Cynthia E. Smith

Design and Social Impact Q + A: Mariana Amatullo Five Intelligent Coalitions: Design and Social Impact panelists were invited to expand on the Design and Social Impact white paper recommendations. Each had participated in the 2012 Social Impact Design Summit, which the “Design and Social Impact: A cross-sectoral agenda for design education, research, and practice” white paper chronicles. socially responsible design, social impact design, international development, design education, desigmnatters, Art Center College of Design	,
Informal Living I sold an almost complete set of chartreuse curry colored American Modern dinnerware two summers ago. It was one of the first items the antique dealers bought when we were clearing out the attic in anticipation of a move. I loathed parting with it because it represented a unique time in American domestic life when Russel Wright was trailblazing “good design for everyone.” Russel Wright, Steubenville Pottery Company, American Modern, table ware
Social Impact and Design “There is much that members of this diverse, global community can learn from one another and from the constituents they serve.” - Design and Social Impact finding “Where are the gaps? What are the models? How can we prepare the next generation of designers?” were the three topics a diverse group of leading practitioners and educators explored together at the Social Impact Design Summit in New York. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The Lemelson Foundation organized the one day convening to advance the burgeoning field of socially responsible design. Intelligent Coalitions, social impact design, white paper, Social Impact Design Summit
New York Classic Like thousands of others, I pass through Grand Central Terminal every day on my way to work. Actually I am on a subway train passing below, but in my mind’s eye I picture the magnificent granite and limestone building looming above Park Avenue interrupting the busy boulevard. Even today it stands as an enduring temple to urban transportation, commerce and design. Whitney Warren, Grand Central Terminal, New York City, drawing, Charles Wetmore, Reed and Stern, Architecture, Manhattan, Columbia University, Ecole des Beaux Arts, National Historic Landmark, granite, limestone
Citizen Architect “All architects expect and hope that their work will act as a servant in some sense for humanity–to make a better world. This is a search we should always be undertaking.” —Samuel Mockbee Samuel Mockbee, D.K. Ruth, Rural Studio, Alabama, Mississippi, Auburn University, Architecture, residential, built environments, low-cost housing, cameras, film, recycled wood, architectural drawings
Shout about design Access to clean drinking water, sustainable energy sources and changes in the environment are some of the challenges faced by many around the world. Designers, from the Australia to Bangladesh, are responding with innovative design solutions. sustainable design, design, Design for the Other 90%, water, education
Intelligent Coalitions The one-day Social Impact Design Summit, held on February 27, 2012, brought together individuals who engage in socially responsible design every day: public-interest architects, industrial designers, planners, civil-society designers, landscape architects, engineers, and inventors from Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, working in the private, public and social sectors. social impact, coalitions, private sector, public sector, social sector, questions, models, systemic, sustainable
Design Exchanges Design with the Other 90%: CITIES exhibition opened last week at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to large crowds and international press. The exhibition’s location provides a unique opportunity to connect numerous stakeholders, including design professionals, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, academics, those in the public and private sector, and the general public. Design with the Other 90%: Cities, Exhibition, United Nations, global, south, stakeholders, reciprocal, informal, settlements, exchange, population, cities, urban, urbanization
Design with the Other 90%: CITIES The first exhibition in this series, Design for the Other 90%, sparked an international dialogue about how design could improve the lives of poor and marginalized communities around the world. Professional designers traditionally focused on 10% of the world’s population, but that has dramatically changed in this new millennium. Design with the Other 90%: Cities, Exhibition, cities, urban, dialogue, international, marginalized, communities, problem solving, collaboration, cross-sector, affordable, solutions, emerging, technology, migration, informat settlements, Global Majority, participatory, local, innovative, knowledge sharing
Pure Blend / Puras Misturi Centrally located in the Ibirapuera city park the city government has established a new Brazilian Cultures Hall (Pavilhão das Culturas Brasileiras). I visited the space in April, a week before the installation began, and was entranced not only this new design collection, but also by the architecture. Brazil, Brasil, popular design, artifacts, resourcefulness, Puras Misturi, Pure Blend, Exhibition, Museu da Casa Brasileira, Pavilhão das Culturas Brasileiras, Brazilian Cultures Hall, Ibirapuera, Oscar Niemeyer, architect, building, renovation, crafts, artisans, Lina Bardi, Carlos Motta, cultural, indigenous, diversity, Adélia Borges, curator, Brazilian Design Biennial, Bienal Brasileira de Design, 2010, Curitiba