May 24, 2013

Job: PSU Center for Public Interest Design

We’re expressly not in the business of publishing job postings, except when they’re explicitly related to public interest design. This position is for a Senior Research Associate within Portland State University‘s new Center for Public Interest Design, profiled here previously. The deadline for applications is June 14, 2013.

Successful candidates will be expected to work with the Center’s Director and faculty fellows to develop a funded research agenda in public interest design. The work will focus on project-based research and design with client communities and other stakeholders, non-profits and research centers at PSU and worldwide. No teaching experience is expected, though collaboration with faculty fellows of the Center may include participation in teaching design studios and research seminars. The successful candidate will be hired at the rank of Senior Research Associate, and will receive full support for two years during which they will be expected to establish a research agenda with the Director of the Center and associated faculty, as well as sufficient funding to support their appointment in following years.

Click here to learn more about the Senior Research Associate position with the Center for Public Interest Design at Portland State University, online at PDX.edu.

May 23, 2013

TED: “Architecture for the people by the people”

One of our absolute favorite talks from TED2013 in Long Beach, earlier this year, was by UK architect Alastair Parvin, co-founder of WikiHouse. His talk, titled “Architecture for the people by the people,” was among the first to earn a standing ovation at this year’s TED, and you need only watch it to understand why. It is one of the most compelling cases for returning design to its rightful place in the public domain. And we simply can’t recommend it highly enough.

This is the paradox for architecture: As a society, we’ve never needed design thinking more and yet architecture is literally becoming unemployed. It strikes me that we talk very deeply about design, but actually there’s an economics behind architecture that we don’t talk about and I think we need to…The uncomfortable fact is that actually almost everything that we call architecture today is the business of designing for the richest one percent of the world’s population.

Click here to watch Alastair Parvin’s TED talk, “Architecture for the people by the people,” online at TED.com.

May 23, 2013

2013 Ideas that Matter Grant Program Announced

Ideas that Matter is an annual grants program, providing teams of graphic designers and nonprofits with between $5,000 and $50,000 to realize beautiful, compelling communications design projects. This year’s deadline for applications is July 19, 2013, with judging to take place in August, and grants announced in September and awarded in October. Projects must be fully implemented within six months of receiving awards.

More than a decade ago Sappi Fine Paper North America–the maker of McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo –established the Ideas that Matter grant program to recognize and support designers who use their skills and expertise to solve communications problems for a wide range of charitable activities. Even today, Ideas that Matter remains the only grant program of its kind in the industry. Since 1999, Ideas that Matter has funded over 500 nonprofit projects, contributing $12 million worldwide to causes that enhance our lives, our communities, and our planet. Sappi believes that the creative ideas of designers can have an impact beyond the aesthetic and that those ideas can be a powerful force for social good.

Click here to learn more about the 2013 Ideas that Matter program, online at Sappi.com.

May 22, 2013

Design Affects: 15 Non-Designer Inspirations

Design Affects have published a great follow-up to its “15 Social Impact Designers Reveal Their Career Defining Moment,” profiled here previously. Editor Katie Crepeau asked “Who outside of the design profession inspires you and why?“ Two respondents cited Dr. Atul Gawande, as our own John Cary explains:

I regularly draw on my design toolbox, but I also learn a ton about design–its constraints and opportunities–in the process. I particularly like learning from non-designers who discover the transformative power of design. Several come to mind, but especially one of my writing heroes, Atul Gawande. He’s a surgeon by training, but a noted writer for The New Yorker and author of multiple books. My favorites are Better and The Checklist Manifesto, both of which take a look at systems shaping the healthcare system and our world generally. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Click here to read “15 Designers Share Their Non-Design Inspiration,” online at DesignAffects.com.

May 22, 2013

Still Time to Apply for Design Futures Forum

This is a final, friendly reminder that the inaugural “Design Futures” Public Interest Design (PID) Student Leadership Forum will be hosted by the University of Texas at Austin‘s Center for Sustainable Development from May 28 to June 1, 2013. The event features more than a dozen and a half leaders from the field, with our own John Cary serving as the opening keynote.

Uniting a select group of multi-disciplinary students and emerging leaders in the PID field, the forum will explore the emergence of PID in history, its epistemological and ontological roots, and contemporary challenges around practicing PID. In addition to these themes, students who attend the Design Futures PID Student Leadership Forum will gain specific training in some of the core skill sets required for effective PID practice…Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders and we look forward to helping provide a solid foundation around which to build a successful career path within this emergent field of design practice.

Click here to learn more about the Design Futures Public Interest Design Student Leadership Forum, online at UTexas.edu.

