March 19, 2013

“Good Design Glossary” in The Daily GOOD

Our “Good Design Glossary” is featured in today’s issue of The GOOD Daily, which means it was directly delivered by email to hundreds of thousands GOOD community members and readers.

Click here to view our “Good Design Glossary,” online at GOOD.is, or click here for a slightly different format and greater interactivity, online at PublicInterestDesign.org. Special thanks to editorial partner Gilad Meron and Adele Peters of GOOD.

March 19, 2013

First-of-its-kind “Good Design Glossary” Published

GOOD Magazine today published a first-of-its-kind “Good Design Glossary“–edited by our own John Cary and Gilad Meron–in an effort to develop shared language for this emerging movement or field at the intersection of design and service. Building on the Social Impact Design Summit in February 2012–convened by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the National Endowment for the Arts and immediately following the February 2013 release of the summit white paper–we began to work on one popular request: to compile a glossary of social impact design terminology.

In the emerging field of social impact design, we’ve seen important discussions and efforts hamstrung, sidetracked, or misunderstood due to the lack of a unifying vocabulary. This glossary sheds light on the redundancy of certain words and phrases, and we hope it also sheds light on the fact that many leaders and practitioners are using different terms to describe almost identical processes and approaches. Despite arguments over “correct” terminology, we are all speaking the same language. We’re eager to improve and expand this glossary, and welcome any and all corrections, edits, and additions. In particular, we ask for your help in identifying entities and individuals associated with each term as part of our larger effort to map the field. Please email glossary@publicinterestdesign.org.

Click here to view an extended introduction as well as hyperlinks to entities and individuals known for using certain terms, online at PublicInterestDesign.org, or click here to view the glossary on the GOOD website, including an interactive version of the above graphic, online at GOOD.is.

March 18, 2013

New Book: “Going Public”

We’re not sure how we missed this, but we’re happy to help spread the word about Going Public: Public Architecture, Urbanism, & Interventions, released in August by Gestalten. The book “showcases the creative revival of public space in our urban and rural landscapes.”

The book’s compelling selection of formal and informal interventions, reclamations, and architecture illustrates the current scope and interest in refashioning and repurposing our built environment for public use. The objectives of the featured examples are as diverse as the projects themselves and range from inspiring communication and community experience to devising new means of gathering in and connecting to nature. Ranging from bold to subtle and from temporary to permanent, the architecture and urban design featured in Going Public offers inspiring and surprising interpretations of our public surroundings and natural landscapes.

Click here to learn more about Going Public: Public Architecture, Urbanism, & Interventions, online at Gestalten.com. Thanks to Gilad Meron for the referral.

March 18, 2013

Project H Launches “Studio G” Summer Program

Late last week, Project H Design–the brainchild of super star designer and author Emily Pilloton–announced “Studio G,” is a “one-of-a-kind design and building summer camp for girls ages 9-12 that sparks creativity and curiosity through hands-on building, problem-solving, and meaningful making.” The 2013 summer camp will be offered in two sessions, July 8-12 and July 15-19, with the prior focused on wood training and the latter on metal.

Girls will cut plywood with a jigsaw, fuse metal with a welder, and create projects of personal and social relevance. Studio G’s instructors are female architects, designers, creative educators, and graduates of our Studio H high school design/build program. Integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) skills, Studio G projects build confidence, grit, and the belief that everything is possible in life and in the world. Studio G camp “graduates” will be equipped to communicate audacious ideas through their creative voice, transform their communities through active building, and go forth confidently into higher education and careers.

Click here to learn more about the Studio G girls summer program from Project H, online at ProjectHDesign.org. Note: Another Project H program, called Studio H, is the subject of a forthcoming documentary, titled IF YOU BUILD IT, which will have a sneak peek screening this Wednesday, March 20, during Public Interest Design Week.

March 14, 2013

SEED Evaluator 3.0 to Launch During PID Week

Design Corps–one of our Public Interest Design Week partners–this morning announced that Version 3.0 of the Social/Economic/Environmental Design (SEED) Evaluator, an evolving web-based tool, will officially launch next Saturday, March 23, during the Structures for Inclusion conference. “SFI” participants will receive the first peek at this new, collaborative design tool. Thereafter, it will be available free of charge, online at SEEDNetwork.org.

Based on SEED’s bottom-up approach to design problem-solving that truly activates community concerns, the SEED Evaluator 3.0 not only advocates, but also requires an inclusive and participatory process for achieving successful design projects with involvement from community stakeholders as well as designers and project planners. The tool offers specific steps for creating a collaborative approach to public interest design and for identifying and measuring the success of like-minded project goals focused on the triple-bottom line of social justice, economic development, and environmental conservation.

Click here to register to attend Structures for Inclusion and other Public Interest Design Week events, online at EventBrite.com, or click here to learn more about the SEED Network and Evaluator tool, online at SEEDNetwork.org.

