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Fabulous bag collection for frequent travellers…dopplr shwag anyone?
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Interesting conversation in the comments about the roadblocks of user centred design in public services
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Anyone who knows me well, knows i have a thing for cupcakes… and well-designed cupcakes are just too much to bear, i’ll have to make some :)
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Nice technology that reminds me of zazaziza projects with uv light, lots of potential applications that are way more interesting than what they put on the site…
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Interesting event design work
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A current exhibition at Shoreditch town Hall displaying the art work of more than 500 young people with social difficulties. Seems really interesting, will drop by
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meh, not convinced about his argument… just because user-generated design and products can live virtually, doesnt mean it’s a trend that can extend so easily to real products, Apple has traditionally been uninterested in such a method and their products
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I really like this article, somehow we feel that our right to give birth as women is our own and doesnt affect society in general, these are a set of really good reasons why that’s no longer a good way to think
Archive for July, 2007
links for 2007-07-31
July 31, 2007links for 2007-07-30
July 30, 2007-
Lovely little store full of things you never knew you might want on Cheshire street, just off of Brick Lane
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Lovely store all about the beauty of old products… i just couldnt find anything i wanted enough…
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Nice end-of-Dott conference with the usual London suspects in late October, i can’t afford it unfortunately but will be following the reports
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Dopplr and Matts in the Guardian…w00t!
Looking for design: Marie-Claude Doyon
July 30, 2007A few days ago I read about the launch of Vinisimo and suddenly realised I knew who the graphic designer was… I’ve been waiting for a photo and some images from her for a while, but I think this one will do :)
Thank you Marie-Claude for speaking with me, could you describe yourself and your work briefly?
I am an independent graphic designer with interests mostly in conceptual work, typography and our responsibility on the environment. I do web and printed work for my own clients and for some other small graphic design studios. I spent half a year working in a small studio in Rotterdam back in 2006.
How long have you been working professionally in Montreal ?
I started in 1996 building web sites. Since then, I went back to university to obtain a Graphic Design degree at UQAM. I almost always worked as an independent.
Do you consider design to be well understood in Montreal?
It always depends who you are talking to. But I would say that, in general, people are not really aware of what design is, especially in my field of graphic design. When I say that I am a graphic designer, people think that I am a DTP and that I know very well how to use Photoshop or they think I am an artist. Design is in part technical but is mostly about thinking, functionality and concept, and that is what people don’t get. It’s also something that surrounds us so much everyday that we don’t even see it anymore.
In your opinion, what key designers/business are shaping the design scene in Montreal?
To my opinion those businesses/designers have strong remarkable presence in Montréal:
- Orange Tango
- Sid Lee
- Paprika
- Stéphane Huot
- Annie Lachapelle
- Alexandre Renzo
- Frédéric Metz (has a very good presence and speaks about design in the medias)
What is missing from the Montreal design scene?
We need more implication from everyone and more get togethers. We need to transmit what design is to the public and make it more accessible. I also think that we need to raise our standards and educate our clients instead of doing what they ask of us.
What would you say is the hardest thing about working in design in Montreal?
The general visual culture is not very high. Design and art are not well understood. Conceptual work is very rare.
What would you say is the best thing about working in design in Montreal?
There is a nice community of designers. It’s easy to know who does what. It’s also a city where there is a lot going on in different fields.
Where do the opportunities lie for the future of design in Montreal?
I think it lies in education and in raising our standards to meet those of cities like Amsterdam, London, Berlin, Zürich. It would be great if some of our universities would offer a Master degree in Graphic Design to form more “thinking” people.
If you had the choice to work somewhere else, where would it be?
I would work again in Rotterdam, Netherlands because this city is very alive culturally and there is a lot going on over there in graphic design, industrial design and architecture. I would also like to work in Amsterdam or Berlin.
Missed service opportunities
July 29, 2007I just finished working with Dave on a proposal for the second edition of the Muji award, and being designers of course, we waited till the last minute to submit our proposal.
In this particular case, Dave is in Boston, I’m in London and the proposal had to be sent to Japan by Tuesday next week. We were done with everything by Friday afternoon, but that meant that traditional postal services were no longer an option (we also had to get 2 A3 printed etc…)
We turned to the most efficient option, in this case Fedex Kinkos. Trying to figure anything online with these services is a mess but we didn’t have a choice. We thought about it a little and then thought… hey wait a minute! What if we get their Japan-based office to print this out, and they can send the stuff through from there as well! This will not only mean that the proposal will be received on time, but will actually be much greener as it wont have to take a plane to get there!
With all the greenwashing going on, it was refreshing to find a nugget of sustainable opportunity in a clunky service. Only thing is that it seems that Fedex haven’t figured this out yet, because payment online, without a Fedex account, is not possible and transacting between Kinkos and Fedex seemed to involve someone from their office printing it out, calling Dave to arrange payment on the phone (!!) and then being able to send it…
This is when you realise that there are organisational and corporate roadblocks to a seamless and converged service that could otherwise make an experience much more enjoyable (and sustainable).
links for 2007-07-28
July 28, 2007-
2 helicopters following a car chase crash, only for their crash to be covered by other news helicopters within minutes… meta journalism… meta drama
Quote of the day
July 26, 2007Found in the Hackney Freecycle mailing list:
“Offered: wedding dress size 10/12 with veil. N16 pick up”
links for 2007-07-25
July 25, 2007-
Really want to go see this
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RIP: Ulrich Muhe was a fabulous and powerful who made me cry so hard in the Life of Others and Amen.
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Just bought this and find it a tremendously disturbing and profound photographic journal of women in America… i’d like to think things are different in Europe but I’m not so sure…
Topoware update
July 25, 2007
Quick update on something else that keeps me busy :)
I’m really happy to announce that Topoware will be part of Designboom’s “Handled with care” exhibition as part of the London Design Festival, hosted by designersblock in Shoreditch.
Additionally, it is being featured in the Stanford-based design magazine Ambidextrous 7: Food.
Download the article here (pdf)
Karola and I are looking into selling the china collection as of September, so stay tuned!
Update: Thanks to Mark from Experientia for featuring Topoware on core77.
