Entry #2

The Average American is female. When I’ve mentioned this to groups of females in the US, they applaud - women as majority. When I mention this to males in the US, they also applaud - under the misconception, I suppose, that their odds of getting a date have suddenly increased. The fact that the average American is female seems to be a win-win statistic – something in it for everybody. Read more…

Journal Entry from the Ruggerero Genocide Survivors’ Village Project

Excited to deliver the materials created by the senior graphic design class at Drexel University, I was back in Rwanda this past June. The class had worked hard to complete the assignment funded by the Sappi Foundation Grant Ideas that Matter to develop an identity and brand tools for the Sunflower Oil Cooperative in the Rugerrero Survivors Village in Rwanda.

Read more…

Maryam Hosseinnia Shares her Experience of Continuing Education

Lately, I’ve been grappling with the following questions: how do experienced designers reach out for creative inspiration? What about professors who bask in the dynamic arena of academic exchange fuelled by young blood?

How important is it for a visual communicator to foster an evolving spirit of creativity in education, culture and art? I think I took a critical step towards answering these questions when I signed up for the Basel School of Design Summer Workshop. Read more…

Join us in October as we travel into the heart of China’s design scene.

We’ll visit Hong Kong, Shanghai, Suzhou and Beijing. It’s a trip not to miss.

For more information, download pdfs here. Ask about our one week discount option.

“Una Conversazione sul Ruolo della Cultura e della Responsabilità Sociale nel Design”

editors note: For a slideshow of Fabrica’s entry in the AIGA XCD competition, click here. To review Fabrica’s ongoing social campaigns, click here

AIGA XCD: Fabrica! Who are you and how did you come to be?

FABRICA: Fabrica is a unique hybrid environment of learning and research practice supported by the Benetton Group. From its opening in 1994 by Luciano Benetton, research practice in communication through multidisciplinary and multicultural collaboration has been one of its most successful philosophies, making the institution today the central node of an advanced international network of students, teachers, artists, designers, photographers, musicians, publishers, writers, filmmakers, programmers, critics and entrepreneurs.

Only 20 kilometers from Venice, in a 17^th century Palladian villa re-conceived by Tadao Ando, 50 selected under 25 year-old residents from around the world research through a full grant for 12 months. They learn by working and experimenting on concrete communication projects, with the supervision of an international team of professionals and a training program of visiting artists who come to Fabrica to hold lectures and workshops.

Residents can develop projects in partnership with commercial, cultural and non-profit institutions and also their own personal research goals.

Read more…

editor’s note: for the original published article with accompanying footnotes, please click here.

“Images for Human Rights: Student Voices”: A Model Design Education and Public Outreach Project from the Art Center of Design.

How do young artists and designers address human rights?  How does the next generation of visual thinkers engage in a dialogue about freedom, human dignity and access to education? What are the lessons learned from a design education and public outreach effort aimed at this urgently timely theme? These and other questions were explored in a poster exhibition entitled Human Rights: Student Voices, organized by Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, through its social impact initiative Designmatters to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The exhibition premiered at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris from September 3-5, 2008, during the 61st annual United Nations Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organization conference “Reaffirming Human Rights For All: the Universal Declaration at 60,”  and was subsequently on view in December 2008 at the Pasadena Central Library, California, in conjunction with a citywide celebration of International Human Rights Day.

Read more…

Praten Over Ontwerp, Part 2

More insight from our friends at the Willem de Kooning Academy (WDKA)

Recap:

The Academy has just launched the Cultural Diversity minor, in collaboration with students from the Department of Cultural & Social Studies (CMV) at Rotterdam University.

Research for the Project is commissioned by a partner from the City of Rotterdam. This season’s partner was the Historisch Museum Rotterdam (HMR), initiator of the Roffa 5314 project, named after Rotterdam South, zip code 5314. The current focus is on Dutch youth’s life-style, i.e, clothing, style, language… and publicity about events organised by HMR.

Many thanks to Mark Mulder, Programme Coordinator, for facilitating these interviews.

Praten over ontwerp 2 features 4 more collaborators:

Danny van Dijk = DVD
Roshnie Ajodhia = RAJ
Coen van der Steen = CDVS
Susan Jansen = SJA

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Praten over ontwerp, Part 1

AIGA XCD TalkingDesign goes to Rotterdam! Our TalkingDesign Session features graduates from the Willem de Kooning Academy (WDKA)

Introduction

The Academy has just launched the Cultural Diversity minor, in collaboration with students from the Department of Cultural & Social Studies (CMV) at Rotterdam University.

Research for the Project is commissioned by a partner from the City of Rotterdam. This season’s partner was the Historisch Museum Rotterdam (HMR), initiator of the Roffa 5314 project, named after Rotterdam South, zip code 5314. The programme focuses on Dutch youth’s life-style, i.e, clothing, style, language…as well as publicity about events organised by HMR.

WDKA’s primary goal is to get more involved with the City’s urban culture and cultural diversity. Research topics covered streetculture, social design, global design and non-western typography.

Many thanks to Mark Mulder, Programme Coordinator, for facilitating these interviews.

Praten over ontwerp 1 features:

Karlijn Brent = KVDB
Lisa Clair Pearson = LCP
Marloes Engelhart = ME
Peter Aquino = PAQ
Natasja Draer = ND

Read more…

Entry #1

At the San Diego Y-Conference earlier this year, I gave a presentation outlining the social and political upheavals prior to the establishment of our office, Smart Design.  The presentation got the attention of the CrossCultural Junction, and an invitation to join as an ongoing contributor. Read more…

From Air Jordan to the Dalai Lama, photographer Tony Di Zinno made his bones on propaganda and print campaigns for the likes of Nike, Adidas and The North Face. His career spans assignments in 50 countries and on six different continents informing his work with a distinct global - and very human - perspective.

Tony is based in Los Angeles, where he teaches at his alma mater, the Art Center College of Design. Tony is passionately pursuing a number of projects, including a new photo-centric TV show that will explore endangered cultures and environments around the world. Read more…