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RECENT COMMENTS

The Insignificance of a Logo (Even When Significant) (29)
James Victore: Straight Up (11)
The Nabokov Collection (45)
We Found It at the Movies: Part I (16)
Death to Design Awards (55)

OBSERVED

Continuum and PepsiCo announce a new Innovation Fellowship Program for Fall 2010. Six graduate student fellows, Continuum team, 24 Pepsi leaders, one day a week for 8 weeks, $4000 stipend, and a workshop process of creating transformative products and services. Would be great to have some designers win these fellowships. 9/15 deadline. [WD]

PACT: the socially aware underwear, launches their new line today. The new line features six fun new prints all designed in collaboration with Creative Growth Art Center, an arts initiative for people with disabilities. We love these, they also make a great gift. [JSC]

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in NYC, Dulles, Philadelphia, Singapore, LA, Louisville, Dallas, Chicago, Cleveland and Boston. Companies hiring include New York Media, Shiseido, Gap Inc., Apple, E*Trade, Columbia College, GadLight, Inc., Leap Frog and Natural History Museum of LA. Post your job today. [JSC]

AfriGadget's coverage of Maker Faire Africa 2010. Go here for interview with MFA's founder, Emeka Okafor. [JL]

A rare opportunity to do great design for the Federal Government: the General Services Administration has posted a contract notice for "Graphic Design Services for the Design Excellence Program, Public Buildings Service." Interview here with head of the program, Casey Jones. Deadline is September 22; contracting officer is erica.pelham@gsa.gov. Please, someone good apply. [WD]

The finalists for the 2010 Curry Stone Design Prize have been announced: Maya Pedal, which makes machines from used bicycles that perform agricultural and household tasks without gas or electricity; Chilean design firm Elemental, for rethinking public housing in the developing world; and Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE), which addresses women's and girls' needs by, for instance, developing feminine hygiene products from locally-sourced banana fiber in Rwanda. [MB]

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in NYC, Boston, SF, Atlanta, Chicago, LA, Cincinnati, Barcelona, Seattle and Toronto. Companies hiring include The Atlantic, CREDO, Sunbeam, Rue La La, AOL, Zobele, WABC-TV, Bloomberg and Chase Design. Post your job today. [JSC]

David Stairs supports Bruce Nussbaum in ongoing design imperialism controversy. [JL]

The Applied Brilliance conference, Oct 12-15 in Ojai, CA, is dedicated to transforming ideas into events that serve people. This year’s theme is Revolution and Resilience. Speakers include corporate anthropologist Karen Stephenson, video game designer Jenova Chen, philosopher Mark Kingwell and Griffith Observatory director E.C. Krupp. Go here for more info and to register. [JL]

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Auburn, LA, Chicago, NYC, Toronto, Savannah, Austin, Philadelphia and London. Companies hiring include Auburn University, City of Hope Medical Center, Designkitchen, Landor, LEGO, Continuum, Samsung, Infusion Development and Martha Stewart Living. Post your job today. [JSC]

Two recent interviews sponsored by the ASLA explore the nexus between urban and natural environments: landscape architect Kristina Hill discusses "cities at the edge of climate change," and innovation strategist Jeb Brugmann discusses his latest book Welcome to the Urban Revolution. [NL]

Parking garages: designed by Herzog and de Meuron, photographed by Alan Thomas and written about here and here. [JSC]

Jessica Helfand, the graphic designer, writes about Jessica Helfand, the artist. Three posts are up on Felt & Wire: drawing and painting in Rome, and more work in Rome, and her newest post, reflections on printmaking. [WD]

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in NYC, Atlanta, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Hoboken, Portland and Plano. Companies hiring include WGBH, Apple, Humanscale, Toys"R"Us, Smallfry, Philips Electronics, Blue Shield, SCAD and Blue Flame Agency. Post your job today. [JSC]

Typography takes a star turn in this new video — a Knockout if ever there was one. (Thanks to Teddy Blanks and Joe Freedman.) There are countless examples of kinetic typography online, but here is one of our all-time favorites: just because it moves doesn't mean the kerning shouldn't be impeccable. [JH]

