Last semester, I happened to have some spare time after my class on the third floor of Tisch Library. Of course, finding any excuse not to write my English paper, I followed my curiosity to the yellow room at the end of the hall.
Upon entering, I felt like I was walking through the wardrobe into Narnia. Behind the unsuspecting door of Room 303, I was met by a clean, brightly lit room full of art, posters and tables of desktop computers. On the central tables were a peculiar assortment of gadgets, magazines, leaves, a snack basket and other objects. A woman seated at the table waved me over. Unbeknownst to me, I happened to walk in on a workshop about the various tech and audio recording equipment available to check out from the library. What began as a quick detour quickly turned into an hour of learning how to take microscopic pictures of my fingerprint with an attachable iPhone lens and pretending to do ASMR with three different types of specialized microphones.
Although my English paper felt the consequences, I discovered what would become one of my favorite places on the Tufts campus: the Digital Design Studio. The studio, within the Digital Scholarship department, offers a variety of services that are available for Tufts students, faculty and staff.
When you walk in, the first thing you may notice are the rows of 16 colorful pastel iMac computers. But they’re not just any computers — they are equipped with free access to Adobe Creative Cloud and other media design softwares open for the community to use whenever the library is open.
For Olivia Sheng, a first-year student in the SMFA, this resource has been incredibly useful for her graphic design assignments.
“[I come here often] because I have to finish my studio work because my computer just cannot install the Adobe apps,” Sheng said.
Beyond their digital software, the DDS also supports the equipment available for checkout at the front desk downstairs. In my spontaneous workshop, I discovered some of these items — equipment that I had no idea existed — are free to use. Did you know Tisch has microphones that are specifically for recording distant environmental noises, like bird songs? Or a microphone that records audio underwater? They also have other equipment, including video and photography cameras, lighting kits, tripods and even a podcasting kit available to borrow for the creative projects of your dreams.
For those who are more interested in designing something physical, the studio also offers 3D printing at no cost. If you are like me and have always wanted to try 3D printing but have no idea where to start, the staff can walk you through the entire process if you schedule an appointment on their website.
If you haven’t been sold yet, the DDS also houses a recording room with professional equipment and software open for all community members to use by reservation. Inside are two microphones, a video camera, a green screen and a black backdrop which can be used for both school-related and personal projects.
“Sometimes people go in there to take … professional photos, or we have some folks who have YouTube channels that go in there and they set up and do the recordings in there. But definitely heavy, heavy use for podcasting,” Kimberly Forero-Arnías, head of the DDS, said.
One of my most utilized resources at the DDS is their large format printer. Need to print an academic conference poster or simply want to spice up your room decor with some new photos? For $3 per square foot, the studio offers high-quality, large-format prints open to all members of the Tufts community. I was looking to print a poster as a birthday gift for a friend and the experience couldn’t have been easier. I simply had to book an appointment on their website, send my design to the front desk and I had a beautiful quality print for my friend for only a few bucks of JumboCash.
Although this space is open for independent use whenever the library is open, if you are looking for more support in using any of the media software or need assistance setting up an appointment, there are certain desk hours where studio assistants can help with any questions you might have or refer you to someone with more information.
“Our job is to support the patrons that come in for their various design projects, whether that be printing out things on the large format printer or using all the software we have available on our computers. That might also include using the recording room and the various softwares we have in there or just responding to general questions about design projects,” studio assistant Karina Malm said.
The DDS is not only a resource for independent work. One of the primary roles of the DDS is to assist classes in projects that involve digital media, whether it’s a podcast assignment, online exhibit or a zine presentation. They’ve supported courses across all departments, ranging from an environmental storytelling assignment in a biology course to a video remixing project in a child studies and human development class.
If the DDS is not involved with your specific classes but you are interested in learning more about digital media or the studio’s offerings, the DDS also offers workshops on specific tools and topics open to anyone in the Tufts community. This month on April 23, the studio is hosting an Introduction to Zines and Bookbinding workshop as a part of their Crafting With Data events series.
The DDS used to house DVD and VHS tapes. But after those collections moved downstairs in the library, the DDS stands primarily as an educational space, meant to bridge the gap between community members and contemporary digital media and technology. Forero-Arnías explained that the mission of the DDS is to empower communities through design and media literacy.
“Our goal is to connect, whether that be students, faculty or staff … with media, technology [and] tools in order to ask questions about how they’re working on us, or what they’re doing in our world, like how we’re consuming them, how we’re interacting with them and just bringing an awareness to the work that’s happening in media,” Forero-Arnías said.
The DDS is a hub of underutilized resources and opportunities that many faculty, students and staff are still unaware of. Considering you are now aware of these resources, the Digital Design Studio is waiting for you to start that podcast, YouTube channel or finally learn Adobe Photoshop.
