On Sunday 28 June 2009 at London’s Conway Hall, Alice Rawsthorn (design critic of the International Herald Tribune, columnist for the New York Times and a leading authority on contemporary design) will host a ’sermon’ at The School of Life entitled “Alice Rawsthorn on Good Design”.
Asking how technology, globalisation and sustainability will impact the creative sector? And, further, how they impact the education sector? Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication presents the 2009 Cumulus Conference: ‘Confronting Challenge with Change’ at the O2, on 27 – 30 May 2009. Key note speakers include Lord David Puttnam, Dr Angela Dumas, Sir Ken Robinson, Prof. Robin Baker OBE and many other industry and education leaders.
As many of you will know, for over a year now, I have spent a great deal of time mentoring graduate designers and creatives, offering them advice, connections and often helping them to gain working placements. Today, one 2008 graduate forwarded me news of a new social enterprise that’s been launched in North London. Consurgo is an initiative that gives exciting opportunities to design students and graduates through a range of pioneering schemes such as portfolio reviews and remote placements. Brilliant, schemes like this are vital.
‘Dance’, the latest Saatchi & Saatchi commercial for T-Mobile, was filmed at 11am on Thursday 15th January 2009 at London’s Liverpool Street station and aired less than 48 hours later. Although (to us savvy users of Web 2.0) flashmobs may not be a new concept, when I saw the smile on my fathers face as he saw this ad on friday night, I realised how such a simple act of community collaboration (and dance!!) can add a little bit of happiness to the daily routine of the commuter. Wonderful – I love how the elderly lady joins in at the end too!
If you had to tie a red balloon to your favourite thing, what would you tie it to?
As part of her undergraduate project Douceurs, post graduate service designer Lauren Currie, (a.k.a Red Jotter), took a dozen red balloons to a park in Edinburgh, and to encourage traditional communication between the public asked people she met to tie them to their favourite thing. Read the rest of this entry »
In collaboration with the Samaritans, talented photographer Hege Sæbjørnsen is organising ‘Affluenza’… THE exhibition. With an aim to promote “creative self-expression as a powerful tool to develop an understanding of ourselves and the world around us”, an exhibition of works from over thirty international multidisciplinary visual and performing artists, “…aims to inspire an open debate about the destructive impact of consumer values on our emotional well-being and our integrity as human beings.”
The call for artists has been launched, and entries will be selected by a prominent panel of judges, including Jonathan Barnbrook, ‘Affluenza’ author Oliver James and the Design Museum’s Michael Czerwinski.
The deadline for submissions is 30th January 2009 and the events are scheduled to begin in March. For full details about the project visit AffluenzaExhibition.org, and you can also join the exhibition’s group on Facebook.
The latest video from the UK Design Council has wonderfully captured the essence of design. Ambitiously entitled ‘What is Design?’ the video illustrates the simplicity required to explain the nature (and power) of design to the masses.
On Friday 21st November, final year and graduate designers will run simultaneous workshops up and down the country, in an exciting stage two of The Real Work Experience.
Exploring how designers can play a role in social improvement, we are asking young designers to consider what “The Real Work Experience” could do for them? Could it be an online network that bridges the gap between education and seeking (socially engaged) work? Could it be a mentoring program, or a regular series of events that discuss design’s wider potential? What do designers and graduates need, to be able to use their skills to tackle social issues? What does a movement toward socially responsible design look like to you? Read the rest of this entry »
Written by Kate Andrews for Greengaged, September 2008. Photography by Kate Andrews, copyright of Greengaged.
Did you know that recycling one tonne of paper can save 7000 gallons of water, 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4000kw of energy!? On Friday afternoon at Greengaged, non profit enterprise Three Trees Don’t Make a Forest held a three hour sustainable print and paper workshop to explore how different print processes affect recyclability, and how you can reduce the impact through the design process. Read the rest of this entry »
On Friday evening, as part of the magnificent Greengaged hub of sustainability events (at London’s Design Council), a series of leading speakers will debate; “Should we believe the hype? Green Marketing, spin and substance.”
