Dornach, Switzerland

This past week I had the pleasure of re-visiting a childhood haunt a few km from where I used to live… the Götheanum designed by Rudolf Steiner. While there, I picked up a reprint of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s colour-wheel graphic from his Farbenkreis (Theory of Colurs), written 200 years ago.

Should your glance on mornings lovely
Lift to drink the heaven’s blue
Or when sun, veiled by sirocco,
Royal red sinks out of view—
Give to Nature praise and honor.
Blithe of heart and sound of eye,
Knowing for the world of colour
Where its broad foundations lie.

—Goethe

Vilnius, Lithuania

I’ve spent the better part of the past week in Vilnius, capital city of the Baltic state of Lithuania (accompanied by Ev), as an invited speaker and active participant in the Spring: Icograda Design Week. Official activities included attendance of the Icograda Regional Meeting, delivery of a lecture entitle Welcome Change at the International Conference held at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, and acting as a presenter at the European Design Awards 2011.

Highlights of the week included numerous design exhibitions that ran in the old city (concurrent to the Design Week), meeting with old and new designer colleagues from some 20 different countries, and spending time in some excellent art galleries and historic cultural venues. A big thanks goes out to the organizers and to Gediminas Lasas and his colleagues at the Lithuanian Graphic Design Association in particular…

Photos (top three by Ines Subtil): participants of the Icograda Regional Meeting outside the Vilnius Academy of Arts; an on-stage group shot of all of the winners and presenters of the European Design Awards 2011; MTV hostess Ugne Skonsmanaite and I presenting a silver award to Beetroot Design Group from Greece for their packaging work “Konva;” Ev with some of the posters on exhibit at the conference venue.

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During the “Bush era” I posted (and sometimes included in lectures I gave) “re-mixed” propaganda posters by Micah Wright. In his own words, “I shut down the Propaganda Poster Project when Obama got elected… I stupidly thought that (a) everyone had finally woken up, and that (b) Obama was sincere about ending Bush’s war/illegal renditions/closing Gitmo/helping the Middle Class, etc. Sadly, the last two years have simply proven that I have to be just as vocal with my elected Democrats to keep their asses in line as I was vocal against Bush & his ilk.”

View a whole new batch of re-mixed images (such as the one above) here.

(No comment… more here.)

Thanks to friend Matt Warburton for the link.

Ottawa, Canada

(from a piece in CBC’s Arts & Entertainment)

…Canada Post has announced that a new stamp featuring the celebrated singer-songwriter will be issued on June 30 as part of the third instalment of its Canadian Recording Artists series. His stamp will join the previously announced stamps of Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Robbie Robertson and Ginette Reno.

“This is very exciting,” the Ottawa-born Cockburn said in a statement. The stamp’s design—a black and white image of him against a red background featuring titles of his hit songs—is “beautiful,” he added. Over the years, the folk-rock singer and activist has won multiple awards for his music, which includes hits such as The Coldest Night of the Year and If I Had a Rocket Launcher. His original songs have inspired covers by a wide range of artists—from Jimmy Buffett to the Barenaked Ladies.

He released his 31st album, Small Source of Comfort, in March and is currently touring the U.S.  Cockburn, who is also an officer of the Order of Canada and member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, is slated to publish his memoir in April 2012.

We were happy to have the honor of designing this latest set of stamps featuring Canadian singer/songwriters (at CIRCLE, our third such series)… look for more news and image releases in the weeks to come.

Toronto, Canada

I gave my presentation at FITC Toronto 2011, the 10th-anniversary gig, earlier today… exploring “why” we do what we do, and “to what end.” My talk included a personal existential narrative (tracing back to the 16th-century Holy Roman Empire) wrapped in a “big-picture exposition” on the power of design to shape culture and influence our tomorrows. Thanks to Shawn Pucknell for bringing me back to FITC on this special occasion (my 8th time giving a talk at FITC I believe).

Thanks also to those in attendance for the positive comments and feedback following the session. As promised, anyone who was registered for this FITC event can contact me and I’ll send you a link to download a PDF version of the presentation.

Milan, Italy

Recycled furniture meets greenery in Peter Bottazzi and Denish Bonpace’s recycled planters—presented at the recent Milan Furniture Fair. The pair breathes new life into abandoned wooden furniture… each unique planter is repurposed from everyday objects—chairs, shelving, carts, tables, and stands fused together and given new life as a home for lush greenery. (source)

Taipei, Taiwan

The 2011 Taiwan International Student Design Competition has announced a worldwide call for entries. The competition theme this year is “NEXT.” In the words of the organizers, “This past year, we’ve all experienced the power of our mother earth and we are learning lessons from humans’ harm to the world. We are hoping that through this competition, designers, especially young designers, (will become) more aware our roles and responsibility to the world and start to think of the “NEXT” through design…”.

I was a juror at last year’s competition (about which I posted here) and I can vouch for the professionalism of the hosting organization… download a PDF outlining the call for entries (with some very generous prizes!) here (844 KB). Submission deadline is 15 June 2011.

(A cautionary note in the face of increased specialization and ever-narrowing vertical knowledge silos [happens in nearly every field nowadays, it seems]… which also underlines the fundamental value of lateral/horizontal thinking).

Montreal, Canada

The 27th of April is celebrated around the world every year as World Graphics Day (gatherings by designers, exhibitions, etc.). April 27th marks the birth date of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda) in 1963—it provides an opportunity to recognize communication design and the role our profession plays in today’s world. World Graphics Day was officially inaugurated in 1995 to help further Icograda’s goal of “contributing to greater understanding between people, and helping to build bridges where divides and inequities exist.”

Poster image by Icograda Friend Rodolfo Fernandez Alvarez of Malaga, Spain (an homage to our late colleague Shigeo Fukuda).