Is there a relationship between the conceptual thinking behind Marcel Duchamp’s 1917 urinal and contemporary design practice? Design writer and Design Observer contributer Nick Currie believe’s there is. In an AIGA feature of 1995, Currie presents some interesting thoughts on the evolution of Conceptual Art and its impact on designing for social impact. Currie’s feature, Conceptual Design: Building a Social Conscience begins by exploring if there has ‘ever been “Conceptual Design?”’ and moves on to discuss how the conceptual arts of the early 1900s has led young designers to think more about social issues than consumer goods.

“There’s a generation of young designers who, almost a century after Duchamp, seem to share something of his spirit… Rather than products, these people are designing situations, intervening in existing arrangements, framing everyday activities in ways that make us think of them, unexpectedly, as “design.” And although they’re often satirical in tone, these designers share a concern with ethics and responsibility; one of the reasons the design they make is so often immaterial is their sense that the last thing the world needs is more objects, more consumer goods. The widening ripples of Duchamp’s gesture blend, in their work, with the repercussions of a gathering concern around issues like sustainability, community and responsibility: to be conceptual is, after all, to be thoughtful. “

Although, I do see the connection between Conceptual Artists influencing the IDEO-esq thinking and design practice of today, I find it difficult to trust Conceptual Art Continue Reading »

Design Professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Kerry Polite (2004) published his thoughts on what are today’s [2004] ‘most important questions in design education’. He offers a personal observation to the nature of contemporary design education, in comparison to its historical origins:

‘In the past, students and educators dealt mainly with four or five principles: composition, typography, form, colour and drawing… Today, students are expected to be skilled technicians, be knowledgeable in a range of software programs and work with sound, motion, and interactivity’.

Polite explains how design students need to ‘slow down and think’, to be working for ‘content-driven, not style-driven’ design solutions. The problem, he pitches is how today, ‘Students want to rush in and make finished projects…’ and ‘…because they have been bombarded with very slick visual stimuli their entire lives, the work tends to look derivative.’

This observational discussion offers an interesting [if, concerning] perspective on how important it remains to embed and praise design thinking, research, experimentation and relevance. Thinking About Design Education was published by the AIGA in 2004.

Great news from Creative Review this month. A 3sprong creative collaboration have founded Three Trees Don’t Make a Forest, a not for profit enterprise set up to help everyone involved in design and advertising to rethink their working cultures and start to produce sustainable creative solutions that really work.

“When it comes to sustainable design, there are no excuses. Sooner or later our industry will have to rise to the challenge. As creativity is our business, we should be comfortable with the notion of making our design work that bit harder; creatively and for the environment.”

The Three Trees’ UK founders are Sophie Thomas of sustainability studio Thomas Matthews, Caroline Clark of Ecofriendly Printing Resource Lovely as a Tree and Nat Hunter of design studio Airside. The three green creatives intend to continue work with their respective award-winning design practices, while working within the industry to share their collective 25 years’ experience in creating effective sustainable design.

Seemingly a really positive initative from a list of iconic design leaders and organisations, The Designers Accord is “a coalition of design and innovation firms focused on working together to create positive environmental and social impact.”

Partnered with the AIGA and IDSA, The Design Accord was founded by Valerie Casey and hosts an advisory panel including: Paul Hawken – Natural Capital Institute, Tim Brown – IDEO, Allan Chochinov – Core77, Jen van der Meer – o2NYC and Marc Alt – Marc Alt + Partners. The movement they explain ‘started as a call to arms for designers to engage in the environmental movement with optimism and creativity …It is our obligation to use our knowledge, experience, and reach to positively influence what we design and consume.’

Whilst undertaking some extensive research into The Future of Design Education, I came across a beautiful piece of creative writing, from Lap Le, a Graphic Design Student at Oregon State University.

“To me, there was once a time when designers were warriors—trained and battle-hardened. They honored their craft, and practiced their bodies and minds to perfect it. The weak died, the strong lived and everyone in between knew that line…

I read and research everything I can and will continue to do so, but I question whether this will be enough to survive against a rising force. Deep down I know that the core principals I learn will provide sustenance and sustainability, but for every one of them that fails, a hundred will replace them. Will they overwhelm us? And if so, how will design, and our roles, be affected when everyone becomes a ‘designer’?”

Ref:
Le, L. (2006). The New Battlefield. New York: AIGA.

A global campaign to raise awareness of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights launched this week, with an identity and design strategy by Start Creative. The campaign, entitled Every Human Has Rights, aims to pull together the efforts of a number of partner organisations including Amnesty International, Unicef, Action Aid and Save the Children.

Design Week reported:
Start creative director Jonathan Cummings explains that one of the key aims of the campaign, which will run for a year, is to gather a billion signatures, as a show of support for human rights, particularly in areas of the world where governments have a poor track record on human rights issues. Appointed to the project two months ago without a pitch, Start worked closely with Robert Campbell, creative director of supporting charity Virgin Unite. Start created the branding for the campaign, a website TheElders.org, and a brand tool kit that can be used by partner organisations in the campaign. Continue Reading »

Born in 1945, designer-artist Barbara Kruger looks to be inspirational, in my search for revolutionary AND socially conscious Visual Communication. Reminded of her talent today, when I opened UK Newspaper The Guardian, to find a “free artist wrapping paper” by the aforementioned artist, which screams Frantz Fanon’s statement “Blind Idealism is Reactionary”.

After attending Syracuse University and Parson’s School of Design in New York, Kruger obtained a design job at Condé Nast Publications. Working for Mademoiselle Magazine, she was quickly promoted to head designer. Later, she worked as a graphic designer, art director, and picture editor in the art departments at House and Garden, Aperture, and other publications. Continue Reading »

I just came across a magnificent (and stylish) interdisciplinary sustainable design practice, by the name of More Associates. Using “design and research process to address social and environmental challenges” in practical ways. More “bring together sustainable design with emerging technologies and social innovation.” Continue Reading »

DesignForFuture is a Portuguese based sustainable design platform. Offering diverse information about international sustainable design projects and existing networks, the network aims “to stimulate an exchange of ideas; interact with interested designers, partners and companies.” DesignForfuture is a portal exploring the relation between design projects that contemplate environmental and social impact in all stages of their development.

A sustainable lifestyle needs an innovative interpretation of goods and values. For more meaningful, breakthrough visions of the future.

The 2007, second edition of DesignForFuture, entitled “Recycling of Sense”, featured a collection of interesting and creative products that make use of common goods in an uncommon way. The chosen objects were explained to “not necessarily have to be more effective and green through their production or material choice” but do “stimulate new thought and call for more intimacy in material culture.”

Earlier this year, the UK capital exploded with a week of events for the London Design Festival 2007. Now in its fifth year, The London Design Festival has become a fixture on the international creative calendar. With over 200 projects and audiences of 300,000 it has quickly become one of the most important design events in the world. I spent the September Festival week flying across the UK capital to cover some of key events. This year, the London Festival was proud to establish a whole list of socially conscious and green focused events and debates:

“You cannot fail to have noticed that everyone has gone eco. From politics to design, the environment is at the top of everyone’s agenda.Of course eco or sustainable design is nothing new – designers have always returned to the theme of reusing and redesigning products. However, sustainability is now being embraced more widely as it soars up the political agenda, and is a major theme running through this year’s London Design Festival (15-25 September).”

On day one, as I sat outside the Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank, I watched 150 blocks of black pre-cast concrete of Zaha Hadid’s sculpture “Super Fluid Tiling” be constructed, polished and curated. Following which, it was off into the press office and then a look at Deptford Design Challenge and of course the Swarovski Installations. Continue Reading »