Conferences *
Aftertaste 2: New Agendas for the Study of the Interior April 4–5, 2008 Parsons The New School for Design New York, NY
This second in an annual series of lectures and roundtable conversations by and among international design leaders is dedicated to the critical review of interior design. The goal is to identify pressing contemporary issues challenging practitioners in the field. Participants include Parsons’ architecture, interior design, and lighting chair Kent Kleinman, design historian Penny Sparke, photographer James Casabere, animators the Quay Brothers, Columbia architecture dean Mark Wigley, and I.D. editor-in-chief Julie Lasky. www.parsons.newschool.edu/aidl
Gravity Free: Multidisciplinary Design Innovation Conference May 12–14, 2008 Chicago, IL
Registration is open for Gravity Free: 2008. This year’s theme, "The Year of Dangerous Minds," celebrates creative risk-taking in the realms of architecture, interior design, product design, urban planning, graphic design, and even screenwriting. Speakers include Chip Kidd, Luigi Colani, Jamie Drake, Stefan Sagmeister, Jake Barton, Deborah Adler, and Massimo Vignelli. www.exhibitoronline.com/gravityfree
IIT Institute of Design Strategy Conference May 22–23, 2008 Chicago, IL
Now in its fourth year, the conference continues to work to build a stronger bridge between design and business strategy. Speakers include Bill Buxton, principal researcher at Microsoft; Michael J. Critelli, executive chairman of Pitney Bowes; Claudia Kotchka and A.G. Lafley, respectively, vice president of design innovation and strategy and chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble, and Paul Polak, founder of International Development Enterprises, which designs practical solutions to attack poverty at its roots. www.id.iit.edu
Go See *
D’Ailleurs (Elsewhere) March 15–May 25, 2008 Espace Arlaud Lausanne, Switzerland
Works on the theme of here and elsewhere by Swiss photographer Magali Koenig, Swiss graphic designer Pierre Neumann, Malian photographers Fatoumata Diabaté and Youssouf Sogodogo, Zimbabwean graphic designer Chaz Maviayane-Davies, Israeli graphic designer David Tartakover, and American graphic designer James Victore. Tel: 33-021-316-38-50
Atelier Manferdini: Merletti March 28–May 11, 2008 SCI-Arc Gallery Los Angeles, CA
Architect and fashion designer Elena Manferdini’s installation explores the intricacies of lace-making at a scale far beyond the intimate size and detail one envisions when thinking about this material. www.sciarc.edu
BLUE April 4–September 18, 2008 Textile Museum Washington, DC
Celebrates the creative vision of contemporary fabric artists working with natural indigo dyes and explores the history and significance of blue textiles. www.textilemuseum.org
Competitions *
Design 21 Challenges Deadline: April 10, 2008
Design 21, the Social Design Network, has recently upped the ante for socially-conscious designers by initiating a new feature on its website: "Challenges" allows outside organizations to create their own design competitions, the first being a call for new eco-bag concepts for the city of Kobe, Japan. Winner will receive $2,500 + 10 bags of their own design. www.design21sdn.com/challenges/12
New York City Department of Transportation and Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Bike Parking Design Competition Deadlines: April 30, 2008 (registration deadline for sidewalk rack), June 9, 2008 (Stage 1 submission deadline for in-building parking)
This international design competition for bike parking in New York City seeks to develop attractive, functional, well-designed sidewalk racks and to generate new concepts for bicycle parking inside commercial and residential buildings. Finalists in the rack competition will receive honoraria to build prototypes of their designs. Winners of both competitions will receive cash prizes of between $2,000 and $5,000. For further information: nycityracks.wordpress.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 profession 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