In 2007, 70% of the US’s GDP was generated from consumption. UK household waste has been growing by 2% – 3% per cent a year. The average shopper in the developed world shopper adds 3 tonnes of CO2 to their carbon footprint by simply buying stuff. Products and services are clicking on to the big sell of green. In the climate of economic down turn how can we create behaviour change in consumers who are bombarded by advertising and bored of green wash.
Chaired by Lucy Siegle from The Observer, the speakers include: Ed Gillespie (Futerra), Sophie Thomas (thomas.matthews), Stewart Rassier (Saatchi & Saatchi S), Richard George (Plane Stupid), Chris Sherwin (Forum for the Future), John Grant (author of The Green Marketing Manifesto).
To join the debate visit Greengaged.com and book your place! Kick off is at 6.30pm.
With the 2008 London Design Festival only a matter of days away, it is with great respect to read ‘Scenes of Graphic London’, an editorial piece written by Teal Triggs (Professor of Graphic Design, University of the Arts London). Highlighting the importance of Graphic Design to the UK capital, Triggs beautifully captures a timeline of the UK’s most iconic work, and intelligently pays respect to the changing faces of its future. You can download the full article from the London Design Festival website.
Illustrating the power and potential of using design thinking to tackle some of the UK’s greatest social issues, Deborah and the team at Thinkpublic have helped make significant improvements to communications and patient experiences in the NHS.
“We are faced with a growing amount of social challenges, including an ageing population, social exclusion and global warming to name a few. Designers need to adapt their skills to play a role in helping solving these challenges. Not by designing posters or products, but by using their skills to involve people and communities in the problem solving process. Together we can understand how we can solve these big issues and design sustainable, useful and usable solutions that work in different households, communities, regions and counties.”* – Deborah Szebeko.
Alongside 5 other UK entrepreneurs Deborah has been shortlisted to the top six finalists. The winner will be announced at 100% Design, on 19th September 2008.
I have just rediscovered Collective Lens, an online network promoting social change through the use of photography. This is such a fantastic idea, that I hope more people get involved with. The website has a whole wealth of forums, articles and photo essays to explore. To get involved, you can upload a photo or a nonprofit organisation and help raise awareness to important social issues.
Missouri based designer and illustrator Frank Chimero has produced a great collection of ‘inspirational design posters’. I have returned to these workds countless times over the past week, consistently thinking how suitable they would be to support social projects. The posters are now available to buy online. It would be good to know if the profits are going to a social cause?
A new concept in community volunteering has arrived in the UK, explained The Guardian earlier this month. Orange RockCorps is asking you to give something back to your local community. ‘Give’ just 4 hours of your time to a community project, and you’ll ‘Get Given’ a ticket to the exclusive RockCorps gig at London’s Royal Albert Hall in September! The first confirmed guest in the line up, Busta Rhymes.
With introductory speeches from Design Council Chairman Sir Michael Bichard KCB and Live|Work Founding Director Chris Downs on Wednesday evening, the symposium running through Thursday and Friday will bring together leading academics, professionals and students to explore the practice of graphic design for the future.
Co-ordinated by Professor Teal Triggs (LCC) and Dr. Laurene Vaughan (RMIT), New Views 2 is structured with intent to allow open dialogue. Over the two-day symposium, six topical clusters – formed from the selected paper submissions, allow attendees to join discussions specific to their interest areas:
• Cluster 1: Design Writing/Criticism: Repositioning the Debate.
• Cluster 2: Graphic Design: Interdisciplinary.
• Cluster 3: Graphic Design: Practice and Methods.
• Cluster 4: Research/Innovation: New Critical Thinking.
• Cluster 5: Responsive Curricula: Shifting Paradigms.
• Cluster 6: Graphic Design: Changing the ‘Real World’.
The clustered group propositions are now available for download from www.newviews.co.uk
To launch the much anticipated MA in Design Writing/Criticism at London College of Communication, Stephen Bayley (design critic for The Observer) presents the first of a series of new talks this month, surrounding the current state of design writing and criticism.
