Aaron Sherbany
Class of 2008
Tuesday, April 4, 2006

           Over the past decade there have been several talks of dissolving Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning based partially on the “incompatibility” of the three constituent majors: Art, Architecture, and Planning. As a result, AAP has announced a number of changes which aim to bring the three disciplines together.
           Fall 2005 celebrated the publication of ASSOCIATION Volume I, a student-run project which showcases the work of more than 60 students and faculty and sets the stage for interdepartmental comparison and discussion. To quote our current Dean Mohsen Mostafavi’s reaction to ASSOCIATION, “Our departments have been, historically, strong but fairly independent. One of the topics that has preoccupied some of us is how we can best find ways of collaborating among ourselves and with others.” I was the Layout and Web Editor for Volume I, and I am currently Co-Editor-in-Chief for the second volume.
           Last spring I was surprised to find that the annual Cornell Journal of Architecture was no longer produced. I set out to start a publication which would showcase student architectural work and concepts. However, I was unsure of a specific mission or genre. It turned out that I was not the only student that sought to start a publication. I had heard that a graduate student (who is now my Co-Editor) had a specific vision for a publication which would include work not only from architecture, but art and planning as well. I recognized the potential of the student’s vision and offered to take charge of graphic design and web design, my fields of expertise. Without my experience in layout design, ASSOCIATION would have passed as just-another-student-magazine. Over the past year, I was able to create a unique design for a unique and inspirational concept.
           The concept behind ASSOCIATION is well-founded, though experimental in nature. As a designer, I had to find a way to subtly suggest associations between works, while still allowing the reader to make their own connections. Graphically, ASSOCIATION works much like a “Mix-and-Match” children’s flip book where one can create various combinations, or associations –  think: ‘bird’s head with an elephant’s body on a fish’s tail.’ My co-editor generally dealt with the curation and association of the work, while I arranged the images and text in Adobe Indesign. Since my intense involvement in a number of high-school publications, my passion has been layout design. ASSOCIATION is a great way to explore graphic design and break away from more rigid and restrictive high-school publications, which ran on much tighter budgets.
           As an experimental supplement, I created a fully interactive ASSOCIATION online, which transformed the project from a mere book into a true networking device. The website is hosted at www.aap.cornell.edu/association.
           My experience as the designer of the ASSOCIATION publication and website has greatly contributed to my maturation as a leader. Throughout the past year, I have met with students, various faculty and administrators to ensure the production of a high quality magazine. Each successive volume responds to conditions and feedback of authors and readers. Recently we held a meeting with an Art class which meets regularly to discuss “the book” as a conceptual art form. The forum that we held was a priceless opportunity to get feedback from students and exposed a number of shortcomings in Volume I.
           Since the goals of ASSOCIATION correspond to the agenda of AAP’s administration, I put together a graphic proposal for the publication, which eventually convinced the associate deans to fund Volume I in its entirety ($8000). At $8 a copy, 1000 copies of ASSOCIATION were printed and placed in faculty and student mailboxes. Every member of the college and a few select alumni received the publication. Internationally renowned architect, Richard Meier ’56 (who is currently designing the new Life Sciences building) personally asked for a copy of the publication. Several alumni asked if we would accept alumni submissions for the next issue (a request we have honored). The Fine Arts Library acquired a copy of the book, and it is currently listed in the Cornell Library catalogue. Various spreads of the magazine are on display in the Business Service Center of Sibley Hall. In the past year ASSOCIATION has evolved from a mission into a fully realized publication and from a publication into an official student organization, which I co-founded.
           This semester our organization has grown from 2 members to 7 members. We have taken in two graphics editors, a copy editor, and two people to manage marketing and fundraising. Of course, the driving force behind ASSOCIATION is the broad array of submissions we receive from authors throughout AAP. We have already received over 50 submissions for ASSOCIATION Volume II, which is scheduled for publication in Fall 2006.
           ASSOCIATION has truly found its place at Cornell, and is just beginning to shape the face and crucial identity of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. This experience has not only exposed me to the work of my peers in planning and art department, but has allowed me to interact with the authors as well.
           As a result of my involvement with ASSOCIATION, I have become a natural and confident speaker. I have learned ways of presenting and progressing my ideas in conjunction with those of my peers. In addition, I have discovered something that my curricular activities do not offer, an opportunity to direct and develop an original project that is truly my own.