JDC Fall-1998 v1 - The Electronic Journal for Design Communication

Joan McLain-Kark, Ph.D.
Editor, Journal of Design Communication

A little less than a year ago, the Design Communication Association (JDC) voted to acquire JCAEDE ( Journal of Computer-Aided Environmental Design and Education ) as its electronic academic journal.  The journal was renamed the Journal of Design Communication or JDC. This first issue will coincide with the publication of Representation , the print journal for DCA,  incorporating the juried proceedings and abstracts for the 1998 international conference of the Design Communication Association.

Broadening its focus from a CAD journal to incorporating broader issues of design communication, JDC has matured as an academic scholarly journal.  The additional editorial members from DCA and increased number of submissions has resulted in a lowered publication rate of 33%. While more rigorous, the journal strives to reach out to design communication teachers in providing timely articles useful for teaching and research.  JDC aims to be a major communication tool for educators in the environmental design disciplines and welcomes articles to reach that goal.

The 1998 issue offers a variety of interesting articles, all with an international component. First, Patricia Lindsey of East Carolina University discusses her collaboration with NASA on a class project resulting in a creative use of computer modeling and unusual space planning in the design for the Habitation Module for the International Space Station.  Second, Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco and Nancy Holland of Texas A & M discuss their experiences with a virtual studio with Universidad La Salle of Mexico providing a model for other schools. In the invited papers section, Paul Laseau from Ball State University, past president of DCA, talks about the importance of design education today in higher education in a speech that he gave in Korea this year.

I hope you will enjoy this inaugural issue of JDC and consider submitting articles for the journal and attending the Design Communication Association Conference in Tucson, Arizona in January, 2000.  For information on joining Design Communication Association or the DCA conference, contact Linda Erasmus (erasmus@u.arizona.edu) at the University of Arizona.