Using the idea of framework as a grounding metaphor, this annual catalog from the Communication Design community at Parsons—the fourth in the Framework series—captures and documents the work of designers as they translate, create, and articulate ideas and forms. Such activities occur in both directions, as students platform and present new visions and faculty return with pressing questions.

In this edition of the publication, the Parsons Communication Design program invited guest designer Bráulio Amado to develop a fresh perspective for the conversation which sets the tone for this 2025 volume. Amado reimagined the layout for "Designers in Dialogue," a special feature that playfully captures discussions with and between design faculty, and speaks to both the contemporary state of the design discipline and the transformation of teaching practice. Looking to Parsons School of Design and The New School Archives for inspiration, the design of the volume nods to the work of Cipe Pineles and the visual motif of the "Big Apple."

Framework 104 considers the elasticity of a framework, and its ability to influence visual potential. This edition, like others in the series, highlights work from graduating students in the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) program, the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program, and the Master of Professional Studies (MPS) program along with a select group of contemporary designers currently practicing in the field.

Together, these works offer insight into the evolving disciplines of communication design and the broader questions explored, within and across its various subdomains—book design, branding, digital product design, motion graphics, typeface design, and environmental spatial graphics. 

A typographic showcase and an overview of activities, events, core courses, faculty, staff, and all of the details that shaped the 2024-2025 terms is also included.

Framework examines the evolution of a particular U.S. design curriculum, serving simultaneously as a timely reference point for considering how visual communication is taught and practiced today.

Parsons design faculty who contributed to this issue include Juliette Cezzar, Nika Simovich Fisher, Pascal Glissmann, Caspar Lam, Andrew LeClair, Elaine Lopez, YuJune Park, Lucille Tenazas, and Kelly Walters.

Designed by 908A (E Roon Kang and Andrew LeClair)
Cover and pp. 1-64 designed by Bráulio Amado

Published by Draw Down Books and Parsons CD, 2025

Softcover with flaps, 256 pages, offset, color images throughout, 6.6 × 9.5 inches
Comes with a double-sided poster

ISBN: 978-1-73-347446-7