Marcia Lausen

Main Session: Design for Democracy
In November 2000, when the now-infamous butterfly ballot caused confusion in the state of Florida during a hotly contested presidential election, the importance of well-designed ballots to a functioning democracy caught the nation's attention. Recognizing that our entire voting process—from registering to vote to following instructions at the polling place—was in need of design reform, a multidisciplinary team of design professionals, educators, and enthusiastic students set about investigating the transformative effects that good design can bring to civic experience. Lausen tells the story of a grass roots effort, which became a strategic initiative of AIGA, which developed into federally endorsed guidelines, which resulted in a solid foundation for improved design—just in time for the 2008 presidential election.

REMIX Workshop: Money for Everyone
Marcia Lausen, Principal, Studio/lab & Director, School of Art and Design, UIC
Susan Verba, Principal, Studio/lab
Monday, October 6 - Tuesday, October 7

Building from their experience with civic design initiatives and in response to a recent federal appeals court ruling that could radically change the size, the color, and even the feel of U.S. currency, Marcia Lausen and Susan Verba, principals of Studio/lab, will lead a series of workshops that call to question the state of U.S. Currency design. Informed by a brief history of paper money; examples from design-savvy countries; and considering issues of existing standards, security, and production technology, this group will take some initial steps toward rethinking and redesigning paper money to be more accessible to the visually—and numismatically—impaired.

Marcia Lausen is a principal of Studio/lab and director of the School of Art and Design
at the University of Illinois at Chicago. At UIC, in addition to providing visionary and administrative leadership, Marcia teaches graduate and undergraduate students preparing for professional careers in design education, research, and practice. Marcia has served on the local and national boards of AIGA and is active in the election design initiative of AIGA Design for Democracy. Her book “Design for Democracy: Ballot + Election Design” was published in 2007 by the University of Chicago Press. Marcia received her MFA in graphic design from Yale University. She was named a 2004 Fast Company Master of Design for her work in election design.

Studio/lab
Studio/lab works with design-driven organizations to realize business strategies through communication systems. Integrating three areas of practice—identity, information, and environment—the outcomes of Studio/lab projects are designed to
tell compelling stories, clarify information, build brand identity, and drive innovation. Clients include: ACCO, Mattel, Motorola, SRI International, Steelcase, Target, and Whirlpool Global Consumer Design.

UIC School of Art and Design
The University of Illinois at Chicago is a leading research institution in one of the world’s great cities. The UIC School of Art and Design offers 13 degree programs in seven disciplines: Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Electronic Visualization, Studio Arts, Photography, and Art Education. All programs place emphasis on contemporary and emerging forms of interdisciplinary practice.

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