DESIGN 21 Newsletter #2 July 28, 2008

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NEWSLETTER July 28, 2008

Overall Winner
"Eight Goals"
by Jisuk Jung

DESIGN 21 thanks all entrants and congratulates the winners of our Millennium Promise competition, which drew 78 entries from 26 countries. The object was to promote awareness of the Millennium Development Goals and inspire new audiences to take action in the fight to end poverty. South Korean designer Jisuk Jung's "Eight Goals" emerged as the Overall Winner, selected by Millennium Promise CEO John McArthur. Jung's accomplished animation of the MDGs captured the "spirit and hope and feasibility that inspires Millennium Promise's work" said McArthur. We agree, as did Dr Peter Zec, one of four DESIGN 21 advisory board members who also judged. Dr Zec selected Jung's Eight Goals for his Judge's Pick; Susan Szenasy's Judge's Pick was "Millennium Promise Competition" by Cemal Mutver of Turkey, Cynthia E. Smith chose "U develop" by Sarah Spargo from the UK; and Marcella Echavarria favored "Happiness Is Easy" by Dick Orlando Martínez Calderón of Colombia. Last but not least, "HELP!" by Lana Šef from Croatia won the public vote. Jeffrey Sachs, co-founder and president of Millennium Promise Alliance adds, "The bold creativity of these designs will inspire all who view them to do their part to achieve these share global goals. Congratulations to the design community for their wonderful contributions." Click here to see all the entries, winners and judges' comments.

Human Rights Poster Project Critique
COMMUNITY

"Freedom of Opinion
and Expression"
by Joe Kim

An online presentation of student work-in-progress has been taking place on DESIGN 21. The project is a collaboration between the Illustration department and the Designmatters program at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Students are designing posters to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the International Human Rights Declaration. Last month, the class posted up their mid-term work on DESIGN 21. To provide an outside and informed perspective on the topic and the designs, we recruited Advisory Board member Jacques Lange to review the poster work at this mid phase and give objective feedback to the students. The former president of ICOGRADA, and based in South Africa, Lange was design consultant to the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Center of Human Rights and the Center for the Study of AIDS both at the University of Pretoria, as well as the United Nations Development Programme. Lange notes: "Human rights is a very complex issue and it needs to be considered with an objective yet sensitive understanding of unique social, political and economic differences and sensitivities to vernacular constructs in different parts of the world." The student work and Lange's insightful comments can be viewed in the Human Rights Poster group blog. The posters will be printed for a public education exhibition at UNESCO in Paris during this Fall's NGO conference on human rights, and for a later show put on by the City of Pasadena. The final pieces will be posted to the blog at the conclusion of the class in the second week of August, so check back for the final results then!

A Good Life continues on DESIGN 21
COMMUNITY

"Tessera "
by Christian John

For the past two years, we have hosted both online and offline events for Parsons The New School for Design's Product Design Thesis program. Called "A Good Life," the program pairs each student with a New York non-profit organization to develop and design projects that help their mission. This year, DESIGN 21 hosted a group blog for the program. Towards the end of the program, we invited the students to post up their work to our website to share their efforts with our global audience. We then engaged DESIGN 21's Advisory Board member (and resident blogger) Jennifer Leonard, a writer and researcher at IDEO, to critique the student projects on the website. She also met the students in person at the conclusion of the program and discussed the results displayed in the exhibition. In a separate networking event, Robert Kirkbride, associate professor of the Product Design department, led a private tour for DESIGN 21 member organizations to discuss the students' work and how design for the greater good can benefit organizations and the wider community. You can view the program on DESIGN 21, along with the student blogs and Jennifer's feedback, by visiting A Good Life 5.

To find out how your non-profit organization can participate, email feinberg@design21sdn.com

Furoshiki Challenge Winner
A while back we announced the launch of our new Challenges feature, customized unofficial competitions presented by member organizations. The first Challenge, presented by Felissimo and the City of Kobe, was to design a furoshiki to commemorate the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting held in Kobe this past May. The winner of the Furoshiki Challenge was Trent Jansen from Sydney, Australia. Trent's eye-catching and thoughtful design won him the $2,500 prize. Felissimo produced the winning design which was distributed to delegates at the Ministers Meeting and the product now sells through Felissimo's catalog in Japan. More Challenges to be announced soon.

New Competitions
Beginning September we'll be launching a series of new competitions, which all address the issue of sustainability as it relates to forestry, food, water, languages and cities. Check our Compete page for announcements.

Act on Non-Profit Needs
Our Non-Profits need your help and creativity. Needs are open calls to the DESIGN 21 community to help our Non-Profit members. See if your ideas and interests match up with the wish lists of these organizations

NEW MEMBERS!

ABC Carpet & Home presents commerce as a vehicle for insight and for action in the aid of creating a better world.

BurdaStyle is a global, virtual, open-source sewing community that allows people to share ideas, expertise and downloadable patterns.

Do Something is a community where young people learn, listen, speak, vote, volunteer, ask, and take action to make the world a better place.

Kinetix believes that sustainable development and corporate sustainability are essential to future global stability and prosperity.

Museum of Arts and Design celebrates the creative process through which materials are crafted into works that enhance contemporary life.

Pentel is a writing instrument company, leading in innovation with a commitment to excellence and quality, education and the environment

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Region 2 provides for healthy communities and ecosystems, compliance with environmental regulations and environmental stewardship.

U.S.-Japan Innovators Network fosters collaborative dialogue between Japan and the United States by bringing together innovation leaders from both countries.