It is continually inspiring to discover new social design initiatives, increasingly springing up from a wealth of industry sectors, however this week I came across a project that (I feel) deserves huge creative and social credit. It’s name, The Global Oneness Project.
Founded and directed by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, The Global Oneness Project offers a remarkable insight in to the creative intelligence of human nature. This web-based video initiative aims to explore “how the notion of oneness can be lived in our increasingly complex world.”
The Global Oneness team are traveling the world, filming interviews with people from a variety of disciplines, asking them to share their stories about living and working from a perspective of interconnectedness. The films and interviews document an array of social initiatives from across the planet – in the fields of sustainability, conflict resolution, spirituality, art, economics, indigenous culture, and social justice.
There are already countless videos on the site, documenting some really insightful social projects, namely the “Not Just a Piece of Cloth” video about the Goonj recycling centre in New Delhi (the western world could really learn a lot from this one) and Johannesburg’s “GreenHouse Project”, run by Dorah Lebelo.
The library of films is available for free from the website or on DVD for event and educational use. This resource is an inspiring example of how design and social technologies can globally promote human creativity and social change.
Award winning public service and communication design agency ThinkPublic launched The Social Lab last night, a project space set up for people to meet and discuss design-led concepts to address social challenges.
Each lab event is given a theme and invitations sent to an array of people with professional expertise spanning countless industry sectors. During the labs, attendees explore particular challenges using design tools and techniques, gain fresh insights and propose future steps for social development. Current Social Lab projects include The Real Work Experience, Public Service Thank You and ithinkpublic.
I am looking forward to watching this project evolve.
For more information visit www.thesociallab.com or contact the team at hello@thesociallab.com
Graphic designers work with clients, institutions, users, and communities to make things happen in the world. Yet education often focuses on the individual voice. How are we preparing students for a lifetime of working with and for other people? How are our students connecting to the world? Come participate in a relaxed and stimulating weekend of lively discussions, hands-on workshops, and informal activities.
With the intention to host “dozens of presentations and workshops led by designers, educators, and graduate students”, this looks to be a thoroughly engaging event that is currently calling for speakers!
Last night I came across a magnificent online resource and initiative dedicated to socially conscious design, its name Creative For A Cause. Founded and set up by Denver based Graphic Designer Heidi Cies, Creative For A Cause (A Resource for Visual Communications Educators) aims to assist teaching social responsibility in design education.
“While social responsibility is being discussed more and more frequently within the Visual Communications industry and among educators today, no standards or guidelines currently exist to aid in the implementation of these concepts into the higher education curriculum. Where social responsibility is not already part of a Visual Communications program, and there is little or no administrative support for inclusion, it is left to individual instructors to decide how to best integrate this topic into their syllabi.
This site is a collaborative resource for educators of Visual Communications who wish to instruct their students on the importance of adopting a social and ethical approach to their work. If you know of additional resources that you feel would be of value, please contact us.” (Heidi Cies, Creative For A Cause).
Heidi, well done – this is a fantastic project that is certainly going to prove useful. I look forward to our future conversations.
In my search for socially-based designers, working with contemporary and intelligent design thinking, I have come across a number of inspiring U.S based designers/agencies/projects this evening.
The first I am going to mention has to be, Citizen Scholar, Inc, founded by designer Randy J. Hunt. This New York design consultancy specialise “in creative services for cultural institutions, educators, artists, non-profits and social entrepreneurs.” Although the website only profiles the work in a blog format, it is worth a look around.
When I was first asked to contribute a piece on design ethics to Design Sessions: Notes on Design, I wondered how I could credibly comment on such a complex and highly academic topic. Whilst sitting at the early stages of my creative career, I wondered how many of us really understand what it means to be a “good” designer, and asked myself, if and how, I am a “good” (socially-responsible) designer?
Design Ethics
Throughout every stage of my creative training, I have echoed the belief that design is “quintessentially an ethical process” (Devon and Poel 2002). I strongly believe that Communication Design has a positive and negative ability to affect social change, but recognize that its influential power should be treated with respect and careful consideration, of its use, from all its designers.
