Design 21: Social Design Network

Biennial podium for design and society 24 nov 2007 — 11 feb 2008

Utrecht Manifest is an international cultural biennial, which perceives contemporary developments in design and architecture from a social perspective. The biennial shows how architecture and design, in the past and present, have looked for answers to social and cultural questions connected to innovation, quality and sustainability.

The biennial searches for connections between design, architecture and other cultural expressions such as film, theatre and literature, in order to stimulate the public and political debate. The aim is to reinforce the role of design and architecture in developing coherent agendas for social and cultural innovation.

The biennial’s theme is Modernism’s legacy. At the start of the previous century, this movement in the arts, architecture and design formulated a new socially inspired aesthetics, based on modern, technological-industrial methods. After the critique of Postmodernism, does Modernism still exert influence? Is modernism’s social agenda still relevant?

Visit utrechtmanifest.nl

Many designers, including myself have been deeply moved to do better design by Bruce Mau's Incomplete Design Manifesto. He has pointedly chosen to label his manifesto "incomplete", as a sort of "call to arms" for designers and creative-doers to progress.

Social design represents this progression, or at least a branch of that progression. This post aims to pose back to the reader "is social design a category of design or is it a principle that should be a part of all design?" Similarly to the triple bottom-line of social entrepreneurs, is there bottom-line that all designers must adhere to or strive for?

In the spirit of Bruce Mau's Incomplete Design Manifesto, let's create the Incomplete Social Design Manifesto. Please respond to this post with one point that articulates your beliefs, motivations and strategies towards making design more socially rooted.

If you haven't checked out GOOD Magazine, its high time. This magazine, launched in September 2006, confronts the merger of capitolism and idealism head-on.

Subscribe to GOOD Magazine and 100% of your money goes to help the organization of your choice! Amazing, but true – visit their website and see for yourself how they are redefining the magazine business model.

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Here is what Ben Goldhirsh, the founder of the magazine has to say:

We see a growing number of people tied together not by age, career, background, or circumstance, but by a shared interest. This revolves around a passion for potential mixed with fierce pragmatism and creative engagement. We sum all this up as the sensibility of giving a damn. But to shorten it, let's call it GOOD. We're here to push this movement and cover its realization.

While so much of today's media is taking up our space, dumbing us down, and impeding our productivity, GOOD exists to add value. Through a print magazine, feature and documentary films, original multimedia content and local events, GOOD is providing a platform for the ideas, people, and businesses that are driving change in the world.

Visit goodmagazine.com