Design 21: Social Design Network

When I arrive at the Concordia’s Grey Nuns Residence in Montréal there is a guy in jeans and slip-on vans lounging on the steps enjoying the sunshine from behind mirrored sunglasses. We look at each other and simultaneously nod and say “Design Inquiry”. This is DI Board member Ben Van Dyke. He greets me warmly and directs me to the lounge where more people are gathering.

Others are preparing dinner in a communal kitchen. There is music playing. Large sheets of paper display a proposed schedule with brief abstracts of people’s interests on the wall. This is the start of DesignInquiry a week-long research intensive exploring what makes Montreal a UNESCO City of Design.

I put my bag and cardboard tube in my room. I take few deep breaths. Outside in the hall I see more people collecting in the kitchen introducing and reuniting. When everyone has arrived we eat dinner together – purple potatoes with blue cheese, steamed artichokes, fiddleheads and sausage.

The framers for the event Emily Luce and Christopher Moore welcome us. They encourage us to “document everything”. There will be a journal to publish and an opportunity to submit work to the Portes Ouvertes a city-wide design open house and art show. They spark a round table ripple of hellos. People start to discuss their research interests amongst themselves. To my right is a professor from the UK who studied at Yale, he tells me about his inquiry into marginalization of the typographer. To my left is a neu...

It’s late afternoon on a Friday – I’ve ducked out of work to root through local recycling bins for cardboard tubes. I am packing for DesignInquiry Montréal – to explore the UNESCO designated City of Design.

I am not entirely sure how to prepare. I've gathered supplies; some thick sharpies, a book titled The Map as Art by Katharine Harmon and a few very large sheets of Stonehenge. I’m on a hunt for a cardboard tube to protect the paper during the flight. Luckily, with the help of Thunder Bay’s Home Hardware I scavenge a cardboard inner tube from a roll of artificial turf.

Biking with a metre long cardboard tube tucked underneath my armpit turns out to be easier then it looks. I am relegated to the sidewalk because there’s no room for me, my bike and the tube on the busy expressway that cuts through Thunder Bay. Other cyclists pass me on the sidewalk. I carefully slip past one pedestrian – but don’t see any other people walking.

Cycling and, arguably, walking are marginalized activities in this city – with only a few bike lanes recently carved into the urban design. The multiple lanes of vehicles speeding past me provide a steady spray of exhaust and dry grit. It begins to rain.

Riding past car-dealerships, chain stores and orphaned shopping carts gets me thinking about the differences between the average city and what makes a UNESCO City of Design. As I understand it, being a city of design refers largely to the creative production that comes out o...

Hay gente en el mundo, más bien pocos, que tienen un don para inspirar a los demás. Por lo general son gente con un talento para comunicar. Poseen una capacidad para expresarse tal que aportan a sus razonamientos y argumentos una claridad meridiana. Al contrario de lo que a priori se puede pensar sobre dónde se pueden encontrar talentos así, uno se da de bruces con la realidad si cree que el periodismo o la política son ámbitos rebosantes en cuanto a lo que a dichos sujetos se refiere. Hay excepciones claro está y si no miren a Obama. Sus baños de multitudes no son fruto de la casualidad, sino de la causalidad. Ese hombre inspira y transmite emociones, ideas, ilusiones. Y de ahí se deduce el resto. Y todo ello al margen de su programa político. O acaso alguien piensa que a los 200.000 alemanes que siguieron su discurso en la calle en Berlín les gustó la idea de pedir a los europeos más participación en las aventuras militares de USA por el mundo? Pero Obama es una excepción entre muchos. Sin embargo, es por ejemplo en la educación y la enseñanza donde un mayor número de personas con el privilegio de saber comunicar. Ya se lo que muchos estarán pensando... "Ni de coña fueron mis profersores las personas que mejor se expresaban..." "No guardo buen recuerdo de ningún profesor...". Si dejamos al margen el lamentable estado de la Universidad en España y miramos hacia fuera, uno encuentra a gente que dedica su vida a aprovechar ese don e inspiran a los demás a d...

Este blog me ha resultado sumamente interesante! http://www.soyculturadeldiseno.org/

Cuando nos iluminamos, de alguna manera también iluminamos nuestro entorno.

¿Tiene algún sentido?

Campaña que alude a las condiciones del planeta por causa del calentamiento global.

I would like to introduce readers to my PhD project that is Investigating contemporary Social Design ethos for studio practice.

The research examines how Social Design is defined within the design community, with a view to understanding how these opinions translate into real world situations. This research is grounded in Graphic Design practice however it will explore Social Design in the broader context of multidisciplinary Design practice.

A primary aim of this research is to investigate whether or not the process of Social Design is more important than the Design Artifacts that it generates? Do you apply Social Design to situations rather than create Social Design artifacts?

This research aims to identify ways in which the context of a project, studio, designer, client, location and shared experience has on Social Design. I wonder when does this context inform engagement with Social Change and when does this engagement deliver Social Change.

The aim of this research is to examine contemporary Social Design practice in the context of design thinking and meaningful engagements with social change. What does it mean to practice Social Design. How can Social Design have longevity and be more than a passing fad? How is academia responding to increased interest in Social Design.

If you are interested in finding out more about the project please visit my website at Social Studio

Creo que esta ya no tan nueva instancia ha generado un cambio revolucionario en la forma de concebir y compartir los conocimientos de los más expertos o más entendidos en algunas materias. Si bien no tiene exactamente el perfil de un diccionario, la información que se maneja es bastante acertada, quizás falte crear una forma de "administrar " y revisar si la información realmente es realmente fidedigna.

Luego del gran terremoto que sufrimos, nos queda la fuerza para re-construirnos! http://grafous.com/chile-en-la-adversidad/

I’ve purchased a fancy red Moleskine sketchbook for $25. This is unusual behaviour for me as I tend towards the black, run-of-the mill, anything-recycled variety. But this is a special occasion. I am attending Design Inquiry Montréal an exploration of the ‘Design City.’

DesignInquiry is a non-profit educational organization devoted to researching design issues in intensive team-based gatherings. An alternative to the design conference, it brings together practitioners from disparate fields to generate new work and ideas around a single topic.

Our single topic is DesignCity: Montréal – an expedition exploring a landscape that flags itself as developed and designed.

I am joining a group of 25 designers to explore the city. Together we will come up with interpretations for why Montréal’s peoples, places and things coalesce into the panoply of architecture, urban systems, typography, events, institutions, etc that form the only designated UNESCO ‘City of Design’ in North America.

Montréal UNESCO City of Design

The City of Design designation is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities designation. I asked DESIGN 21 Director, Haruko Smith if this initiative is related to the UNESCO partnership with the Design 21 site. This is what she said:

"There is no direct link between the two programs. Yet, the link is obvious: we connect the world through design. DESIGN21 is for individuals, NGOs and NPOs, and companies, and Creative Cities Network is for municipal go...