March 11, 2010
1300 Mount Royal Ave, Baltimore, MD
Location of Airstream exhibition (parking spot): Adjacent to the Brown Center, 1300 Mount Royal Ave (on the street or in access drive)
Open exhibition times: 10am-8pm (after panel)
Location of panel discussion: “Design Revolution: Join the Debate,” Falvey Hall, Brown Center building
Panel time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Panel details: We increasingly hear about the need to design for the greater good, but what, exactly, does social design entail? And how will issues of social justice and advocacy impact the way we conceive and execute the components of our built and visual environment? Join MICA’s Graduate MFA Program as we bring a panel of top designers and editors to debate the future of design practice. Panelists include Emily Pilloton, Founder, and Matthew Miller, Project Manager, of Project H design, a non-profit dedicated to bringing product design to those who need it most; John Bielenberg, founder of Project M, an immersion program created to inspire young graphic designers, writers, photographers, and other creative people to do work that can make a difference; and Julie Lasky, editor of Design Observer’s Change Observer column, which covers socially aware design. Baltimore-based architecture and design writer Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson will moderate the discussion.
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Recap: MICA, March 11th
We sped over to MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) after Johns Hopkins, and opened up shop from 4-6pm. One of our visitors, among a swath of students, was Kevin White, from Global Vision 2020, the US-based partner for the producers of the liquid-filled self-adjusting Adaptive Eyecare glasses. Kevin showed up to give us a few extra pairs (after our first pair was broken in North Carolina!), and Matt got a personal fitting for his own pair.
At 6:30 pm, we sat on a panel with some friends and colleagues we have come to know well: John Bielenberg of Project M (we recently saw him at PieLab in Greensboro, AL as well), Julie Lasky of ChangeObserver, and Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, journalist and design writer for publications such as Metropolis. Our other friend Ellen Lupton, who teaches at MICA and is also a curator at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, introduced us.
After brief presentations from each of us, Elizabeth moderated a panel discussion that focused on the efficacy and growth of design for social impact. We discussed the best ways to work in communities we are unfamiliar with (trust-building, long-term commitment, and humility), as well as the debate over “something-vs.-nothing,” which began with John Bielenberg’s statement: “Something is better than nothing.” Julie made the comment, however, that we do have a duty to measure our impact and to foster feedback that allows for continual improvement.
We’ve personally seen this in a few designs in the road show, things that might be guilty of the “it’s good enough for them” paradox, where many feel that a device doesn’t need to be perfectly designed if it is intended for a “bottom of the pyramid” market that has nothing to begin with. We feel this is a slippery slope and that all design, no matter who it is intended for, should be thoughtful and take into account all reasonable possible contingencies.
In closing, Elizabeth discussed Baltimore’s D:Center and MICA’s Center for Design Practice (sponsors of the event). Thanks to all who made for great conversation around design for the greater good!
Daily Postcard: March 12th
Thank you Post-It note left on the Airstream after our evening at MICA last night
Quote From The Road: March 11th
When: March 11th, 4:32 p.m.
Where: Parked outside of MICA, Baltimore
Emily (to Matt): “You are SO 1920’s architect man!”
(On Matt’s newly fitted Adaptive Eyecare glasses)
Daily Postcard: March 11th
Detail of a sculpture made from plastic straws at MICA
Panel at MICA: “Design Revolution: Join the Debate”
We are happy to announce that on March 11, 2010, as part of our stop at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), we will join a panel of design for social impact leaders for a heated discussion about the potential, shortcomings, and challenges of the Design Revolution.
When and where: March 11, 2010, Falvey Hall, Brown Center building, 6-7pm
Panel details: We increasingly hear about the need to design for the greater good, but what, exactly, does social design entail? And how will issues of social justice and advocacy impact the way we conceive and execute the components of our built and visual environment? Join MICA’s Graduate MFA Program as we bring a panel of top designers and editors to debate the future of design practice. Panelists include Emily Pilloton, Founder, and Matthew Miller, Project Manager, of Project H design, a non-profit dedicated to bringing product design to those who need it most; John Bielenberg, founder of Project M, an immersion program created to inspire young graphic designers, writers, photographers, and other creative people to do work that can make a difference; and Julie Lasky, editor of Design Observer’s Change Observer column, which covers socially aware design. Baltimore-based architecture and design writer Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson will moderate the discussion.
