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 [...]

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 [...]

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.

June heralds graduation, student shows and reflections upon “Design in the Real World”. In the spirit of the season, the Crosscultural Junction would like to showcase the work of Michael Tsang, a Product Design graduate from the Parsons School of Design.
Following is a recap of his Senior Thesis, with the images of  prototypes made out [...]

Russian-American Poster Throwdown
Rufus Wainwright vs. 9/11; Band of Horses vs. Chernobyl
Given the relaxation of historic political tensions between U.S. and Russia, The Seattle-Moscow Poster Show (opening September 4, 2009, Bumbershoot, Seattle) will differ from its predecessors, The Seattle-Tehran Poster Show and The Seattle-Havana Poster Show. Instead of avoiding difficult content out of necessity to protect [...]

Acts of Self-Censorship

As the organizer of a series of Seattle-based international design exhibits, I’ve witnessed the power of graphic design to breakdown stereotypes and unite cultures. I’ve coordinated projects with designers in countries that are politically difficult for Americans to visit much less maintain sustained contact with. And I’ve seen the joy on each side [...]

Introduction
Every decade, it seems, there are valiant standard-bearers for effective visual communication of data, information, and knowledge, of facts, concepts, and emotions,  who arise and publish guidebooks for business people, computer and information-technology professionals, and others who have not been exposed to the philosophy, principles, and techniques of information design and information visualization.
Currently, Edward Tufte [...]

Men wanted!
A startling trend, affecting half the American population, is happening and happening fast. According to Guy Garcia, in his book “The Decline of Men, How the American Male is Tuning Out, Giving Up and Flipping Off His Future,” the dominant American male, as we know and love him, may soon be extinct.
In this thoroughly [...]

What about the human condition needs improvement?
Claiming a personal and a collective uniqueness can be achieved in the participative action of designing our environment.In its essence, this declaration of uniqueness through the design and transformation of place, speaks to the power of branding and is illustrated in the Rugerero Genocide Survivors Village in Rwanda [...]

Measuring the Power of the Visual.
This poster by Chaz Maviyane-Davies was the first to run in the 30 Reasons internet campaign. Mr. Maviyane-Davies is originally from Zimbabwe, and for more than two decades has taken on the issues of consumerism, health, nutrition, social responsibility, the environment and human rights.
Join us in evaluating the role of [...]