Psst!

I’ve been setting up a new site to replace this one, which has run its course. It’s not that interesting yet, but I promise that blogging will resume after the new year. I’ve learned much over my sabbatical, and I’m eager to share some new ideas….

This blog is going on sabbatical.

But we’ll meet again. Promise. Until then (and I cannot predict exactly when), you have 130 archived posts at your fingertips.

Please enjoy your summer! And never stop investigating the world in front of you… there’s so much to see….

A very quick map for the Portes Ouvertes….

I am starting to include the experiences of others in my maps. This (or a version of this) will be part of an exhibition in June:

MontrealExperienceMap

Under the weight of new information (to be continued).

Hello again…

It’s been a week or two, but I am back from Montreal with an abundance of new information to process. Specifically, I have:

a) Over 1 GB of imagery/sound/video

b) Two handwritten journals

c) 24 returned surveys

d) random memories

Needless to say, what little I knew about Montreal before (see earlier post) has turned into the opposite problem. I am now processing this information to create some new work for the DesignInquiry Journal as well as for an exhibition at Montreal’s upcoming Portes Ouvertes 2011. Stay tuned.

It pains me to admit that I still don’t understand the Expos logo. But I have been to the site of Expo ’67 and back….

Observe this!

Why bother with celebrating Cinco de Mayo when you’ve got this going on?

Priebe. Six to seven-thirty (and beyond).

We were chock full o’ doughnuts.

Design III, Spring 2011.

Sorry about the crappy cellphone shot… but we still look mighty fine, no?

And this is why I require your name on the spine.

Here we go grading, here we go! {Clap, clap}

Expo ’11!

I’ll be in Montréal, Quebec all next week participating in an innovative program called DesignInquiry. DI describes itself as “a non-profit educational organization devoted to researching design issues in intensive team-based gatherings. An alternative to the design conference, it brings together practitioners from disparate fields to generate new work and ideas around a single topic.” The topic of this gathering is the city of Montréal itself, which is the first and only North American city to be recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) as a “City of Design.” According to DesignInquiry:

From the cultural legacy of Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympics, to numerous examples of contemporary creative work including art, fashion, performing arts and architecture, Montréal is clearly a creative hotspot. Its languages, its prejudices, its line-ups, la mode: all of these elements inform Montréal’s global disposition and local temperament. So, are design qualities somehow inherent in Montréal’s topographies, its citizens, its outputs? What makes a “City of Design” more relevant or significant than any other similarly vaunted location? Are these qualities designed by designers or do they evolve out of the way people use the city? Can we identify the characteristics of the dialog between the city and its users? (Can we emphasize the dialog by adding something or taking something away?)

The notion that design practice, and the presence of designers, can alter the trajectory of a city for the better is an assumption that beseeches exploration and testing. Meeting Montréal’s flora and fauna—getting used to its habits and communicating with its inhabitants will be the core of DesignInquiry-slash-Montréal. We are there as designers, exploring this design town.

I am most excited to participate in this exploration precisely because Montréal is one of the few major North American cities I haven’t yet explored. Visiting a new metropolitan area has always been a big deal for me. Call me a dork, but I love to pour over maps (duh), written histories, and guide books before I visit a new city. I know I’ve done my research when someone on the street asks me for directions, and I can actually help them out. Yeah… ok… I’m a dork.

When I applied for this program a few months ago, my knowledge of Montréal was limited to these few subjects:

1. Expo ’67 (thanks mostly to a They Might Be Giants song)

2. The 1976 Olympics

3. My childhood neighbors, who lived there briefly after moving from Belgium

4. Poutine (knowledge of)

5. The really weird logo of the (now-defunct) Montreal Expos

6. The Canadiens (Original Six, right?)

and

7. Leonard Cohen. 

What will this list look like two weeks from now? The anticipation is killing me!

Selected works by John Maeda

As mentioned in Chee La’s presentation this morning. John Maeda’s site hasn’t been updated since (gasp!) 2008, but there are a lot of good ideas within–though a few no longer work. We’ll give Maeda a pass as he’s spent the last few years serving as the president of the Rhode Island School of Design.

My current favorite is the Misspeller.

Says Maeda, “I’m something of a fanatic when it comes to spelling. In recent years I wish that I didn’t have to live with this curse as it would make my life more livable.” I’ve often thought the same thing. It’s a bit of a crux sometimes.

T-minus 3 days!

Of course, you are all very aware that the Senior Exhibition reception is set to happen this Thursday, right?

{Thanks to Emilie Rand for supplying a better-quality poster image.}