Design Revolution Road Show

Perched in front of a Mies-esque building on a Southern California hilltop, the Airstream exhibit opened at 1pm yesterday at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. We were welcomed by Elisa Ruffino and Mariana Amatullo of the college’s well-known Designmatters program, which looks at how design might influence global social change.

We set up shop quickly and after a brief lunch with some of Art Center’s department heads and new president Lorne Buchman, we filed into the Faculty Dining Room for a lecture and Q&A section. This presentation was the first time Matt and I presented together, in a sort of yin-and-yang ping pong. It went very well, and we got some great feedback and questions from the audience, which was mostly students (”an impressive turnout,” according to Elisa, who said it can be difficult to lure students out of class for mid-day lectures. One audience member asked us if the Airstream was solar-powered, to which we replied “no,” because we couldn’t afford the panels, but it IS foot-powered by our WEZA pedal-treadle pump generator! We encouraged people to step on the WEZA to help run our lights (see video below).

The afternoon “open hours” were a blast as students checked out the Hippo Roller, inspected the products with a critical eye, and of course helped power our trailer. Many students were involved with Desigmatters already and we spoke to a few who had returned from Chile and Guatemala, working on social design projects with communities there. As a whole, the Art Center students were very much attuned to our message and had their own stories to share.

In the evening, GOOD, Designmatters, and Art Center’s Alumni group hosted a lovely affair in their photo studio/sound stage area. We lit up the exhibition area with some outdoor lights and the trailer shone like a beacon in the night! Casey Caplowe and Max Schorr from GOOD attended, along with LA-based design writer Alissa Walker, and Project H’s LA team leader Kim Karlsrud.

The evening program consisted of presentations from the alumni group, president Lorne Buchman, whose short speech was moving and heartfelt, followed by quick talks by myself and GOOD’s Casey Caplowe. Thanks so much to Art Center for their support and partnership- the entire day was both fun and educational and we can’t wait to catch up with their Designmatters team soon to hear what they’re up to!

Before we left San Francisco, we met up with Rob Forbes (formerly of Design Within Reach), who has just launched a new venture called Public Bikes. Tagline: “Mass transit for one.” The mission of Public Bikes is to encourage people to be more conscious of the way they get around every day, and to provide them with beautiful, low-maintenance, easy to use bikes to make it that much easier to get around responsibly. While the company doesn’t officially launch until later this Spring, they’re promoting a few bike models they love including the Dahon folding bike, which I’ll be riding for the duration of our road show (mostly from RV Park to morning coffee from the gas station down the road). Check out more of Public’s mission here. Thanks Rob!!

Riding my Dahon at dusk at Art Center in Pasadena

We just pulled up to the Art Center College of Design’s beautiful Hillside Campus in Pasadena, looking forward to a full day tomorrow. While the daytime programming (lecture and open exhibition hours) are mostly for students, come on down from 6-10pm for a public reception hosted by GOOD and Art Center’s Alumni. We’ll have books for sale, refreshments, and of course a nighttime viewing of the road show trailer. View the invitation here.