Since Philips closed most of its production sites in Eindhoven in the last years and moved it to cheaper countries in the Eastern world, there was a big gap to be filled in a city with around 200,000 inhabitants. It seems the city did the right thing in promoting its creative and cultural sector…

There was a broad mix to be found at this year’s Dutch Design Week. Most recongnizable was the Graduation show of the Design Academy Eindhoven. It’s not that ROGER is a believer of ratings like that of Business Week, defining the best 25 design schools in the world but it seems that the Design Academy Eindhoven deserves that decoration. If you don’t want to go into details, just have a look at the picture gallery. But there are some projects ROGER wants to draw your attention to.

Something really new in the way of silk production was presented by Elsbeth Joy Nielsen. Usually silkworms are thrown into boiling water when they cocooned themselves – which is the end of life. Now the young designer had the idea of an sustainable silk production: before starting the cocooning she puts the silkworm on a shaped piece of carton board which is held by a stick that is centered on the downside. The silkworm then starts trying to escape from this »platform« – without success of course as it fall down at the edges of the carton. In the two days of crossing the carton in the search of an escape the silkworm so spins a random net of silk. The result is a very Continue Reading »

Call for entries: the social design network Design 21 (organized in partnership with UNESCO) is organizing a logo competition for the UN Documentary Film Festival »Stories from the Field«. As you can see there is lots to do with their corporate design indeed.

The Stories from the Field festival is presented by Media Communications Association International, New York Chapter (MCA-I NY) in partnership with the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) and The New School in New York. Until now the communications material for Stories from the Field has contained variations of the MCA-I NY logo with the United Nations logo and the title – as shown in this example.

The organization is looking for a logo that represents the festival, rather than the organizations that present it. The logo would be used on the festival’s calls for entries, programs, posters, flyers, stationery, collateral materials and the website. It would also be used to brand the various satellite festivals that are in formation.

Prize money is $ 5,000. Deadline November 26, 2007.
Here’s again the details on the website of Design 21.

Admittedly ROGER was a bit flabbergasted when this invitation from New York arrived. ROGER was asked to save the date for the »Dan Golden Rug Launch Party«. Occasion for the party is the launch of their rug collection with a new representative and to celebrate their West Coast debut.

Also for the ROGER magazine it is a debut – as he entered the New York design scene so quickly. It seems there are people with a good taste hanging around there. We should try working on a New York office or at least a correspondent. If there’s somebody out there, just send us some lines.

About the party: ROGER is not sure if it’s a public one, but if you want to have »Prosecco, Parmesan and Prosciutto« on October 24th and »Music, food, drinks. Party« on October 25th then you should give a call to Ford Lininger at Dan Golden Inc.

YDMI is a new concept of the German Design Council, which is finally putting some more interest and action on young designers. The first YDMI days bring together young professionals from the design scene with corporations that have an accounted design competence. The choice of 50 international design offsprings and agencies was curated by the German Design Council – however it would be interesting to know what the criteria was to get into the game.

The event is structured in three phases: a dinner on October 25th where first contacts are meant to be made, workshops with case studies and discussions during the day and a final party where the new format is presented to the wider public – both happening on the 26th. The YDMI days are planned to happen once a year in connection to other design events (this year the 6th German Design Conference is the occasion). The party starts with a portfolio show: 3 minutes each for every participating designer. Afterwards the real party starts.

ROGER is very happy about this engagement of the council as Germany is far behind the engagement of other countries that long ago found out about the economic and cultural impact of design (e. g. the Scandinavians). It seems Natalie Köhler is the right person in charge of younger interests at the »Rat für Formgebung«.

Date: 26 October 2007, doors open at 20:30, portofolio show starts at 21:00
Location: Postbahnhof am Gleisdreieck, Luckenwalder Str. 4-6, 10936 Berlin
Admission: 5 Euro

Not only is the illustrator Mario Wagner enhancing the quality of the ROGER magazine. He also works for less famous magazines like Playboy or even New York Times Magazine.

Now you can again see his works in an exhibition happening at the »Revolver Gallery« in Düsseldorf. For his collages shown at the exhibition, Mario Wagner used 9 issues of American magazines that were published from 1962 to 1971. Wagner bought the issues from an ominous Mr. Thomas Campbell and mixed commercials, pictures and articles to show dreams, fears and wishes of an America in the 60s.

Vernissage: Saturday November 3rd, 2007, starting at 8 p.m. The exhibition is open till December 1st. Opening hours: »during the day, please ring the bell«
Address: Hermannstrasse 36, 40233 Düsseldorf, Germany, phone +49 211.9661434, E-Mail: info@revolverhelden.de

Dott 07 (Designs of the time 2007) is a year of community projects, events and exhibitions based in North East England that explore what life in a sustainable region could be like – and how design can help us get there. The year culminates in a twelve day festival in Newcastle Gateshead in October 2007, showing the results of projects and enabling all the people involved to share experiences. The Dott 07 Festival is supposed to inspire people and motivate them to participate in or even initiate similar projects themselves.

Lots of the projects presented at the festival are service design projects. Service design is still Continue Reading »

Sixty Graphic Designers and Illustrators have teamed with UNICEF this week, to launch a new publication, website and forthcoming exhibition. This is by far the most exciting Social Design collaboration I have come across in a long time.

The two years project was born last week, and all the money raised will go to UNICEF. The 60 Unite For Children website is just a sample, of what I am sure will be an exciting project. There is also a blog, that will hopefully keep us up to date with the goings on. The book can be bought online from tomorrow, whilst the exhibition will start in November, for a year.

60 Unite For Children, via. CPLUV.

Shortly the fifth edition of ROGER with the title »Hidden & Sought« will be on the way. By and large it is about the invisibility of design: design that lies in secrecy or which tries to hide something itself.

We are looking for interesting projects that ROGER can report about and would be pleased with suitable suggestions and and transmittals. The spectrum is set broad as usual: surveillance, nanotechnology, service design… what somehow has to do with design and invisibility is welcome! Send an e-mail to: info_at_rogermagazine_dot_net.

… when complicated and useless looks so much nicer?

TROIKA, producer of innovative promotional gifts, is proud to announce that taping things is no longer the ugliest, most boring and un-chic job on the agenda. The “abrollding” (dinspenser thing) replaces monolithious tape dispensers with pure design-pleasure. Designed by Ding3000, the abrollding has already won numerous design prizes: Designpreis Rheinland-Pfalz 2005, Promotional Gift Award Silber 2006, Good Design Award – Japan 2006, FORM 2006, Prädikat Design Plus 2007. TROIKA assures: Your wave of enthusiasm will not brake!

Well, until you actually try and use this beautiful thingamajig: Continue Reading »

Here’s an idea from Solutions, a design agency that is on second place in the German design companies rating made by the popular special interest magazine »Werben und Verkaufen« (where the companies are rated on their annual turnover).

Basically it is this: take an Airbus 380, a luxury car, caviar, diamonds, an expensive painting, an opera singer like Continue Reading »