When we pulled up to our spot at Syracuse University, we were welcomed by approximately 30 students wearing specially made “Design Can Change The World” t-shirts, a dozen Project H pink balloons, and about 40 pink flamingos directing passersby to our trailer parking spot. We knew at this moment we were in for an awesome day.
Professor Donald Carr greeted us and helped us get set up before we opened the trailer from 10-12:30. Industrial and Interior Design students are usually at their Warehouse Building studios, about a mile from the main campus, so they had dedicated their day to hanging out with us! We met a bunch of amazing students, including Kelly Anderson, who I have been in touch with for about 18 months already. The IDSA student chapter members including Leigh, Erik, and Evan, were all there too to help spread the word, recruit folks walking through the crowd to check out the trailer, and talk to us about their own enthusiasm for the Design Revolution.
A student group even set up a live blog/webcam stream and asked visitors “What is design?” Responses ranged from “Design is life, and a living” to “Design is human,” “Design is a way to see the world,” Design is a tool, like a hammer,” and “Design is awesome.”
At 12:30 we headed into the arts building’s auditorium, where a giant orange sign screamed “Syracuse University / Design Revolution Road Show” with our signature Airstream graphic. The lecture hall was close to packed with rowdy and enthusiastic students. We (as usual), warmed up the crowd with the Colbert Report clip, then proceeded with our presentation. The Q&A brought on questions ranging from “How do you get your funding?” to “Do you ever find clients like homeless shelters are resistant to working with designers? How do you approach communities you aren’t a part of?”
After the lecture, I met a few students from the Rochester Institute of Technology who had made the trek to Syracuse to see the road show. Before leaving for the day (before the rush of basketball fans coming to the Kentucky game!), I interviewed a few students about “What the Design Revolution meant to them” (see video above).
Perhaps one of the oddest moments of the day was when Matt and I were asked to sign souvenir flamingos for some of the students! The day was a huge success and by far one of the most spirited group of students we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Thanks so much to the IDSA chapter, Donald Carr, and everyone involved for bringing us to Syracuse!
Matt sports his new Syracuse “design can change the world” t-shirt with pride (and enthusiasm, clearly)
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