SVA MA Design Research, Writing & Criticism

SVA MA Design Research, Writing & Criticism We're a two-semester MA in Design Research, Writing & Criticism at the School of Visual Arts in New

This rigorous one-year program equips students with tools for researching, analyzing, and interpreting design, its contexts and consequences. Through workshops, seminars, lectures, and site-visits, students examine the issues and policies that shape the designed environment; learn research methods, reporting techniques, and theoretical models; and experiment with a range of media vehicles for communicating their research, including online writing, podcasting, video, exhibitions, and events. Each student will identify an individual research territory to explore during the year, culminating in a thesis portfolio of written and applied media projects.

You're glowing ✨️"When a Black woman says you're glowing, it's an acknowledgement deeper than the appearance of your ski...
05/14/2026

You're glowing ✨️

"When a Black woman says you're glowing, it's an acknowledgement deeper than the appearance of your skin," writes July Winters '26 ().

July's thesis looks at how beauty and skincare products can be better designed with Black consumers at the forefront, and how Black founders are doing that work today.

Come see July present tomorrow, May 15, at our Thesis Symposium at SVA Theatre in Chelsea!

⏰️ Doors at 5pm.

When the architecture doesn't speak, copywriting is vital to convey a message—as evidenced in the pictured pavilion desi...
05/13/2026

When the architecture doesn't speak, copywriting is vital to convey a message—as evidenced in the pictured pavilion design in Venice.

In "Peak B2B," Vlad Ilkevich () considers how a defense tech company's use of stylish brand identity influences it's palatability on the corporate, retail, and government side.

Come see Vlad present this Friday, May 15th!

⏰️ 5:30 pm
📌 SVA Theatre, Chelsea

"While books have value, nothing com-pares to learning through the complexities held in the hands that first formed thes...
05/13/2026

"While books have value, nothing com-pares to learning through the complexities held in the hands that first formed these structures without today's power tools," writes Tash Nikol.

Tash's work builds on their heritage in the South as they investigate the blacksmithing craft, showcasing how the ironwork we encounter daily is a divine craft.

The Class of 2026's 2NDFL Issue Launch and Thesis Symposium is in two days!

🔗 Register at the link in bio!
📌 SVA Theatre, Chelsea
⏰️ 5:30pm

Inspired by her work with an abstract symbol set called Coreforms, Deborah Adams Doering () has been tracing the meaning...
05/13/2026

Inspired by her work with an abstract symbol set called Coreforms, Deborah Adams Doering () has been tracing the meaning of abstract shapes, through history, as a way of connecting and communicating with people.

Listen to Deborah and the class of 2026 this Friday at our Thesis Symposium!

🗓️ May 15
⏰ 5:30
📌 SVA Theatre, Chelsea

05/12/2026

Who is skincare designed for?

July Winters ‘26 () investigates ‘big skincare’ as a social determinant of beauty, considering how, and when, Black women are included in the narrative.

In July’s work she studies contemporary Black-owned skincare brands as change makers and places where Black women can design for themselves.

Hear more from July and the rest of the Class of 2026 this Friday, May 15th!

⏰ 5:30 pm
📌 SVA Theatre, Chelsea

To see a community’s ephemera is to better understand its people, and for Mo Alabi ‘26 () the best place to bear witness...
05/12/2026

To see a community’s ephemera is to better understand its people, and for Mo Alabi ‘26 () the best place to bear witness is the storefront. 🖼️

Mo has traced these “naturally occurring gallery exhibitions,” across New York City, and by looking through the window of the storefront, she’s learning about how different cultures and people groups represent themselves.

⏰ Hear Mo present with the Class of 2026 at our Thesis Symposium this Friday, May 15th, at SVA Theatre in Chelsea!

05/11/2026

If this website is for a military defense contractor, why is it so...sexy?

In his thesis work, Vlad Ilkevich () measures how cool kid auras influence palatability on the corporate, retail, and government side of a certain tech and weapons supplier that will not be named.

Intrigued? Come watch him present on May 15th at the SVA Theatre in Chelsea!

⏰ 5:30, be there.

05/11/2026

What are the embedded symbols in ironwork trying to tell us?

Tash Nikol () makes the material sing as they trace the heritage of
Blacksmithing through their ancestral ties to New Orleans—showcasing how we encounter a divine work of craft in our everyday lives.

Care to listen? Come see Tash and the rest of the Class of 2026 present this Friday, May 15!

📌 SVA Theater, Chelsea
⏰ 5:30PM
🔗 Register at the link in bio!

05/07/2026

Can abstract symbols build community?

Through workshops led by DOEprojekts, Deborah Adams Doering () has been!investigating how different forms connect people. Her work traces abstract shapes through history as a means of connection, communication, and art.

Learn more from Deborah and the rest of the Class of 2026 at our thesis symposium!

📌 SVA Theater, Chelsea
⏰ 5:30PM
🔗 Register at the link in bio!

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136 W 21st Street, Fl 2nd
New York, NY
10011

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+12125922228

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