Towering work in a brown paper wrapper

March 8, 2010 at 10:54 am
Filed under Design education, Exhibit Design, Green Related, Materials, Placemaking, Public Art

A ten-meter tower made entirely of recyclable cardboard, brought to the Carton Plein! exhibit in a small delivery truck, and erected in nine hours with no scaffolding.  Oh, and it’s student work. — A.M.

“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)

Transdisci-what??

February 23, 2010 at 11:16 am
Filed under Design education

Yeah, we all talk about transdisciplinary design, but what does it really mean?

Parsons the New School for Design is now offering an MFA in Transdisciplinary Design. To determine what “the man on the street” thinks that is, MFA Director Jamer Hunt shot this fun video. Hold on for a special cameo appearance at the end. –P.M.K.

Smells like a rose

February 23, 2010 at 8:34 am
Filed under Branding, Design education

All designers know that engaging the senses is the most powerful way to help users retain information and create memorable experiences. And, as we all know, our sense of smell may be the most powerful memory maker of them all. (Remember Grandma’s apple pie? The smell of perfume during your first trip to a department store?)

So why hasn’t the design world been more aggressive about tapping scent to brand environments, create a sense of place, or even (why not?) guide visitors through complex spaces?

Parsons the New School for Design is tackling the issue with a March 26 seminar on Design as Scent. Designers, scientists, artists, theorists, and fragrance specialists will gather to compare notes on the conception, impact, and potential applications of scent. The overall project, which includes the symposium and a class Parsons’ Jamer Hunt is teaching entitled “Critical Experiments in the Smell of Space,” is the result of a collaboration with MoMA, International Fragrances and Flavors, SEED magazine, and Virtual Beauty. It’s a free event, but requires advanced registration. –P.M.K.

Suited to a T

January 12, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Filed under Design education

“A T-shaped person, as Brown explains it, is someone who starts out with a deep interest and expertise in one skill (that’s the vertical base of the T) but then keeps branching out to gain new expertise in many different areas of knowledge (that’s the top of the T). Brown says a T-shaped person tends to make for a good designer, because that willingness to learn and to keep branching out into new areas allows a designer to take on all kinds of challenges and adapt to any working situation.” (Thanks, Ronald!) — A.M.

Dieter Rams

December 8, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Filed under Books, City Happenings, Design education, Industrial Design, Technology

One of the most influential product designers of the 20th century, Dieter Rams is currently profiled at London’s Design Museum. It could be argued that Rams is THE most influential as the physical aspects of his iconic designs—primarily done over 40 years for Braun—still show up in the work of contemporary designers’ work like that of Jonathan Ive for Apple and even in the calculator app for the iPhone. His ten principles of good design are highly relevant and thought provoking in their simplicity:

• Good design is innovative.
• Good design makes a product useful.
• Good design is aesthetic.
• Good design makes a product understandable.
• Good design is unobtrusive.
• Good design is honest.
• Good design is long lasting.
• Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
• Good design is environmentally friendly.
• Good design is as little design as possible.

If previous catalogs are any guide, the one for this exhibit (yet to be released at Amazon) will be inspiring. — K.E.

Design Summit: setting priorities

December 7, 2009 at 11:55 am
Filed under Conferences, Design education

Introducing design creativity and innovation curriculum into K-12 education was the top-priority design policy proposal emerging from last week’s U.S. National Design Policy Initiative summit in Washington.

The proposal to incorporate design modules into elementary through high school curriculum garnered 23% of the 324 votes solicited by the Design Policy Initiative prior to its Dec. 1 summit. The next step toward developing a K-12 design policy will be teaming up with organizations that have already established similar initiatives, including the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and the Association of Architecture Organizations’ A+DEN (Architecture + Design Education Network), which includes AIA, AAF, and the Chicago Architectural Foundation.

The Design Policy Initiative’s second policy priority is preparing and publishing case studies that demonstrate the positive social, economic, and environmental impacts of design. At the summit, SEGD CEO Leslie Gallery Dilworth shared the work done by SEGD and SEGD member firms for Hablamos Juntos, a Robert Wood Johnson-funded research study focused on the use of symbols in health care settings. Case studies like these will be published in print, on the web, and in multimedia formats to demonstrate the value of design.

The third-priority design policy as presented at the summit is to establish design roundtables with the design industry, government agencies, and stakeholders. Ideally, the roundtables will take place at already-scheduled events such as design conferences, and will focus on four areas: 1) health and wellness care, 2) sustainable living, 3) innovation and entrepreneurship, and 4) education for the 21st century.

The summit gathered design association leaders, design educators, and government agency representatives who use design services. In addition to those present at the meeting, more than 200 people participated via a live feed. A full report of the summit can be found at the Design Policy initiative website, and an upcoming issue of  SEGD’s member newsletter, Messages, will also contain a full report. — P.M.K.

Reaching the Design Summit

December 1, 2009 at 8:30 am
Filed under Conferences, Design Process, Design education

The U.S. National Design Policy Initiative—the movement that advocates for a governmental plan of action to support design’s role in economic competitiveness and democratic governance—is meeting in Washington, D.C., today, and you’re invited.  

You can watch and interact with the Summit live from 9:30am-3:3pm EST viawww.ustream.tv/channel/us-design-policy. The social stream will be connected to the group’s Facebook page, Twitter account @usdesignpolicy, and YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/USDesignPolicy.

During breaks in the Summit, participants will answer your comments and questions on the social stream about what you have seen and heard at the People’s Q&A, moderated by Change Observer’s Brad McKee. 

SEGD is a co-sponsor of the Summit, and has been involved in the initiative since its inception. SEGD CEO Leslie Gallery Dilworth is attending today and SEGD is co-sponsoring the design policy Q&A session.  

The Summit will gather design association leaders,  government agency representatives, and design educators to push the group’s design policy proposals forward. By being a voice for the U.S. design community, the Design Policy Initiative seeks to:

 ”….design promotions to boost the demand for American goods and services

“…create innovative policies to protect American intellectual property and support the People’s entrepreneurial spirit

“…design standards to guarantee inclusion, sustainability, safety, and quality in the experiences of the human remade world

“…facilitate policy designed to address design’s role in making American democratic values tangible to the People.”

Design policy proposals include formalizing an American Design Council to work with the U.S. government; setting federal guidelines for legibility, safety, and accessibility in all government communications; establishing an assistant secretary for design in the federal government; and expanding national grants to support interdisciplinary community design assistance based on human-centered design practices. –P.M.K.