Looks a bit like Michael Jackson, don't you think?

Some of the scarcest goods that we have on the internet is probably attention. There is so much input we have to work through that the time we spend on one information is really short. To grab one’s attention pictures have to be very expressive and symbolic: logo-like avatars on social networking platforms or the iconic language of apps.

One who knows how to stylize visual information in a small circle is Andy Awesome. He has practised his art on hundreds of circles and is quite an expert in this modern way of visual expression. I think he should bring his beautiful and often satirical artworks on more than canvas and fashion. What about tiles, paper cups, walls…

I wonder if all of you still know these guys.

A discussion in a Linkedin forum recently draw my attention to influential design thinkers. It was this topic that brought Lucius Burckhardt back to my mind. I just wanted to share the thoughts that I already expressed in the forum as it is not accessbible to everyone:

Personally I like his theory that products are actively taking effect into the interactions of society. He differentiates things that allow community – “Tools for conviviality” (adapted from Ivan Illich) – and artefacts that prevent social interaction. The car e.g. for Burckhardt is a good example for an object that is avoiding community as it completely prevents social interaction, what leads to recklessness and danger on the streets.

“Invisible Design. Today this means: the conventional design, that does not recognize its social function itself. I could also mean: a design of tomorrow that conciously considers invisible overall systems, consisting of objects and interpersonal relationsships.” (Lucius Burckhardt)

After translating the passages above I received a link to an English version of his essay “Design is invisible” – many thanks to Paula Thornton for this.

Here is some information about a conference that is completely organized by students of Brown and RISD. Tell me how it was if you have the chance to get there.

A Better World by Design is a three-day internationally acclaimed conference in Providence, RI that connects students, professionals, and individuals from a variety of disciplines in order to build a global community of socially conscious and passionate innovators. Presenters share engaging stories, workshops teach creative skills, and discussions reframe perspectives. A Better World by Design is an immersive experience, one that deepens our understanding of the power of design, technology, and enterprise to reshape our communities and sustain our environment.

Panels include topics like Arts + Design Organizations for Social Change, Ethics in Design, Future Urban Transport, Urban Arts and Activism etc. There are workshops with subjects like DIY Biology, Waste for Life or Designing Social Media. And of course there is a lot of opportunity to get into contact with others at the several “social events”.

Design Boost is a highly interesting platform that “envisions a holistic approach as a condition for sustainable design”. To fulfil this target the platform’s idea builds upon sharing knowledge by publishing media (magazines, books and videos), organizing events (talks, shows), building a community and offering consulting services.

Here is a documentation video of the last Design Boost event “Made in [Arnhem]” with an interesting, yet effective way to document an event by structuring the video with questions around the different themes: How can design understand cultures? How transform a commodity to an experience? Do we need another chair? How do me mind the gap? What comes after IKEA?

Now I cannot say that the answers are really satisfying nor are they new. For example I think it seems clear that “there are too many things we don’t need” and that it is “better to design better quality”. “When all parents are designers, that would leave to a better world” – that also needs more explanation.

Most interesting for me was the questions “What comes after IKEA?”. The answer was that after consumers became makers they now should become designers, said Tim Vermeulen. An interesting topic that needs much more work and debate I think.

Either it is the wrong questions that are asked or just some difficulty in the designers’ world that does not allow to bring up new ideas. Maybe it was just too short to put it in a single video document. Still the basic concept of Design Boost seems appealing to me as it consequently gathers designers and urges them to sit together and talk about problems and probably even solutions. It is for sure no coincident that the Scandinavians, the Swedes in this case, cultivate this kind of collaborative and sense-making approach.

There are always interesting competitions to be found at the DESIGN 21 Social Design Network. This time they called to enter a new logo for the UNESCO Award of Excellence for Handicrafts.

The UNESCO “Award of Excellence for Handicrafts” aims to encourage artisans to produce handicrafts using traditional skills, patterns and themes in an innovative way, in order to ensure the continuity and sustainability of these traditions and skills.

An interesting institution like this I could not stop myself and design a logo for the competition. It should display the detailedness, precision and sleight of hand a craftsman has to fulfil. So you see the three stars that stand for excellence and were brought there by a calm hand and a pair of tweezers.

By the way: if you like it, you can vote for my draft. Click on the VOTE button and click to page 20 and you’ll find it. Unfortunately one has to register at DESIGN 21 first. But to anyone interested in social design this is the right platform anyhow.

It is really astonishing how intensively the German government rules past its own citizens. A survey of the ZDF, one of the biggest German TV stations, showed that 61% of the people asked were against longer run-times of nuclear plants. But the government led by a coalition of the conservative and liberal party prefers making great gifts to the energy providers and gives nuclear power a bright future again.

Unbelievable, but in 2008 the Secretary General of the conservative party (CDU), Pofalla, even said, that “for the CDU nuclear energy is eco-energy”. Confront this brainless politician now with the situation in the nuclear dump in Asse/Germany and the problems with the nuclear waste that no one knows how to solve. I am not sure, if this man, who unfortunately is one of the leaders in Germany right now, will ever understand that sustainability and nuclear power cannot go together.

Only one month is left to prepare and submit applications to the Buckminster Fuller Challenge, the premier international prize program that awards $100,000 to support the development and implementation of a solution that has significant potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems.

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge from Buckminster Fuller Institute on Vimeo.

Jury
Each year systems thinkers and design pioneers across a wide spectrum of human endeavor are invited from all over the world to be on the Jury and select a winner of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge. Past jury members have included Janine Benyus, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Helena Norberg-Hodge, John Thackara, Hazel Henderson, Danny Hillis, Alan Kay, Hunter Lovins, Bill Browning, José Zaglul, William McDonough, Adam Bly, Greg Watson and Vandana Shiva.

Entries
Past entries include visionary strategies from a radical solution to human transportation in the world’s largest cities to a strategy to dramatically increase crop yields and economic development in remote African villages. While the entries cover a broad range of topics, the common thread among them is a highly integrated approach to design — one that is simultaneously comprehensive, anticipatory and aligned with nature’s fundamental principles. This focus on an integrated design strategy is what distinguishes the Challenge and the innovators who have submitted their work from other prize programs.

The deadline for entries is 5pm (Eastern Standard Time) on Monday, October 4, 2010. For the call for entries, instructions for how to enter, reference materials, and much more, visit http://challenge.bfi.org

Putting silicone into the female breast is one way of extending body volume. Probably it is empirically proven that it has an appealing effect on the other genders appetite. But we’re not always on the prowl – there might be situations where we want to achieve the contrary effect. Esther Hoyer, master student at the Academy for Visual Arts (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst) in Leipzig, took some annoying pictures of woman that are wearing so called “explants” to disrupt their beauty (ok, dear feminist, we can discuss whether a big butt is beautiful or not, but in matters of double chins we’d might get nearer in opinion).

In the end – isn’t it the nasty costumes that are the most appealing on carnival season? Those sweet bees and princesses are just boring.

It is probably no wonder that it is the Dutch who professionalize the idea to use water for living space. Caused by the fact that harbors like the one in Rotterdam are being expanded into the open sea, the old harbours lose their former function and open space for different use. And as space is rare in a country that has been costly recaptured from the sea, alternative ways of using space are welcome.

The company DeltaSync created this Geodesic Dome (Picture © DeltaSync) to create a swimming space on the docklands in Rotterdam. More information about the project on Metropolis Magazine.