WEEKLY EMAIL: MAY 04, 2012

FEATURED THIS WEEK : ANDREW SHEA

Flies in Urinals: The Value of Design Disruptions

Many designers and educators are dubious of the recent surge of design altruism, noting that they rarely see evidence of social impact projects that lead to real behavior change. While it is well documented that public awareness campaigns generally work for actions that people perform infrequently, like donating to a disaster, it is much harder to change habitual actions in a meaningful way. Since daily habits are profoundly shaped by our environment, perhaps designers must disrupt the environment itself to change behaviors?
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : JULIA NOVITCH

Public Space and the Skills of Citizenship: An Interview with Elihu Rubin

"Public spaces can be charged politically because they enable citizens to gather, to represent themselves and to transmit messages. There is also a more benign sense of public space as a place where we can just idle. And yet there are tensions in terms of belonging to those places, the right to just be in those places. How long can someone who has nowhere else to go spend time in that space? The test of a public space is its tolerance."
READ MORE

FROM OUR SPONSORS

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 May 10 in Washington DC.
More about Volume 5 of The Standard >>
View the road show schedule and registration details >>
Find out more about Sappi here >>

Two great MFA programs: The Interaction Design program, which explores the role of design in shaping everyday life and the Graduate Program for the Designer as Entrepreneur.
Visit MFA Interaction Design >>
The Designer as Entrepreneur Podcast >>
SVA Website >>

OBSERVATORY : ALEXANDRA LANGE

Against Kickstarter Urbanism

Kickstarter is not a popularity contest, or a democracy. Kickstarter’s founders select which projects go on the blog. Their declaration of a glorious new era for design suggests that projects that aren’t Kickstarter worthy aren’t worthy. A suitable funding platform for a watch is not a suitable funding platform for a city.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : RICK POYNOR

Career Prospects in the Pain Business

I was browsing the Guardian newspaper’s recruitment ads this week when I saw this ad for a job as a Torturer. It caught me off guard — as it was meant to — and I felt a few seconds of profound shock and dismay. The three ads in the UK charity Freedom from Torture’s new awareness and fundraising campaign deliver perfectly calculated moments of cognitive dissonance.
READ MORE

PLACES : MICHAEL EZBAN

The Trash Heap of History

The reuse of waste and remediation of landfills have inspired some of the most innovative contemporary landscape and urban design projects. Michael Ezban looks back two millennia and explores Monte Testaccio, the great garbage dump of imperial Rome. In this enduring landform — "a mountain of detritus in a city of storied hills" — he finds a dynamic precedent for landfill reclamation in our own eco-conscious era.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : JOHN THACKARA

Istanbul: City of Seeds

Rather than dream up exotic visions of “what could be”, an xskool looks for social and natural assets that already exist – and grows from there. We bring together projects, however modest in scale, that meet daily life needs using the low-energy processes of natural systems, combined with the metabolic energy of social innovation. A kind of social seed exchange of the next economy.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : MARK LAMSTER

Another Imperiled Paul Rudolph Landmark

With so much of our focus on the potential demise of Paul Rudolph's Orange Country Government Center, in Goshen, there hasn't been much conversation on the threat to another Rudolph landmark, his Sarasota High School of 1960. A renovation plan would utterly compromise this landmark building.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : MICHAEL BIERUT

The Poster that Launched a Movement (Or Not)

The Occupy Wall Street movement, which reaches a critical moment this week, began with that most conventional of graphic forms, a poster. The trouble is, hardly anyone has ever seen it. In the age of social media, does political graphic design matter?
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER

Accidental Mysteries, 04.29.12

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 tools of measurement and drafting.
READ MORE

OBSERVER MEDIA : DEBBIE MILLMAN

Ken Carbone

In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Ken Carbone discusses meeting his design heros, his celebrated sketchbooks and journals and what he really thinks about his relationship with his corporate clients.
READ MORE

BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK | FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Summer Intensive 2012
Apply today >>

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

All kids deserve a shot at their American dream >>

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

AUDIO: DESIGN MATTERS ARCHIVE

Marty Neumeier

Marty Neumeier is a brand consultant and author of Brand Gap, Zag and The Brand Dictionary.
Listen >>
More Design Matters Archive >>

CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE

The Ultra 10 Challenge

Report on ULTRA, a sustainable fashion company founded in Kuala Lumpur.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE

Scrapbooking

Finding Vivian Maier

On Bershon

PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2006

The State of City Planning Today

A veteran city planner and educator analyzes the anemia of U.S. planning, and detects signs of life in neighborhood activism.
READ MORE

RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED

Next Nature: Nature Changes Along with Us
Koert van Mensvoort & Hendrik Jan Grievink, editors

Steve Jobs
Walter Isaacson

Otto Neurath - City Planning: Proposing a socio-political Map for Modern Urbanism
Sophie Hochhäusl


