WEEKLY EMAIL: MARCH 22, 2012

FEATURED THIS WEEK : WILLIAM DRENTTEL

Designing for Social Change

Designing for Social Change is a toolkit of strategies, case studies, and stories, offering new opportunities for approaching social design in our communities. It presents students and schools as active participants, designers and design firms as social innovators, and communities as both rich laboratories for experimentation and receptive locations for creative approaches and new ideas.
READ MORE

PLACES : HADLEY ARNOLD & PETER ARNOLD

Drylands: Water and the West

The massive hydrological infrastructure of the 20th century was based on the optimistic and technocratic presumption that water — and the cheap energy needed to transport it great distances — would be indefinitely and predictably available. But as Peter Arnold and Hadley Arnold, of the Arid Lands Institute, argue, the American system is now "nearly obsolete." Water is rapidly becoming, they argue, "the largest and least understood environmental challenge of the 21st century."
READ MORE

FROM OUR SPONSORS

Study graphic design and typography this summer in Rome: the birthplace of the Western typographic tradition is a not-to-be-missed experience. A unique way to learn about type, book & lettering design, as well as architecture, art, archeology, epigraphy & even Italian cuisine.
Masters Workshop >>
Study with some of the best designers in Italy >>
SVA Website >>

This spring Sappi is hosting a national road show, in collaboration with 826 National, to launch Special Effects, Volume 5 of The Standard. Issue 5 shows designers how the creative use of special effects can make a printed piece dimensional, tactile, intriguing and sometimes interactive. The next event is on March 28 in New York City.
More about Volume 5 of The Standard >>
View the road show schedule and registration details >>
Find out more about Sappi here >>

OBSERVERS ROOM : ROB WALKER

"Screenshots of Despair"

A newish Tumblr collects "screenshots of despair." These are stand-in messages, and they are designed very specifically to be done away with as soon as possible. Practical on one level, they can be crushing on another.
READ MORE

OBSERVERS ROOM : JOHN THACKARA

It's Not Just The Bags

In her new book, Design + Craft: The Brazilian Path, Adelia Borges worries “how many persons want to help us in the Southern hemisphere, but with lack of respect for local knowledge”. As designers increasingly work with indigenous artisans and craftspeople there is a threat to the systems – ecological and social – that have been the basis of craft in the culture. “We must urgently reflect upon the ethical parameters to be observed in this encounter, as well as share methodologies which will allow a true dialogue to take place”.
READ MORE

PLACES : GABRIELLE ESPERDY

Banham's America

British historian Reyner Banham — who would have turned 90 this month — established his reputation with the scholarly treatise Theory and Design in the First Machine Age. But he is equally well known as the prolific public intellectual of his later years, the Englishman who fell for Southern California and famously learned to drive "to read Los Angeles in the original." Here Gabrielle Esperdy views Banham in the lively tradition of European travelers, from de Tocqueville and Dickens to Alistair Cooke and Stephen Fry, whose observations tell us Americans "something important about ourselves."
READ MORE

OBSERVERS ROOM : MARK LAMSTER

Johnson and the Void

I am somewhat reluctant to write about Philip Johnson, given that I am still very much in the midst of my biographical research, but in a new essay I float one of my pet theories about how Johnson's architecture and personality tie together.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : CENTER FOR AN URBAN FUTURE

NYC Design Schools: Catalysts for Economic Growth?

Design schools may be the real engines of New York City’s innovation economy, according to a new report published today by the Center for an Urban Future, a Manhattan based think tank. The report reveals that New York City graduates more than twice as many students in design and architecture as any other city in the country.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER

Accidental Mysteries, 03.18.12

Accidental Mysteries, a weekly cabinet of visual curiosities curated by John Foster, highlights images of design, art, architecture and ephemera brought to light by the magic of the digital age. This week's focus is surreal, mystical and metaphorical imagery in contemporary fine art.
READ MORE

BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK | FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Sappi and 826 National debuts The Standard 5: Special Effects and you're invited.
Get New York tickets >>

Products of Design in France
Apply today >>

Designers and leaders talk innovation in healthcare.
Join us >>

All kids deserve a shot at their American dream >>

AUDIO: DESIGN MATTERS ARCHIVE

Emily Oberman

Emily Oberman, senior designer at M&Co, now partner of Number Seventeen, a New York design firm.
Listen >>
More Design Matters Archive >>

CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE

Conflict Kitchen

Report on Conflict Kitchen, a project by artists affiliated with Carnegie Mellon to foster cross-cultural understanding through food.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE

Jazz Posters

Michael Bierut's Portfolio

Civilian Typography

PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 1989

Western Civic Art: Works in Progress

In 1989 Phoenix, Arizona, commissioned one of the first public art master plans. The city now has one of the strongest public art programs in the country.
READ MORE

RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED

The Bioregional Imagination: Literature, Ecology, and Place
Tom Lynch & Cheryll Glotfelty, editors

Swiss Photobooks from 1927 to the Present
Edited by Peter Pfrunder, Fotostiftung Schweiz, Martin Gasser, Sabine Münzenmaier

Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving
Jon Kolko


WEEKLY EMAIL: MARCH 22, 2012
FEATURED THIS WEEK : WILLIAM DRENTTEL Designing for Social Change Designing for Social Change is a toolkit of strategies, case studies, and stories, offering new opportunities for approaching social design in our communities. It presents students and schools as active participants, designers and design firms as social innovators, and communities as both rich laboratories for experimentation and receptive locations for creative approaches and new ideas. READ MORE
PLACES : HADLEY ARNOLD & PETER ARNOLD Drylands: Water and the West The massive hydrological infrastructure of the 20th century was based on the optimistic and technocratic presumption that water — and the cheap energy needed to transport it great distances — would be indefinitely and predictably available. But as Peter Arnold and Hadley Arnold, of the Arid Lands Institute, argue, the American system is now "nearly obsolete." Water is rapidly becoming, they argue, "the largest and least understood environmental challenge of the 21st century." READ MORE FROM OUR SPONSORS Study graphic design and typography this summer in Rome: the birthplace of the Western typographic tradition is a not-to-be-missed experience. A unique way to learn about type, book & lettering design, as well as architecture, art, archeology, epigraphy & even Italian cuisine. Masters Workshop >> Study with some of the best designers in Italy >> SVA Website >> This spring Sappi is hosting a national road show, in collaboration with 826 National, to launch Special Effects, Volume 5 of The Standard. Issue 5 shows designers how the creative use of special effects can make a printed piece dimensional, tactile, intriguing and sometimes interactive. The next event is on March 28 in New York City. More about Volume 5 of The Standard >> View the road show schedule and registration details >> Find out more about Sappi here >> OBSERVERS ROOM : ROB WALKER "Screenshots of Despair" A newish Tumblr collects "screenshots of despair." These are stand-in messages, and they are designed very specifically to be done away with as soon as possible. Practical on one level, they can be crushing on another. READ MORE OBSERVERS ROOM : JOHN THACKARA It's Not Just The Bags In her new book, Design + Craft: The Brazilian Path, Adelia Borges worries “how many persons want to help us in the Southern hemisphere, but with lack of respect for local knowledge”. As designers increasingly work with indigenous artisans and craftspeople there is a threat to the systems – ecological and social – that have been the basis of craft in the culture. “We must urgently reflect upon the ethical parameters to be observed in this encounter, as well as share methodologies which will allow a true dialogue to take place”. READ MORE PLACES : GABRIELLE ESPERDY Banham's America British historian Reyner Banham — who would have turned 90 this month — established his reputation with the scholarly treatise Theory and Design in the First Machine Age. But he is equally well known as the prolific public intellectual of his later years, the Englishman who fell for Southern California and famously learned to drive "to read Los Angeles in the original." Here Gabrielle Esperdy views Banham in the lively tradition of European travelers, from de Tocqueville and Dickens to Alistair Cooke and Stephen Fry, whose observations tell us Americans "something important about ourselves." READ MORE OBSERVERS ROOM : MARK LAMSTER Johnson and the Void I am somewhat reluctant to write about Philip Johnson, given that I am still very much in the midst of my biographical research, but in a new essay I float one of my pet theories about how Johnson's architecture and personality tie together. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : CENTER FOR AN URBAN FUTURE NYC Design Schools: Catalysts for Economic Growth? Design schools may be the real engines of New York City’s innovation economy, according to a new report published today by the Center for an Urban Future, a Manhattan based think tank. The report reveals that New York City graduates more than twice as many students in design and architecture as any other city in the country. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER Accidental Mysteries, 03.18.12 Accidental Mysteries, a weekly cabinet of visual curiosities curated by John Foster, highlights images of design, art, architecture and ephemera brought to light by the magic of the digital age. This week's focus is surreal, mystical and metaphorical imagery in contemporary fine art. READ MORE		BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK \| FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Sappi and 826 National debuts The Standard 5: Special Effects and you're invited. Get New York tickets >> Products of Design in France Apply today >> Designers and leaders talk innovation in healthcare. Join us >> All kids deserve a shot at their American dream >> AUDIO: DESIGN MATTERS ARCHIVE Emily Oberman Emily Oberman, senior designer at M&Co, now partner of Number Seventeen, a New York design firm. Listen >> More Design Matters Archive >> CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE Conflict Kitchen Report on Conflict Kitchen, a project by artists affiliated with Carnegie Mellon to foster cross-cultural understanding through food. READ MORE OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE Jazz Posters Michael Bierut's Portfolio Civilian Typography PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 1989 Western Civic Art: Works in Progress In 1989 Phoenix, Arizona, commissioned one of the first public art master plans. The city now has one of the strongest public art programs in the country. READ MORE RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED The Bioregional Imagination: Literature, Ecology, and Place Tom Lynch & Cheryll Glotfelty, editors Swiss Photobooks from 1927 to the Present Edited by Peter Pfrunder, Fotostiftung Schweiz, Martin Gasser, Sabine Münzenmaier Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving Jon Kolko
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