Steve Heller reviews a beautiful new facsimile of The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid; a new guide to creating printed and online forms; a visual history of manuscript books and albums appropriately titled Strange & Wonderful; a celebration of 75 years of classic covers from Penguin; a great compilation of The Art of McSweeney's; and Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World), the catalog from Maira Kalman’s first major museum exhibition. [MB]

A fascinating paradox: viewers who elect to see the new Will Ferrell movie The Other Guys will, if they sit through the closing credits, receive a first-rate education in how a Ponzi scheme works. A brilliant example of visual thinking as public service: if we assume that today's adolescents will be tomorrow's bankers — and crooks — this mediocre film may have more staying power than one might think, thanks to the brilliant designers at Picture Mill. [JH]

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in NYC, Portland, Minneapolis, Seattle, Hong Kong, Savannah, Flagstaff, SF and Nashville. Companies hiring include Rodale, Ohio State University, Lifetime Brands, Plastic Dress-Up Co., Incase, Qatar Airways, AOL, Martha Stewart Living and Staples. Post your job today. [JSC]

John Leighton Chase, urban designer for the city of West Hollywood, and prolific writer on Los Angeles and urbanism, died suddenly last Friday. John Kaliski, has written an informative remembrance of him, Alissa Walker has also written a wonderful piece and here is a conversation on Frances Anderton's KCRW show, "DNA." [LW]

The CoolClimate Art Contest "seeks to generate iconic images that address the impact of climate change and spur participation in the climate change debate." Submissions will be judged by Agnes Gund, David Ross, Carrie Mae Weems, Philippe Cousteau, Van Jones, Jackson Browne, and Chevy Chase. Winners will be voted on by the public on Huffington Post. Deadline: Sept. 6. Submit here. [JL]

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in NYC, Flagstaff, Seattle, Nashville, Philadelphia, Shanghai, Kansas City, Boston, Boulder, SF and Minneapolis. Companies hiring include SBLM Architects, Samsung, Kathy Davis Studios, Kohler, SAP Labs, WowWee, Moment, Rick May, Inc. and Stevenson University. Post your job today. [JSC]

If you want to help keep Net Neutrality going strong, tell your friends to sign this petition. Or you can direct people to this speech at Netroots Nation or this op-ed on CNN.com. Or, support the cause by donating to reach more supporters. [WD]

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in NYC, Austin, Columbus, Minneapolis, LA, London, Seattle, Detroit, SF, Boston, Sydney and Orlando. Companies hiring include Aperture Foundation, Ohio State University, Aol, Dell, Equinox, Adidas, Spin Master, Daily Candy, Fox Head, Publicis and Kaleidoscope Inc. Post your job today. [JSC]

First there was Design Camp for creative people. Then there was Design Camp for teenage people. And now, for everyone else, there's Design Fantasy Camp! [JH]

Grace Bonney of Design Sponge and John Jay of Wieden + Kennedy are among those who discussed DIY at last week's IDSA conference in Portland, OR. [JL]

From the World Health Organization: persuading people to practice safe sex, eat well, and get children to brush their teeth. More public health posters here and here. (Thanks to William Helfand.) [JH]

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Minneapolis, NYC, Seattle, London, Sarasota, Portland, Dallas, Chicago, LA and Melbourne. Companies hiring include Lucas Design, Target, One & Co, Mattel, Soap & Glory, Philips Electronics, Steelcase, The Taboo Group, Fossil Inc. and Night Agency. Post your job today. [JSC]

The iPhone channels Humpty Dumpty, and then some: reconsidering form, function and a gadget's lifespan. [JH]

Wanted: Torch designers for the 2012 Olympics. (Via Unbeige.) [JL]

"Museum as Hub: The Bidoun Library Project" at New York's New Museum is "a highly partial account of five decades of printed matter in, near, about, and around the Middle East." The exhibit features 700 publications "on subjects like the oil boom to the Dubai bust, the Cold War to the hot pant, Pan-Arabs to Black Muslims, revolutionaries to royals, and Orientalism to its opposites." [JL]

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Austin, DC, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Baltimore, NYC, Chicago, Vienna, SF and Jacksonville. Companies hiring include LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics, BEHF Architects, ONE, Continuum, Night Agency, Owens Illinois, Cole Haan, Mass Art, Abercrombie & Fitch and The University of Chicago. Post your job today. [JSC]

