Braille in decline

February 27, 2010 at 10:38 am
Filed under Accessibility, Graphic Design, Regulatory information, Social Issues, Symbols, Wayfinding

“A report released last year by the National Federation of the Blind, an advocacy group with 50,000 members, said that less than 10 percent of the 1.3 million legally blind Americans read Braille. Whereas roughly half of all blind children learned Braille in the 1950s, today that number is as low as 1 in 10, according to the report…Braille literacy has been waning for some time, even among the most intellectually capable, and the report has inspired a fervent movement to change the way blind people read.” — A.M.

Milton Glaser to be honored

February 26, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Filed under Designers

Milton Glaser will receive a 2009 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal, “for a lifetime devoted to improving the way people communicate through innovation in graphic design, and for memorable visual artifacts that challenge contemporary artists and delight all Americans.” — A.M.

DC: Designing Change

February 26, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Filed under Conferences, SEGD Conf + Expo, Uncategorized

SEGD Conference + Expo | June 2-5, 2010 | Washington DC

The world is changing fast. And as technologies, economies, and our physical landscape undergo constant metamorphosis, designers have to keep up.

How is the design world adapting to all this rapid change? How can we harness the incredible energy afoot and create positive change for our clients, our colleagues and employees, our families, and ourselves? That’s the Big Question at the 2010 SEGD Conference + Expo, and one that will be tackled by the likes of designer/provocateur Stefan Sagmeister, Project H founder Emily Pilloton, interactive lighting designer Jason Bruges, architect Phil Freelon, and many others in Washington, D.C., June 2-5.

The complete conference website was launched today. Check out the star-studded speaker list, fascinating project tours, and great networking opportunities. And get yourself registered to attend. Come be a part of the change. — P.M.K.

Find your way in a flash

February 25, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Filed under Maps, Technology, Wayfinding

“The TamTam Flash concept GPS torch is both a familiar looking and new technology in a number of ways. It resembles an ordinary flashlight and its name sounds an awful lot like TomTom, which neatly links to the fact that the concept torch is actually a GPS mapping device that gives its user the option of either a street map view or a turn by turn guided navigation projected onto a surface.” — A.M.

Putting the glow in pro bono

February 25, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Filed under Pro bono

It’s eHarmony for the design world, with just as much heart.

DesignNYC is a new organization that matches New York City designers with community groups and non-profits that could use their skills. It was launched last week by designer Edwin Schlossberg of ESI Design (an SEGD member studio) with the help of an all-star design support team including Steven Heller, Pentagram partner James Biber, and MoMA curator Paola Antonelli.

With the economy in the dumps, many designers have a bit more time in their schedules, and non-profits have even smaller budgets to promote their causes. DesignNYC has so far facilitated 12 pilot projects, including a Green Guide for the New York Housing Authority, print materials supporting a project to restore the Bronx River, and interior design for a renovated fireboat house that will be the home of the Lower East Side Ecology Center. Sounds like a win-win-win (ad infinitum) situation. — P.M.K.

Eighteenth-century express mail

February 24, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Filed under Communication, Misc.

“During the latter part of the 1800’s in Sweden, if a letter required quick delivery (equivalent to today’s Express Mail) this was signified by affixing one or more feathers in a wax seal. Known in Sweden as a Fjäderbrev. These are known from roughly the 1760’s to about the 1840’s.” You could use from one to three feathers to indicate how fast the letter should fly. Some also believe that the use of both black and white feathers indicate that the missive should travel by both day and night. — A.M.

Milton Glaser sketches

February 24, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Filed under Designers

“What can we say, we have always been inspired by Milton. He is a born teacher who always inspires. In 2006, Chris from C. Coy shot this short video of Milton Glaser sketching a portrait of William Shakespeare and musing about how the act of drawing makes him conscious of what he is looking at and focuses his mind on the world around him. In addition to the thoughtfulness of his comments, it’s impressive to see that he draws confidently without ever pausing or erasing —

or losing his train of thought.” — A.M. (via Ronald Shakespear!)

MILTON GLASER DRAWS & LECTURES from C. Coy on Vimeo.

“Along the way” with David Vanden-Eynden

February 24, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Filed under Design Firms, Design education, Wayfinding

SEGD Fellow David Vanden-Eynden shared his unique brand of pragmatism and humor with students at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning yesterday.

Lesson One, aimed at an audience of graphic, interior, industrial, and digital design students—some with little exposure to environmental graphic design—was how wayfinding and signage, placemaking and branding can contribute to the built environment and improve the quality of life. In a world made more complex every day, “Wayfinding is about clear communications and a universal language that makes the world easier to understand.”

For One Raffles Quay, a 2 million-sq.-ft. office tower complex in Singapore, CV&E created a sculptural entry statement featuring 3-ft.-tall cast-glass letters. (Photo: Tim Nolan)

Sharing insights from 30+ years as a designer and principal (with Chris Calori) of New York-based Calori & Vanden-Eynden/Design Consultants, Vanden-Eynden shared the firm’s work and some good advice, including:

1. Starting is only half of the design process; finishing is the other half.

2. Don’t fall in love with your first idea.

3. Ideas are the one resource of which you have an endless supply.

4. Simple is the best, but it’s really hard.

5. Doubts are OK, but don’t let them get in your way and don’t back down.

6. Have passion.

7. Don’t quit.

8. Just because you can put type in the shape of a fish doesn’t mean you should.

9. If you aren’t having fun, why bother?

10. And the secret to success, according to Vanden-Eynden? “Work harder than everyone else.”– P.M.K.

Simple is better: With a "ridiculously low" budget at Royal Executive Park, CV&E had to leverage every last scrap of material. To sign a six-building complex, they cut the building numbers out of stainless steel and rotated them 90 degrees in the voids. (Photo: James R. Morse)

Kinder caring

February 24, 2010 at 8:40 am
Filed under Healthcare, Signage, Wayfinding

Amsterdam’s Emma Children’s Hospital is undergoing a major renovation to improve services and facilities for its young patients, from infants to adolescents. OPERA Amsterdam is tasked with interiors for the spaces, and the first newly renovated unit, Infants Care and Staff, opened last month.

Working with design architects OD205, OPERA conceived three layers of space representing different levels of intimacy: the most private area, around the patients; the immediate surroundings; and the space representing the patients’ relation to the outside world. The “parade,” or main corridor through the unit, is key to the design, acting like a high street in a small town. A bright but sophisticated color scheme leads patients and visitors to their destinations, with clear wayfinding signage on wall-mounted signs and on the floors. Commissioned work by international artists adds texture and whimsy and helps avoid an institutional feeling. –P.M.K.

Photos: Mike Bink

Ten minutes with Frank

February 24, 2010 at 8:21 am
Filed under Architecture

February 19, 1958 Lyman Bryson host, commentator from: Frank Lloyd Wright – Creative Mind: The Architect as Creator | Free Lecture | Forum Network from PBS and NPR

In an interview taped on February 19, 1958, Frank Lloyd Wright opines on the evils of the urban city, including the oppression of teenagers and the desecration of nature and architecture wrought by industrialization. “The architect is the basic servant of society, but where are our architects? Most of them have gone into business now.” –P.M.K.