Spring Art + Design Faculty Lecture Series: Randall Hoyt

My creative interests span breadth of the field of graphic design. I have worked professionally in corporate identity, publication, environmental design, web design and development, product design, board game design, animation, documentary, and more. My clients include large corporations, educational institutions, non-profits, and smaller organizations. My role is frequently beyond the scope of design however as I also write, edit, and invent products. I have designed public art installations for half a dozen schools such as the newly built Sandy Hook Elementary; developed an interactive timeline for the Guggenheim Museum; co-wrote and designed a book called Collaboration; the board game I invented, Road Hog, has sold over 8000 copies worldwide to name a few highlights. I am currently filming a documentary about Standard Alphabet, the typeface used on US highway signs. These projects go beyond the discipline of graphic design and speak to the depth of my passion for creating experiences that invite collaboration and inspire joy.

School Safety Campaign

In the spring of 2020, I was invited by the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (known as the d.school) to collaborate on a workshop tool to facilitate discussions about school safety. The result is comprehensive school safety campaign featuring Post-It pads printed with provocative questions, package design, video, website, and a 120-page workbook. The ubiquitous “stickie note” is a playful device intended to enhance interaction at school planning meetings to convey the core messages of community, wellness and equity in a fun and colorful way. This project is designed to bring participants’ bodies, hearts, and minds into the conversation.

This campaign entitled, “Questions to Your Answers About School Safety” challenges assumptions about what makes a school both be safe, and also feel safe. It provides a suite of engagement strategies for students, teachers, administrators and community to facilitate active, progressive work sessions to address the serious issue of safety in schools.

This project has been extremely well-received and was printed in an initial run of 20,000 units. It is supported by the government funding agency SourceWell, Sandy Hook Promise, and other organizations. My clients at the d.school are presently working with representatives in Washington D.C. and committed education partners to promote national exposure for this work. It is a privilege to be part of such an important project with great collaborators applying my design facility to develop a campaign with an essential message intended to make our schools safer for everyone.

This event is open to the public.