The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum invites you to submit ideas for its fourth Triennial exhibition, opening in 2010. The museum is looking for designers, firms, and projects from around the world that answer the question “Why design now?” Why is design an essential tool for solving some of today’s most urgent problems? What draws creative thinkers, makers, and problem solvers to this crucial field of discovery? Why should business leaders, policy makers, consumers, and citizens embrace design values? Please share your nominations with the exhibition’s curators, Cara McCarty, Matilda McQuaid, Cynthia E. Smith, and Ellen Lupton, who are looking for the best ideas coming from around the world. triennial.cooperhewitt.org/nominate
Frog Design announced plans to enhance its presence in Europe with the opening of a new studio in Amsterdam in September. Executive Creative Director Europe Cees van Dok will head up the new studio while continuing to oversee the digital media design, product design and technology teams in Frog’s additional European locations in Stuttgart and Milan. Frog currently has eight studios in the US, Europe, and in Asia. www.frogdesign.com
Symposia, Conferences & Trade Shows
Smart Models: Business Principles for Design Principals May 17, 2008 New York City
Five graphic/interactive design firms. Five business models. Five departures from the expected. This one-day conference examines the overlap between smart design and business smarts. Featured speakers: Jason Fried (37signals), Matt Owens (Athletics), Joe Duffy and Eric Block (Duffy & Partners), Sylvia Harris (Sylvia Harris LLC), Douglas Riccardi (Memo Productions). smartmodels.aigany.org
I.D. Magazine Presents: What’s Wrong With American Furniture Design? Design Within Reach 110 Greene Street, Soho 3-5PM May 18, 2008
I.D. Magazine will present a panel discussion addressing the state of American furniture design this Sunday, during New York’s ICFF. Join us to hear five experts discuss the obstacles and opportunities facing our home-grown talent: Stephen Burks, furniture designer; Jason Miller, furniture designer; Derek Chen, designer and founder of Council Design; Jerry Helling, executive VP and creative director of Bernhardt Design; and David Alhadeff, owner of The Future Perfect. Moderated by Aric Chen.
Left/Brain/Right May 19, 2008 New York City
Material ConneXion’s Andrew Dent and visionary trendspotter and educator Li Edelkoort deliver a pair of lectures on the greening of architecture and design. Dent will discuss the sustainable materials and technologies that are transforming design today; Edelkoort will speak on the new bridges between architecture and lifestyle in the context of green. Tickets are $300 ($30 for students). www.edelkoort.com or www.materialconnexion.com
Go See
Wendell Castle: New Work Barry Friedman Ltd. New York City Through June 27, 2008 Recent projects from the studio furniture master. www.barryfriedmanltd.com
Techno Textiles: Inner Space to Outer Space The Goldstein Museum of Design, University of Minnesota Minneapolis May 16–July 27, 2008 Explores new developments in extreme textile engineering and sophisticated fabric use, from medical applications to space travel. www.goldstein.che.umn.edu
Multiplicity: The Art of the Furniture Prototype Neuberger Museum Purchase, NY June 15–August 10, 2008
An international exhibition, cosponsored by The Furniture Society and the Neuberger Museum of Art, presents 22 original works selected through a competition open to studio furniture makers, artists, architects, and industrial designers in the United States and abroad. The top three finalists will be exhibited at The Furniture Society booth at ICFF in New York, May 17–21. www.furnituresociety.org
SPRING THESIS SHOWS
Konstfack Degree Exhibition Stockholm, Sweden M.A. Exhibition, May 13–25 B.A. Exhibition, May 28–June 1 www.konstfack.se/varutstallning08
School of Visual Arts Visual Arts Gallery 601 West 26th Street New York City
It’s your last chance to catch “Pitch,” an exhibition of socially- and globally-minded designs created by 18 students graduating from the MFA Design Department at SVA! Curated by Dorothy Twining Globus, a faculty member at SVA and curator of exhibitions at the Museum of Arts & Design, “Pitch” will be on view through May 17. www.sva.edu/events
Competitions
Chicago International Poster Biennial Deadline: May 27, 2008
The Chicago International Poster Biennial Association (CIPBA), a not-for-profit organization established to promote visual literacy, multiculturalism, and international cooperation through the poster work of artists from around the world, seeks contemporary posters published within the last two years for its inaugural competition. Posters may be submitted by any poster designers in the world; there is no entry fee. One hundred posters will be selected as winners. Three artists will receive medals, and one will be awarded the grand prize in the form of a gold medal. Competition entry information is available at www.chicagobiennial.org
Mohawk Show 9 Deadline: May 31, 2008
Designers are invited to submit work printed on Mohawk paper to compete for five best-of-show awards of $5,000 each (including one in the “Small Studio, Big Design Award” category, which recognizes design excellence in studios with five or fewer people). There is no entry fee and no limit to the number of entries per individual or organization. Entry forms at www.mohawkpaper.com
Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing and Criticism Deadline: June 2, 2008
The Winterhouse Writing Awards seek to increase the understanding and appreciation of design, both within the pr
ofession and throughout American life. The award of $10,000, for a body of work by a writer under the age of 40, is open to critics, designers, educators, historians, journalists, and scholars who are U.S. citizens or full-time residents for at least three years. An education award of $1,000 is open to students (high school, undergraduate, or graduate) whose writing demonstrates extraordinary originality and promise. 2008 Jurors are Jessica Helfand, Michael Bierut, Kevin Lippert, and Judith Thurman. For information and applications: www.aiga.org/writingawards
Design 21: Social Design Network and Millennium Promise Challenge to Fight Poverty Deadline: June 17, 2008
Social Design Network invites designers to create a web-based media campaign that reaches as many people as possible to raise awareness of the eight Millennium Development Goals, from eradicating extreme hunger and poverty to reducing child mortality to developing a global partnership for development. The winning design will receive $5,000; another $5,000 will be divided among jury and people’s choice prizes. Official rules and background on Millennium Promise and the Millennium Development Goals can be found on www.design21sdn.com/competitions/13