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)
—Abdallah Awaye, a Tunisian who has taken in Libyan refugees.
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).
Santa Cruz, California
I love this… Jim Denevan makes temporary drawings on sand (and earth and ice) that are eventually erased by waves and weather—see more here.
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“With a strong background in design and illustration, Anna Garforth’s nifty fingers can work moss into beautiful lettering, cookie dough into edible posters, and rubbish into typographic wonder…”
Thanks to designer friend Tiffany Turkington for this link.
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PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard… I’ve posted about this collective exercise in empathic catharsis several times before.
—Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Winnipeg, Canada
Much as I’m not big on formal events, I am looking forward to the gala black-tie dinner tonight at the Hotel Fort Garry on Broadway (which I’ll attend with Evelin and some colleagues from CIRCLE). This evening’s special honoree is our well-liked former provincial Premier, now Canada’s Ambassador to the USA in Washington, Gary Doer. This event is the 28th annual for the Concordia Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to preserving the high quality of health and wellness services provided by Concordia (Concordia Hospital, Concordia Place, Concordia Hip & Knee Institute, Concordia Wellness Projects and Concordia Village).
CIRCLE is a sponsor of the gala event, and we also designed the related graphics and collateral materials. We recently launched a new website for the Concordia Foundation, here.
