culturalboundaries

DESIGN JOURNEY: AIGA national will showcase the works of 25 designers from diverse backgrounds is set to open on May 19, 2010 in the national headquarters in New York City.

“Design Journeys” is a collection of stories about the professional lives, contributions and portfolios of historically underrepresented designers that serves as a publicly accessible comprehensive body of research honoring their accomplishments. Individuals selected for “Design Journeys” will be published in an online archive that includes visual samples of their work with an insightful, biographical essay. A traveling exhibition is planned for 2010.

Join us in celebrating these extraordinary designers:
Gail Anderson, creative director, design, SpotCo
Archie Boston, founder and principal, Archie Boston Graphic Design
Andy Cruz, owner and art director, House Industries
Charles Dawson, artist and designer
Aaron Douglas, artist and illustrator
Emory Douglas, graphic artist
Rafael Esquer, founder and principal, alfalfa studio
Karin Fong, director and partner, Imaginary Forces
Sylvia Harris, information design strategist
Lorenzo Homar, graphic artist
John C Jay, global executive creative director and partner, Wieden+Kennedy
Steve Jones, principal and creative director, Plantain Studio
Garland Kirkpatrick, founder and principal, Helvetica Jones
Saki Mafundikwa, founder and director, Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA)
Chaz Maviyane-Davies, professor of design, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston
Pablo Medina, founder and principal, Cubanica
Rebeca Méndez, founder and principal, Rebeca Méndez Communication Design
Bennett Peji, founder and principal, Bennett Peji Design
Samina Quraeshi, co-founder and principal, SQ Design Publishers
Edel Rodriguez, artist and illustrator
Art Sims, founder and CEO, 11:24 Design Advertising
Lucille Tenazas, founder and principal, Tenazas Design
Michele Washington, founder and principal, Washington Design
LeRoy Winbush, founder and principal, Winbush Design
Maurice Woods, founder and chair, Inneract Project

Featured on ECOUTERRE.COM

Move over false eyelashes make room for paperself from China, these floral designs are part of an old tradition of masterful paper cutting skills. These eyelashes are reported to be as delicate as lace, and each pair is intricately crafted using different motifs such as peonies (for happiness), peach blossoms (romance), and horses (success).  Although I’m not sure what happens if you shed a bucket of tears or get caught in the rain.

Urban Africa/David Adjaye:

International Ghanaian architect, David Adjaye’s exhibit at the Design Museum in London offers a glimpse into urbanism in Africa. David was born in Tanzania and raised in London. His architectural firm Adjaye Associates, has offices in London and New York City. Adjaye has photographed and documented major key cities in Africa. In order to shed light on an area of African urbanism that have been ignored in the accepted historiography of architecture.

David was on a panel with Peter Cook of Davis Brody Bond Aedas, and Rodney Leon. Thelma Golden, Director of the Studio Museum in Harlem was moderator at the Pratt Institute’s “Designing an Enduring Legacy,” in February. David Adjaye’s firm is also part of the architectural team that includes Peter Cook and the late Max Bond of Davis Brody Bond Aedas, to design the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.

photo by m. washington

Read more on David Adjaye in FT online: http://www.ft.com/
Listen to an interview with David on BBC WORLD SERVICE .

Check out a few of the proposed renderings of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.

As part of an ongoing series sponsored by NY chapter of the AIGA, Pablo Medina recently presented student work from his Experimental Type Design class at Parson School of Design where he has taught for more than ten years. The project titled, “How Can Type Help Haiti,” was presented at Museum of Art and Design in NYC. Medina’s students showed six projects to an audience of design and industry professionals, at the end of the presentation the audience voted for the best of the six groups. “A Small book for Heros, was voted the most effective project. Now, Medina’s  next step is to get this project in front of  UNICEF in hopes to get it produced. One big suggestion from the audience was for Pablo to identify other non-profit foundations to get the other five projects produced.

As reported on Black Design News:

Call to Action: Students respond Graphically to the Haiti Earthquake

by Steve Jones

We were all shocked and saddened to bear witness to the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti January 12, 2010. After seeing the aftermath, I knew, as a designer and instructor, I had to respond.

I always regretted not doing a project with my students in response to the U.S. invasion in Iraq. I knew after the Haiti quake, I couldn’t stand by on the sidelines—the event demanded a graphic response. Upon returning from my Winter Break, I assigned the students in my Typography class (San Francisco State University), the task of designing a response to illustrate the aftermath of the earthquake.

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