Design Conversations

Doing more with less Posted by Cynthia E. Smith, on Friday August 03, 2007 The Buckminster Fuller Institute has announced an annual award named in honor of the innovator has been described as a “philosopher of shelter”. Buckminster Fuller Institute, financial, $100000, award, annual, Buckminster Fuller, honor, innovator, problem solving, solution, innovation, limited, energy, appropriate, usage, resource, maximum, positive, impact
Low Cost and Value Posted by Ellen Lupton, on Thursday July 19, 2007 Several weeks ago while in the exhibition speaking to two museum directors I found myself pulled away by two engaged visitors. Ruth Yoffe, a product/retail/branding designer, and Elisabeth M de Morentin who is a recent graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology overheard my conversation with the two directors and wanted to discuss their insights with me. Ruth Yoffe, Elisabeth M de Morentin, costs, Display, Bamboo Treadle Pump, One Laptop per Child, OLPC, AMD, Personal Internet Communicator, Ceramic Water Filters, Drip Irrigation System, International Development Enterprises, IDE, Water Storage System, Global Village Shelter, Jaipur Foot, Kenya Ceramic Jiko, Kinkajour Projector and Library, LifeStraw, Mad Housers Hut, Q-Drum, StarSight, MoneyMaker Pumps, Sugarcane Charcoal, Solar Aid, Pot-in-Pot Cooler, low cost, affordable, inexpensive, online, discussion, Corporate Knights, publish, Julia Novy-Hildesley, Lemelson Foundation, value, return on investment, ROI, poor, productivity, enhancing, enhance, technology
Light Filters Water Posted by Cynthia E. Smith, on Friday June 08, 2007 A low cost UV water filter is making an impact in the field. Mexican non-profit Niparaja teamed with AquaStar and the local Technological Institute on the design of the low cost UV Bucket water filter. low cost, affordable, inexpensive, UV, ultraviolet, bucket, water filter, impact, Mexico, non-profit, NGO, Niparaja, AquaStar, Technological Institute, disinfection, module, water, lamp, rate, purify, purifying, fabrication, distribution, rural, population, Baja Sur, school, federation, chain store, DICONSA, Mexican, Ministry of Social Affairs, stores, nationwide
It's a Book, It's a Blog, Too Posted by Ellen Lupton, on Thursday May 31, 2007 Here’s another blog that just became a book: Michael Bierut’s new collection of essays, Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design, published by Princeton Architectural Press. Sixty-eight of those essays first appeared on Design Observer, the blog that Bierut edits with Wiliam Drenttel, Jessica Helfand, and contributors. blog, book, Michael Bierut, essays, collection, Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design, Princeton Architectural press, Design Observer, William Drenttel, Jessica Helfand, editors, online, content, print, permanent, snapshot, TYPEFACE
Rope Pumps Posted by Cynthia E. Smith, on Friday May 25, 2007 The show was conceived to begin a conversation and provoke discussion about the broad range of ways various organizations and individuals are addressing the underpinnings of poverty through design innovations. The selected objects tell a story and are windows into the numerous ways these groups are providing direct solutions Exhibition, Design for the Other 90%, discussion, conversation, address, underpinnings, poverty, innovations, story, rope pump, technology, adapt, water, supply, local, materials, production, repair, profit-based, sustainability, Practica Foundation, Netherlands, Holland, Zimbabwe, Millenium Development Goals, cultural acceptance, simplicity, efficiency, durability, volume, low cost, affordable
It's a Magazine, It's a Book, It's a Mook Posted by Ellen Lupton, on Thursday May 24, 2007 The magazine Make, featured in Design Life Now, bills itself as a “mook,” a hybrid between a book and a magazine. The smallish paperback size recalls Popular Mechanics from the 1950s Make, Design Life Now, Exhibition, Triennial, feature, mook, hybrid, book, magazine, paperback, size, format, craft, publications, feel, efficient, resources, Martha Stewart, miniature editions, fashion magazines, print vs digital, virtual vs physical, compact, permanent, eco advantage
It's a Book, It's a Blog, It's a Blook Posted by Ellen Lupton, on Tuesday May 15, 2007 Recently released is The Word It Book, a collection of visual submissions to the blog Speak Up. “Word It” is one of SpeakUp’s most popular and original features. Each month, a different word is posted on the site, and anyone who so desires can submit a visual/verbal interpretation. Word It, book, collection, visual, submissions, blog, SpeakUp, Design Life Now, Triennial, Exhibition, favorites, high-resolution, files, print vs digital, virtual vs physical, curated, pacing, scale, sequence, interviews, commentary, sensual, seductive, phenomenon, blogging, writers, Lulu Blooker Prize, blooks
Video: In Their Own Words Posted by Cynthia E. Smith, on Monday May 14, 2007 What is the best way to convey the spirit of the work being done around the world? Footage of the exhibition objects being used in the locations where they are normally used helps provide context. spirit, work, World, footage, context, Exhibition, Design for the Other 90%, Interview, contributor, Botswana, video, themes, open source, options, leapfrog, technology, economic, impacts, community, buildings, testing, end-user, research, low-cost, affordable, innovations, social enterprise, Humanitarian, entrepreneurship, improved, democracies, calls to action
Full Circle Posted by Cynthia E. Smith, on Thursday May 03, 2007 Though we knew that we may find it tough to ship several of the objects, our registrars and exhibitions department have had to make extraordinary efforts to make arrangements to bring objects from remote areas around the world. shipping, objects, registrar, Exhibition, remote, locations, Nigeria, Mohammed Bah Abba, Pot-in-Pot Cooler, low cost, low-cost, affordable, refrigeration, Chad, war-torn, alternate, source, explanation, practical action, EF Schumacher, economist, non-profit, NGO, appropriate, technology, poverty, small is beautiful, influence, Humanitarian, local, solutions, demand
The Craft of Manufacturing Posted by Ellen Lupton, on Monday April 30, 2007 On April 19, Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey spoke here at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum about their work as owners of the legendary California pottery maker Heath, founded by Edith Heath in the mid-1940s. Their presentation had everyone thinking about the role of craft in manufacturing. Robin Petravic, Catherine Bailey, Heath, ceramics, pottery, Edith Head, presentation, role, craft, manufacturing, value, production, quality, product, local, social, cultural, rewards, community, cad, computer-aided design, tools, handcrafted, commitment, environmental, sustainable, business practices

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