen and paper to get accustomed to basic ideas of graphic design (line, composition, pattern, etc...). For the project, the clients used pictures of their hands to create a large abstract painting. The concept was to create a type of self portrait without revealing their identities.

At some point in the process the facilitators of the clinic thought that the paintings should be used to help the aphasia community in some way. As a result of the research it was decided that they would be featured on a wallet sized card that would be both informative but also convey the clients’ creativity, since most communication aids are impersonal and clinical. The University of South Florida financed the printing of the aids which are now in use in their speech clinics.

The exhibition was a culmination of months of design, research, and process. In general, aphasia is a relatively unknown condition that is very difficult for those who suffer from it. An overall goal of the show was to bring awareness to this condition and to demonstrate the power of art and design in self expression when speech is lacking. All the artwork produced in the show was donated to the Department of Communication Sciences
and Disorders.