September 2005 Archives
Television, magazines, and trips to the store have exposed us to the same brands and designs for much of our lives. And as companies merge, chains expand, and "mom-and-pop" shops die, we are exposed to even fewer brands than when we were growing up. We are increasingly denied the experience of that first reaction, that quick emotional response when we see something completely new or different for the first time as adults.
It would be nice to analyze design from that point of first reaction, to examine a never before seen brand in its proper context. But where can a designer go for such an experience?
New York Post reports that Tiffany & Co. has hired controversial architect Frank Gehry to design a line of jewelry to help boost sluggish sales. According to the article, Gehry is "the first new jewelry designer hired by Tiffany since it brought in Paloma Picasso 25 years ago."
Two designers traveled to China to check out the country's industrial design scene. Their BusinessWeek article is a very good summation of the unique social, business, and political challenges designers face in China.
Wired reports of a new company called Adcandy that matches companies with wanna-be advertisers who have that "million-dollar idea." Well, more like fifty-dollar idea. "In exchange for their advertising slogans, catch phrases or campaign ideas, participants could win cash prizes from $50 to $500 and the bragging rights of seeing their ideas used to sell anything from Coke to Levi's jeans."
Parsons and the Design Trust for Public Space invited members of the taxi industry, New York City’s taxi regulators, and some top designers to brainstorm changes to the taxi cab. STEP inside design's Ina Saltz reports on the quest to improve those ubiquitous and iconic vehicles.
Last friday I stumbled across two Web sites that gave me a glimpse into the small but potentially lucrative world of wine label collecting, and as I follow the news about the rise in popularity of wine and new marketing efforts by wineries to court a more youthful crowd, I couldn't help but wonder what this means for wine label and bottle (and box) design.
The AIGA is collecting information and assembling a task force to help designers who were affected by Katrina. Information on how you can help is in the following message forwarded to me by my colleagues at STEP and DGM:
"The AIGA is actively involved in making contact with designers in the Gulf Coast region devastated by Katrina and subsequent floods. As we work to assess how the design community can support our fellow designers most effectively, we have created a means of collecting information on the status of the affected, their needs and the offers of others to help (see http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm?ContentAlias=reliefeffort).
AIGA member Terry Stone (Los Angeles) is organizing a relief task force to coordinate actions and responses. Designers in southeastern states who would like to take an active role in the task force should respond at relief@aiga.org. AIGA will focus on creating a network to allow displaced designers to communicate with those who can help and are concerned about them; we will also help them in regaining their professional practice. Other organizations with experience in disaster relief are better equipped to handle humanitarian aid and we encourage designers to support their efforts.
AIGA will launch a relief fund with $10,000 to help designers re-establish their practices and will encourage our corporate partners to work through the task force to coordinate additional financial and in-kind support.
To help inform the effort, two sessions will be added to the AIGA Design Conference program: one on how to be most effective in aiding relief in the Gulf Coast area and a second on what this dreadful experience suggests in terms of the power of design to aid emergency procedures and evacuation."
