iida perspective magazine cover

thanks to some mad drawing skills by suzanne, COMMUNITY BY DESIGN has appeared on the (inter)national scene. the five of us (and suzanne's hands) appear in the drawing above from the cover of the international interior design association PERSPECTIVE magazine...

on the inside cover, suzanne explains...

"i feel our design education is shifting towards a focus on community, both in terms of how we design and who we design for. As design professionals and educators, we recognize that good design exists not as a privilege reserved for the wealthiest among us, but rather for all people. This is a value we must instill in our students, encouraging young designers to engage in their local community while constructing design projects that have a meaningful impact on our neighbors. The illustration is directly inspired by COMMUNITY BY DESIGN, a local collaborative between design students, professionals, and educators."

nicely said...nicely drawn, suzanne...

see more of suzanne's work on her blog: an opensketchbook.com

19 thumb[nails]s up

Time flew by yesterday brainstorming illustration ideas with Patrick. Love this part of the process.

streamlining + storyboarding

suzanne and i continued to work on the profiles of the projects on which we've worked....and, golly, there sure are some great successes in those projects. when i reflect over my time thus far at uncg, some of the greatest memories happened in studios and classes where community-based work took place. and when i think of all the people who have been involved or touched by these projects, i realize the true value in building human relationships that stand the test of time...and sometimes the challenges and circumstances of a particular studio or design opportunity.

i've also learned that it takes much sustenance to sort through and write stories. today's site for our work: DELICIOUS bakery...and, yes, one cupcake is plenty of sugar intake for the day (but are they ever tasty!). the yellow cake with buttercream frosting = highly recommended.


watching suzanne storyboard our ideas is like observing a master baker at work! her drawings, filled with humor and articulate graphics, will bring a whole additional layer to the COMMUNITY BY DESIGN handbook. TOTAL fun! check out her blog... anopensketchbook.com for all kinds of drawing inspiration, techniques, and generally good design thinking!

asheville design center

as we continue to work on the COMMUNITY BY DESIGN handbook, we have uncovered a whole network of like-minded individuals all across north carolina....and, indeed, the world. our latest find.... asheville design center. check out the important work they undertake in "building livable communities through planning and design."

get the facts, jack!

suzanne and i continue to work on our book manuscript by the same title as this blog. we're profiling the various projects over the last five years...and we'd like to get some thoughts from you about whether the "fact sheet" we've developed makes sense. let us know what you think about the following.

PROJECT : close to home

LENGTH : 1 semester

TYPE : exhibit design

SCALES : complex/intermediate/basic
large/medium/small
place/building/space/object/graphic/experience
academic credit/grant-funded/volunteer

SKILLS NEEDED : basic building techniques
material qualities and limitations
good knowledge of digital graphic design software

SKILLS LEARNED : professional communication approaches
confidence and competence in design
celebration of local design history
oral history approaches
writing for a specific audience

DELIVERABLES : 2 gallery installations
12 information kiosks throughout the community
1 website
events

KEY IDEAS : teamwork
design/build
space planning
informational graphics
interpretation of historical data
material culture
social networking

CORE PARTICIPANTS : 18 third and fourth year design students, 1 faculty
(working with other students and community partners)

TOTAL CONTRIBUTORS : 174 students in 6 classes
34 community members
972 exhibit attendees
2 industry partners
2 community foundations
1 non-profit organization
2 universities
3 departments
4 faculty
1 advisory board
1 design review team

COMMUNITY BENEFITS : appreciation for modern design
understanding the work of a local designer in context
the richness of university-community partnerships
sharing stories across generations

suzanne is so good at diagramming that she "converted" each project to a storyboard...she will scan that art and post it in a separate post. book writing is hard work!

our location for this community by design session: CARIBOU COFFEE, friendly center.