Modes of Practice
Glen Cummings, Founder and Creative Director of New York studio MTWTF will give two 30 minute presentations that consider different ways of practicing design. The goal of Cummings talk is open up new ways to think about, and talk about, the aspects of design practice we think we already know.

Modes of Practice 2A focuses on Les Levine, a contemporary of Warhol, who was trained as a production artist but flourished as a conceptual/media artist by reframing his practical interests in commercial processes for the NYC Art world. Cummings will unpack his strategies and innovative moves — which suggests a less confined way of working for practicing designers today.

Modes of Practice 4C presents the work of NYC design studio MTWTF. Cummings will outline the 5 modes that the studio has engaged since 2008. Clients include cultural and educational institutions, architects, think tanks, cities, and community groups. Cummings will make a case for trying things out and for engaging models other than modernist, artistic, or ethnocentric modes of practice.

About Glen Cummings
Glen Cummings is the creative director of MTWTF, a New York-based design consultancy that collaborates with clients including the Red Bull Music Academy, the Claire Tow Theater at Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Museum and MoMA. Glen’s work with the public sector includes identity, wayfinding and placemaking projects commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Construction Company (MTACC), Newark Riverfront Park, Design Trust for Public Spaces and the Brooklyn Public Library. Glen’s work in print has been widely exhibited and published by Monacelli Press, Metropolis Books, and Columbia University.

From 2002-13, Glen acted as a design critic at the Yale University School of Art, where he received his M.F.A. in Graphic Design. In New York City, Glen has engaged with the design community as Vice President of AIGA/NY, a fellow for the Design Trust for Public Space, and the founder of GDNYC, a consortium of designers and educators that promote design research. Before establishing MTWTF in 2008, Glen was an art director at 2×4 working with clients such as MTV, Prada, Chanel, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, and the Muhammad Ali Center.

Graphic Practices is is a new Lecture Series from AIGA Maine. We are inviting fresh design voices from across the country who are pushing the boundaries of traditional graphic design through their practice.

AIGA Maine is the Maine chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design. It exists to advance design as a professional craft, strategic advantage and vital cultural force.