May 21, 2013

PSU Announces Center for Public Interest Design

Portland State University yesterday announced the establishment of a first-of-its-kind Center for Public Interest Design, made possible by a five-year, $1.5 million anonymous gift. It is described as “a research center that aims to investigate and utilize the power of design to make social, economic, and environmental change in disadvantaged communities worldwide.” The founding director of the center is none other than Sergio Palleroni, who is also founder of the Building Sustainability Communities (BaSiC) Initiative. In his welcome letter, Palleroni explains:

This Center hopes to move beyond the divide between sustainability and public interest design by looking at them as part of the same challenge. We hope to test our research through acts of design with communities in need, because participatory action research—findings that are grounded in communities’ living conditions—offers the greatest opportunity to effect long-term change.

Click here to learn more about Portland State University’s new Center for Public Interest Design, online at PSU.edu.

May 21, 2013

ArtPlace Announces $15.2 Million in New Grants

ArtPlace America announced yesterday a total of $15.2 million in new funding to 54 projects using the arts to transform 44 communities, including a statewide project in Connecticut. This is the third cycle of grants, with ArtPlace America having awarded a total of $42.1 million in 134 grants to 124 organizations in 79 communities across the country. A collaboration of leading national and regional foundations, banks, and federal agencies ArtPlace is “committed to accelerating creative placemaking–putting art at the heart of a portfolio of strategies designed to revitalize communities.”

Click here to learn more about that latest round of ArtPlace America grantees, online at ArtPlaceAmerica.org.

May 21, 2013

2014-16 Enterprise Rose Fellowships Announced

Enterprise Community Partners has announced a record six new positions through its prestigious Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship program. From 2014-2016, six lucky fellows will work full-time within host organizations in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dillsburg, Penn., New York, or San Jose, bringing fresh ideas and helping to build capacity. Host organizations provide health insurance and other fringe benefits, while Enterprise provides an annual stipend of $48,000, coaching, and training, along with industry networking and learning opportunities. The deadline for applications is July 10, 2013.

The highly competitive Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship develops the next generation of leaders in community-based design. Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellows take part in a unique three-year experience offering unparalleled learning and networking opportunities. As integral members of their host organizations’ staff, fellows gain practical experience in site acquisition, site planning, architectural design, developing financial pro-formas, applying for financing and obtaining public approvals. Fellows also typically help their hosts improve standards and practices for design excellence, sustainability and resident engagement.

Click here to learn more about the 2014-2016 Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowships, online at EnterpriseCommunity.org.

May 20, 2013

University of New Mexico Commencement Address

Our own John Cary had the honor of giving this year’s commencement address for the University of New Mexico‘s School of Architecture & Planning. The title of the talk is “Everyone Deserves Good Design,” and topics touched on include diversity, dignity, and women in design. A video recording of the speech is available above, while Metropolis Magazine and multiple others were kind enough to vpublish it and others have pledged to follow suit.

We use words like “function” and “form” to describe design, but I’ve come to believe it’s about something deeper. It’s about dignity. You see, dignity is something design can achieve in ways nothing else can. Dignity is a kid learning in a colorful classroom that makes him feel valued and piques his curiosity. Dignity is a cancer patient in a light-filled hospital room with lots of natural airflow to support her healing. Dignity is a community where the young and old alike have safe public spaces to mingle, celebrate, and play. Dignity is to the public interest design field what justice is to the more established field of public interest law. In the simplest of terms, for me it’s about knowing your intrinsic worth and seeing that worth reflected in the places you live and work, the products you use, and the systems and services you rely on.

Click here to watch a video recording of John Cary’s University of New Mexico commencement address, online at YouTube.com. Women-led entities cited in the talk include Code for America, D-Rev: Design Revolution, Enterprise Rose Fellowship, IDEO.org, Studio Gang, Studio H, and others.

May 20, 2013

Global PID100: 10 Things We Learned

Continuing with our tradition, to recap the launch of our first-ever Global Public Interest Design 100, sponsored by Autodesk, here is a mostly lighthearted accounting of 10 things we learned:

10. People appreciate being seen and recognized, no matter what corner of the world they’re from.

9. Our list helped people understand–some for the first time–that public interest design is a truly global movement.

8. The map we used was deceiving in that it really only showed where people are based or from, not necessarily where they are working.

7. Many fewer members of our global list are on Twitter than our original domestic list.

6. Our FAQ proved helpful in explaining that the 100 individuals and teams were ordered by last name, though many people still thought and wished we had done an actual ranking.

5. GOOD and TED are awesome media partners, while Architectural Record, DesignObserver, and others did an awesome job spreading the word via Twitter.

4. People don’t like having their names misspelled, maybe even especially when being recognized.

3. Melinda & Bill Gates‘ people were inspired enough to write and thank us.

2. Megan Jett and Jessie Canon did an awesome job on the interactive version.

1. Prince Charles is The Prince of Wales, not Whales.

Click here to view our “Global Public Interest Design 100,” online at PublicInterestDesign.org.