Core77 announces its new retail store — in Portland! [JH]

The Giving Pledge, an initiative started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, urges Billionaires to give away half of their wealth. So far 40 have pledged. (Thanks to Eileen Schmidt.) [JSC]

The Art Directors Club announces its Hall of Fame laureates for 2010: creative director Fabien Baron; typographer Matthew Carter; the late illustrator and educator Philip Hays; photographer Brigitte Lacombe; design legend George Nelson; wunderkind Christoph Niemann; Wieden+Kennedy cofounder Dan Wieden; and, last but not least, our very own William Drenttel and Jessica Helfand. Congratulations to all! [MB]

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Places

Hallowed Ground, Worldly City: Ground Zero and the Struggle for Lower Manhattan

Hallowed Ground, Worldly City: Ground Zero and the Struggle for Lower ManhattanBy James Sanders
The current controversy over the proposed construction of an Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero has intensified the question: What does it mean to call Ground Zero "hallowed ground"? Architect and writer James Sanders — in an article published several years ago in the New York Times, and republished here in slightly edited form — sets this latest debate in a larger historical context, exploring "the challenge of creating a memorial in a city that, for most of its history, has abhorred the very idea of memorials."

READ MORE  |  COMMENTS

Observatory

James Victore: Straight Up

James Victore: Straight UpBy Michael Bierut
There are two kinds of graphic designers in the world. One kind sees each project as an opportunity for self-expression, producing a body of work that bears an unmistakable mark, that is more alike than different, that is more about the maker than the message. The other kind of designer attends first to the client, to the message and to the audience. This graphic designer’s role is to be neutral and invisible, an efficient conduit between broadcaster and receiver.

James Victore is good because, amazingly, he combines the very best of both ways.

READ MORE  |  COMMENTS (11)

Change Observer

Death to Design Awards

Death to Design AwardsBy Maria Popova
Awards are awful. Awards breed ego, create false meritocracies and ultimately stymie innovation at every step of the award-granting process — from entry to evaluation to owning the win.

READ MORE  |  COMMENTS (55)

Observatory

Lunch with the Critics: Park51 & 15 Penn

Lunch with the Critics: Park51 & 15 PennBy Alexandra Lange, Mark Lamster
For this second installment of Lunch with the Critics, Mark Lamster and Alexandra Lange traveled to midtown to visit the Hotel Pennsylvania, across from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden on Seventh Avenue.

READ MORE  |  COMMENTS (1)

Change Observer

Design and Social Enterprise: A New Model for Case Studies

Design and Social Enterprise: A New Model for Case StudiesBy Ernest Beck
Placing design within the larger context of real world projects and enterprises is critical for design thinking and solutions to evolve as a methodology and a means for social impact. In business schools, numerous case studies focus on social enterprise management and others on the role of design in business. But not many have considered the role of design in social enterprises. Yale School of Management, in collaboration with Winterhouse Institute, has created a new series of cases focusing on design and social enterprise, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

READ MORE  |  COMMENTS (2)

Change Observer

SELCO: Case Study Synopsis & Teaching Objectives

SELCO: Case Study Synopsis & Teaching ObjectivesBy Ernest Beck
This case study about SELCO, a solar energy company in India, provides an opportunity to examine the strategy of a business with a social purpose and a heavy reliance on innovative design. This is the first in a new series of cases focusing on design and social enterprise created by Yale School of Management in collaboration with Winterhouse Institute, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

READ MORE  |  COMMENTS (1)

Observatory

Dogs and Their Designers

Dogs and Their DesignersBy William Drenttel
Today is August 26, also known as National Dog Day. In honor of all our faithful four-legged friends, we are re-running this post, which originally posted on November 11, 2008.

READ MORE  |  COMMENTS (52)

Change Observer

Somali Documentary Project

Somali Documentary ProjectBy William Underhill
Since launching the Somali Documentary Project in 2003, Abdi Roble has taken more than 100,000 photographs showing every aspect of Somali migrant life. The result is a unique portrait of a community, possibly the first attempt in history to capture the process of migration and resettlement while it’s still under way.

READ MORE  |  COMMENTS

Change Observer

The Insignificance of a Logo (Even When Significant)

The Insignificance of a Logo (Even When Significant)By Kate Howe
On the futility of designing the symbol for a controversial religious organization.

