Experience art in a new way and gain insight into the power of graphic design to educate with a visit online to www.interislandterminal.org, where “;Moving Histories: Type in Motion”; is on display.

The online exhibit features seven digital works, each centered on a historical event, produced by graphic design students from the University of Hawaii-Manoa's art and art history program.

Associate professor Chae Ho Lee ran the 400-level digital design course, which had students using online emerging new media software such as (Adobe) Flash and Dreamweaver.

“;We had them work with the software in a way that's a bit more dynamic than usual,”; he said.

The project required students to research events and employ their graphic design skills using “;just color and type, with animation, in a way that would inform and capture an audience's attention and imagination,”; Lee said.

“;This is the first time any of them worked in Flash, so they were learning as they were going. I thought they did a pretty good job with only six weeks for research, production and learning to use the programs,”; he said.

Projects profiled such historic events and monuments as the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall (by John Cruz); the Korean War (Daniel Park); 9/11 (Michelle Saoit); the Hiroshima bombing (Jimmy Tran); the Taj Mahal (Angelica Rabang); Japan's 17th- to 19th-century seclusion policy, Sakoku (Aki Takebayashi); and the 1995 sarin gas attack in Tokyo subways (Hiromi Zimmerman).

Unfortunately, the course is no longer being offered in the face of budget cuts at UH, although Lee says Flash and Web design are covered in other courses.

LEE SAYS teaching graphic design poses a formidable challenge.

“;You're not only teaching skills and the design process, but professional conduct as well. The graphic design degree is a professional degree. We've got two years to prepare for building a career that will last maybe 20 years.”;

Then there's the issue of cultivating artistic bravery. Lee says he's not sure if all viewers will agree with the perspectives of history his students have presented, but he thinks diversity inspires discussion, and that's a good thing.

“;People have different views of history based on their origins, background and politics,”; he says. “;I tell my students that as designers and artists, they must be courageous in presenting the issues.

“;Some people think that all graphic design does is make things pretty, but designers can be researchers. They can bring content to a project.”;

WEI FANG, Interisland Terminal's curator of art and design, says “;Moving Histories”; fits well into her organization's programming, which profiles contemporary art, film and design to “;cultivate local innovation and creative capital”; in Honolulu.

“;Chae's doing amazing things with his students, and the show fits in with our mission to cultivate creative talent,”; she says. “;The work is strong, and this is a great way to highlight the good talent coming from UH.

“;The relationship between Interisland Terminal and UH's Department of Art and Art History represented by this exhibition is almost as exciting as the works (themselves). We are working together to develop a dynamic pipeline of opportunities for young, emerging artists and designers in our community.”;

On that front, Lee had been pursuing practical opportunities for his students even before the exhibit. As a result, students have worked on such projects as a handbook for the Manoa Alcohol Prevention Project and an annual report for the state.

“;We asked nonprofits to give students real-world experience. It (allows us to) show that we're producing good designers,”; he says.

“;Moving Histories”; has also offered positive exposure to its contributors.

“;Some students have gotten a lot of interest from the exhibit, and most are working in and pursuing design,”; Lee said.