March 14, 2013

“William and the Windmill” Wins SXSW Grand Prize

“William and the Windmill“–the documentary film on William Kamkwamba, one our Public Interest Design Week keynotes–took home top honors yesterday with the SXSW Film Festival‘s coveted Grand Jury Prize. The film will be screened next Saturday night, March 23, at 8pm, at the Weisman Art Museum, during the University of Minnesota‘s Public Interest Design Week. Having followed Kamkwamba’s story as well as the making of the film for years, our heartfelt congratulations to Kamkwamba, filmmaker Ben Nabors, founding executive producer Tom Rielly, and the many others involved.

In WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL, a young Malawian, named William Kamkwamba, builds a power-generating windmill from junk parts to rescue his family from famine, transforming his life and catapulting him on to the the world stage. His fame and success lead him to new opportunities and complex choices about his future, distancing him from the life he once knew.

Click here to register to attend the Public Interest Design Week screening of “William and the Windmill” or to hear Kamkwamba speak during the Structures for Inclusion conference, both on Saturday, March 23, online at EventBrite.com.

March 13, 2013

PID Week Keynote Donaldson Video Profile

Krista Donaldson, CEO of D-Rev: Design Revolution will kick off the thirteenth annual Structures for Inclusion conference–our headline event during Public Interest Design Week–on Saturday morning, March 23. An acclaimed innovator and woman engineer, Donaldson was profiled late last week, on International Women’s Day, by RocketList. In the video, she talks about why she got into design in the first place and also about D-Rev unique approached, focused on health, livelihood, and measurable impacts.

Click here to watch Krista Donaldson’s RocketList video, online at at Vimeo.com.

March 13, 2013

Rep. Raymond Dehn to Address PID Week

On Saturday morning, March 23, Public Interest Design Week participants will welcome Rep. Raymond Dehn back to the University of Minnesota College of Design. An architect by training, Rep. Dehn represents House District 59B in the Minnesota House of Representatives, which includes much of downtown Minneapolis, the North Loop and Elliot Park neighborhoods, a portion of Bryn Mawr and the southern portion of North Minneapolis. He is a 12 year resident of North Minneapolis’ Willard-Hay neighborhood.

Prior to his election in 2012, Rep. Dehn was active in his community at many levels, serving as a co-facilitator of the Northside Transportation Network, a member of Minneapolis’ Capital Long-range Improvement Committee, serving on the Northside Residents Redevelopment Council Board and as a leader of Take Action Minnesota’s Justice for All campaign. He remains active on criminal justice issues and affordable housing, having served on the board of Take Action Minnesota and the Emerson North Community Benefits Agreement task force. Rep. Dehn has twice served on the national board of the American Institute of Architects and the board of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), and as the national president of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS).

Click here to learn more about Rep. Raymond Dehn, a graduate of the University of Minnesota and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, online at Leg.State.MN.us.

March 12, 2013

Structures for Inclusion Workshops Announced

Rounding out the Structures for Inclusion conference and Public Interest Design Week generally will be half a dozen workshops, offering deep dives into a range of topics. An SFI tradition, the workshops will take place the morning of Sunday, March 24, from 9-10:30am and 11am-12:30pm. The workshops are included as a part of the regular SFI registration. They will take place in Rapson Hall, running parallel with the Iconathon being led by The Noun Project.

9-10:30am
Workshop 1A: Human-Centered Design 101
Led by Liz Ogbu of CCA & Marika Shioiri-Clark of Soshl Studio

Workshop 1B: Applying for the Enterprise Rose Fellowship
Led by Katie Swenson of Enterprise Community Partners

11am-12:30pm
Workshop 2A: Affordable Housing Finance
Led by Casius Pealer of Oyster Tree Consulting

Workshop 2B: Introduction to the SEED Evaluator 3.0
Led by Lisa Abendroth of Metropolitan State University of Denver & Bryan Bell of Design Corps

Click here for more information or to register for Structures for Inclusion and other Public Interest Design Week events, online at PublicInterestDesign.org. Caption: Toolbox icon designed by Daniel Hickey; sourced via The Noun Project.

March 12, 2013

IF YOU BUILD IT Sneak Peek Screening

We are thrilled to announce a sneak peek screening of IF YOU BUILD IT, which will be one of two films to screen the night of Wednesday, March 20, during Public Interest Design Week. Previously under the working title of STUDIO H, the film will have its official world premiere next month at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. It is directed and produced by O’Malley Creadon Productions, which has twice been nominated for Grand Jury Prizes at the Sundance Film Festival as well as received multiple awards and nominations for their stellar work, including the award-winning “Wordplay.” IF YOU BUILD IT is backed in part by this successful Kickstarter campaign (here).

The documentary IF YOU BUILD IT spends a year in the life of one of America’s most innovative classrooms. Designer/activists Emily Pilloton and Matt Miller of Project H Design, together with their high school students, unleash the power of humanitarian design to help their struggling community in rural North Carolina.

Click here or on the image above to watch the first official trailer of IF YOU BUILD IT, debuting at Full Frame with a sneak peek screening during Public Interest Design Week. Registration for the Wednesday evening film screening is requested, online here.