WEEKLY EMAIL: MAY 04, 2012
FEATURED THIS WEEK : ANDREW SHEA Flies in Urinals: The Value of Design Disruptions Many designers and educators are dubious of the recent surge of design altruism, noting that they rarely see evidence of social impact projects that lead to real behavior change. While it is well documented that public awareness campaigns generally work for actions that people perform infrequently, like donating to a disaster, it is much harder to change habitual actions in a meaningful way. Since daily habits are profoundly shaped by our environment, perhaps designers must disrupt the environment itself to change behaviors? READ MORE
OBSERVATORY : JULIA NOVITCH Public Space and the Skills of Citizenship: An Interview with Elihu Rubin "Public spaces can be charged politically because they enable citizens to gather, to represent themselves and to transmit messages. There is also a more benign sense of public space as a place where we can just idle. And yet there are tensions in terms of belonging to those places, the right to just be in those places. How long can someone who has nowhere else to go spend time in that space? The test of a public space is its tolerance." READ MORE FROM OUR SPONSORS 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 May 10 in Washington DC. More about Volume 5 of The Standard >> View the road show schedule and registration details >> Find out more about Sappi here >> Two great MFA programs: The Interaction Design program, which explores the role of design in shaping everyday life and the Graduate Program for the Designer as Entrepreneur. Visit MFA Interaction Design >> The Designer as Entrepreneur Podcast >> SVA Website >> OBSERVATORY : ALEXANDRA LANGE Against Kickstarter Urbanism Kickstarter is not a popularity contest, or a democracy. Kickstarter’s founders select which projects go on the blog. Their declaration of a glorious new era for design suggests that projects that aren’t Kickstarter worthy aren’t worthy. A suitable funding platform for a watch is not a suitable funding platform for a city. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : RICK POYNOR Career Prospects in the Pain Business I was browsing the Guardian newspaper’s recruitment ads this week when I saw this ad for a job as a Torturer. It caught me off guard — as it was meant to — and I felt a few seconds of profound shock and dismay. The three ads in the UK charity Freedom from Torture’s new awareness and fundraising campaign deliver perfectly calculated moments of cognitive dissonance. READ MORE PLACES : MICHAEL EZBAN The Trash Heap of History The reuse of waste and remediation of landfills have inspired some of the most innovative contemporary landscape and urban design projects. Michael Ezban looks back two millennia and explores Monte Testaccio, the great garbage dump of imperial Rome. In this enduring landform — "a mountain of detritus in a city of storied hills" — he finds a dynamic precedent for landfill reclamation in our own eco-conscious era. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : JOHN THACKARA Istanbul: City of Seeds Rather than dream up exotic visions of “what could be”, an xskool looks for social and natural assets that already exist – and grows from there. We bring together projects, however modest in scale, that meet daily life needs using the low-energy processes of natural systems, combined with the metabolic energy of social innovation. A kind of social seed exchange of the next economy. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : MARK LAMSTER Another Imperiled Paul Rudolph Landmark With so much of our focus on the potential demise of Paul Rudolph's Orange Country Government Center, in Goshen, there hasn't been much conversation on the threat to another Rudolph landmark, his Sarasota High School of 1960. A renovation plan would utterly compromise this landmark building. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : MICHAEL BIERUT The Poster that Launched a Movement (Or Not) The Occupy Wall Street movement, which reaches a critical moment this week, began with that most conventional of graphic forms, a poster. The trouble is, hardly anyone has ever seen it. In the age of social media, does political graphic design matter? READ MORE OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER Accidental Mysteries, 04.29.12 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 tools of measurement and drafting. READ MORE OBSERVER MEDIA : DEBBIE MILLMAN Ken Carbone In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Ken Carbone discusses meeting his design heros, his celebrated sketchbooks and journals and what he really thinks about his relationship with his corporate clients. READ MORE		BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK \| FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Summer Intensive 2012 Apply today >> Sappi and 826 National debuts The Standard 5: Special Effects and you're invited. Get Washington DC tickets >> All kids deserve a shot at their American dream >> Designers and leaders talk innovation in healthcare. Join us >> AUDIO: DESIGN MATTERS ARCHIVE Marty Neumeier Marty Neumeier is a brand consultant and author of Brand Gap, Zag and The Brand Dictionary. Listen >> More Design Matters Archive >> CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE The Ultra 10 Challenge Report on ULTRA, a sustainable fashion company founded in Kuala Lumpur. READ MORE OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE Scrapbooking Finding Vivian Maier On Bershon PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2006 The State of City Planning Today A veteran city planner and educator analyzes the anemia of U.S. planning, and detects signs of life in neighborhood activism. READ MORE RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED Next Nature: Nature Changes Along with Us Koert van Mensvoort & Hendrik Jan Grievink, editors Steve Jobs Walter Isaacson Otto Neurath - City Planning: Proposing a socio-political Map for Modern Urbanism Sophie Hochhäusl
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