Dave Colson Community Geocaching Project
During his senior year at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Dave Colson decided to take a different approach to his thesis work. Colson dispersed lessons about graphic design throughout the Baltimore community using a system called geocaching. Geocaching is a system involving Global Positioning System technology (GPS) that allows participants to hide and seek various types of trinkets and mementos. The lessons that he included covered aspects of graphic design that were timeless, such as how and why typefaces are used in contemporary society. Geocaching not only allows others to seek hidden items, but it also requires that the seeker leaves behind something in return. This aspect of Colson’s study was interesting in the sense that it established a reciprocity, or a system of give and take. Colson’s passion for community based artwork stems from his participation in the Design Coalition course at MICA. The Design Coalition stresses the importance of creating community based design that has a positive impact on society. Colson hopes for this project to be a legacy or time capsule for the Baltimore community. “Not everyone has had the educational opportunities that I have had, and it would be nice to give back.”