London College of Communication are hosting the New Views 2 Symposium and Exhibition this coming July, entitled “Conversations and Dialogue in Graphic Design”. Although the call for papers is now closed, the conference registration is online and a call for poster submissions is underway.
“By facilitating large and smaller more focused groups of delegates, New Views 2, aims to identify the challenges we are currently facing in graphic design, but more importantly proposing potential ways forward.”
The suggested themes that New Views 2 may cover:
Problems of defining terminology: visual communication, communication design, graphic design, information environments.
the role of graphic design for the ‘real world’.
graphic design and interdisciplinarity
graphic design and research methods
design writing/criticism and repositioning the debate
practice-led PhD research in the field of graphic design
responsive curriculums and shifting paradigms
research, innovation and new critical thinking
New Views 2 has asked for poster submissions that “through the use of graphic language, address the issues and the core themes of the conference and demonstrate the use of graphic design as a means to critique and reflect upon its future.” Individuals or groups, Design students, Design Faculty and Professional Design Studio submissions were all welcome (more details on the website) and the selected works will be included in the traveling exhibition and/or the digital exhibition. I look forward to seeing the online exhibition later in the year.
Symposium:
July 9 – 11, 2008
London College of Communication
University of the Arts London, UK
Exhibition:
9 – 21 July 2008
Opens in London and then travels to RMIT, Australia.
A digital exhibition will also be presented through the conference website.
After Jody Boehnert forwarded me a link to Rick Poynor’s recent critic of Design Conferences, for Creative Review, I have thought a lot about their impact/importance and relevance.
The celebrity culture that has developed in the design industry is not something I have followed since being a student, however I was quite shocked at the monochrome nature of responses to this article, which it would seem illustrates a dichotomy of current day designers.
Response made to Rick Poynor’s feature:
Many conferences are simply an exhibition of famous works, but as Rajesh comments, students will forever love the opportunity to meet/see/admire their favourite designers (and there is nothing wrong with admiring your inspirations). As we develop into professionals however, there is more to learn and think about than “new tricks and computer skills”. If everyone just learns how to recreate the same thing, designers will evolve into nothing but another form of technology.
We should be asking for a new kind of design event that gets its audience off the seats and use their talents to challenge current day social problems. I therefore agree that smaller interactive debates, discussions and workshops that consider social change will assist the Communication industry to evolve positively into the future, and perhaps eradicate the risk of stagnating its designers into aesthetically orientated tech-savvy talent.
I just stumbled upon an event I can’t quite believe I missed out on. Early this month, Eye Magazine teamed up with Camberwell College of Art, to host a forum on Ethics in the Creative Industries.
On the 11th of March 2008 the Design Cluster at Camberwell in association with Eye Magazine held a discussion forum to examine how ethical issues are being addressed within the creative industries. Key writers, designers and thinkers presented their thoughts in discussion with staff, students and representatives ‘from industry’. Speakers included: Ken Garland, Anne Odling Smee, Rick Poynor, Lucienne Roberts, Rathna Ramanathan and Noel Douglas.
“The event featured talks based on previous Eye articles. First there was a conversation between Ken Garland and Anne Odling-Smee, followed by designer Rathna Ramanathan talking about her work for the BBC World Service in rural India. In the afternoon we heard from designer-activist Noel Douglas and Eye columnist Rick Poynor, whose talk ‘The value of no’ encapsulated and expanded upon many of the themes triggered by the Camberwell students’ interest in First Things First and its aftermath.”
According to the recent eye-newsletter [via email today], the forum review will be published in the forthcoming Eye Mag – due in the shops next month. Whilst we all eagerly await the discussion reviews, the forum’s blog is a worthy visit if you are in need of some designer ethics.
DesignLondon will develop, research and deliver radically new practices, tools and processes to transform the way businesses innovate, and translate their creativity into commercial success.
This new venture combines creativity and expertise in design from the Royal College of Art, engineering from Imperial College’s Faculty of Engineering and the business of innovation from Imperial College’s Tanaka Business School. It was established following the Cox Review: Creativity in Business that highlighted the need to stir together the scientific, engineering, business and creative design communities to enhance business and public sector innovation. Read the rest of this entry »
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