READ MORE  |  COMMENTS (29)

Other Recent Posts


CHANGE OBSERVER: Hell Under Wheels
CHANGE OBSERVER: Climate Change Chocolate Update
CHANGE OBSERVER: SELCO: Product Design Philosophy
CHANGE OBSERVER: SELCO: Founder Harish Hande on SELCO's Future
PLACES: The Good, the Bad, and the Empty
CHANGE OBSERVER: Case Study Use: Teaching History and Notes for Educators
CHANGE OBSERVER: What Social Entrepreneurship Can Teach Social Design
OBSERVATORY: In the Palm of Your Hand: Dexterity Puzzles
OBSERVATORY: Today: The End
OBSERVATORY: The Costs of Ownership: Why Copyright Protection Will Hurt the Fashion Industry
CHANGE OBSERVER: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Electric Car
PLACES: Land, Speed and Bonneville
CHANGE OBSERVER: Hot Mountain
CHANGE OBSERVER: The Town That Corbusier Built
OBSERVATORY: When Shopping Was Sociable
CHANGE OBSERVER: Pet Projects
OBSERVER MEDIA: Michael Bierut on 86 Notebooks
PLACES: The East Anglians
CHANGE OBSERVER: Ripple Effect Update
OBSERVATORY: Chance Encounter on the Tiber

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS


Kate Howe
The Insignificance of a Logo (Even When Significant)

Alexandra Lange and Mark Lamster
Lunch with the Critics: Park51 & 15 Penn

Martin Hogue
Land, Speed and Bonneville


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DESIGN OBSERVER JOBS





Audio: Design Matters Archive

Audio: Design Matters Archive

Chip Kidd
Chip Kidd, award-winning book designer, musician and author.
Listen >>
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Books + Store: Books Received

Idea Selling
Sam Harrison

New Realisms: 1957—1962
Julia Robinson, editor

The Exquisite Book
J. Rothman, J. Volvovski & M. Lamothe

Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss?
James Victore

Art of McSweeney's
McSweeney's, editor

Six Books of Euclid
Werner Oechslin

Type Rules!
Ilene Strizver

Thoughts on Interaction Design
Jon Kolko

Design Research
Jane Thompson & Alexandra Lange

Petah Coyne
Denise Markonish

More Books Received >>

Recommended Books

Book
Extraordinary Exhibitions
Ricky Jay
Magician, actor, curator and wondrously quirky cultural presence, Ricky Jay is also a serious ephemera collector and a passionate social historian. Here, he shares selections from his magnificent collection of circus broadsides, advertising everything from an armless dulcimer player to a chess-playing automaton to an equestrian bee keeper. Brilliant. [JH]
Buy This Book >>
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Book
Fritz Kahn: Man Machine Maschine Mensch
Uta von Debschitz & Thilo von Debschitz
The amazing cutaway diagrams of German scientist, gynecologist and author Fritz Kahn (1888-1968) finally get their due in a new book. Do not miss this. [MB]
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Book
Monica Haller: Riley and His Story
Riley Sharbonno & Monica Haller
Riley Sharbonno, a nurse at Abu Ghraib prison, photographed his daily experience using his camera to record the memories he would suppress. Artist Monica Haller offers us 480 pages of realities that provide a glimpse into a war the media ignores, that most Americans want to forget, but one that many of its combatants can't. In Matt Rezac's design, pages fit images and not the other way around, insuring that this book functions, like Riley's camera, as a concise repository of often traumatic experiences. [AB]
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Book
Abstract Comics
Andrei Molotiu, editor
Though "abstract comics" are (according to the editor) "sequential art consisting exclusively of abstract imagery" which may also "contain some representational elements as long as those elements do not cohere into a narrative or even into a unified narrative space," this arresting book is like a scoop of primordial narrative, representational mud. Which is to say, it has vitaminic powers. [ME]
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Book
Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age
Viktor Mayer-Schonberger
Looking for a dystopian notion for your sci-fi novel? Look no further. Mayer-Schönberger warns about the social and political costs and risks of ever-powerful, durable forms of memory prosthetics in the form of digital technologies, and proposes solutions. [ME]
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