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Icograda: Lorraine Gauthier and Andrea Marks
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TAXI
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Icograda Design Week in Seattle was an international design forum which took place in Seattle, USA last 9th July till 15th July 2006.
Defining Design on a Changing Planet, Icograda invited 22 international speakers to discuss on the role of design in this global awareness of evolution; how design has and may serve the economy and society and will also address the major topics design faces: cultural, political, economic and environmental issues at work in a global society. Last year’s Icograda Design Week is first in history to be held in USA and is in partnership with AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design.
TAXI Design Network proudly supported Icograda Design Week in Seattle as the Major Media Partner. The editorial crew from TAXI Design Network proudly reported the conferences live and delivering to you our interaction with the presenting design leaders.
For every week from April to June 2006, TAXI Design Network conducted exclusive interview sessions on the speakers based on their opinions of design in the growing world of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Please visit Icograda Design Week in Seattle for more information.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Lorraine Gauthier
Lorraine Gauthier >> The first year of the Massive Change project was a 12-month orgy of research about design and innovations that were changing the world. We found thousands of ways people were making things better and we came away with a positive, optimistic view of the future of global design. Our first draft of the Massive Change book was actually 1200 pages long, but we figured no one, not even Bruce Mau, could pull that off. Plus, we didn’t want to kill all those trees. So the exhibition and the book represent just a small taste of what is happing now, and that bodes well for the future. I think it was Buckminster Fuller who said, "The only way to predict the future, is to design it."
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Lorraine Gauthier >> We need to learn how to design all things so they have a positive impact on people and the environment. At Work Worth Doing, we think about sustainability, but it’s an overused term and tough to define. One rule of thumb I like is called seventh generation. It was the practice of Iroquois chiefs to consider the impact of their decisions on the seventh generation. Predicting the future isn’t easy, but the seventh generation precept is a good lens to look at the projects we’re working on and try to evaluate their potential positive and negative impact on people and the planet.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Andrea Marks
generation will chart its own course and in turn influence future generations.
TAXI >> You work as an assistant professor in the Graphic Design program at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, focuses on creating innovative ways to experience design history. What do you think should design educators apply in their lessons to make lessons interesting and innovative?
Andrea Marks >> I am one of five full-time faculty members in the Graphic Design program at Oregon State. Five years ago, we designed a new curriculum, which allows us to teach a variety of courses. Classes I teach vary, from beginning typography classes, to senior level courses in contemporary design issues and identity systems. Students enjoy lectures that include a variety of media, from keynote presentations to videos and websites. Students today spend a lot of time “plugged in”, and they are used to a lot of interactivity in their world. Keeping a lesson interactive is key for keeping a class involved, both intellectually and emotionally. That interactivity can take many forms, from asking students to stop and write down their thoughts, to standing up and moving into a new working configuration in the classroom. I should also emphasize that writing is an important component to our program. This can range from writing to further develop a concept, writing a peer-review critique or writing a detailed project brief.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Andrea Marks >> The message would probably be that when you are passionate about something and have a vision, that energy, passion and vision can truly drive you. The Polish artists found a way to let their voices be heard, despite the many hardships they faced. Designers and artists can use their talents, abilities and vision to create meaningful and powerful messages. The Polish poster was a testament to the spirit of creative individualism, all within the confines of a Communist culture. This powerful story should be an inspiration to all generations.
© 2003 - 2007 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
Defining Design on a Changing Planet, Icograda invited 22 international speakers to discuss on the role of design in this global awareness of evolution; how design has and may serve the economy and society and will also address the major topics design faces: cultural, political, economic and environmental issues at work in a global society. Last year’s Icograda Design Week is first in history to be held in USA and is in partnership with AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design.
TAXI Design Network proudly supported Icograda Design Week in Seattle as the Major Media Partner. The editorial crew from TAXI Design Network proudly reported the conferences live and delivering to you our interaction with the presenting design leaders.
For every week from April to June 2006, TAXI Design Network conducted exclusive interview sessions on the speakers based on their opinions of design in the growing world of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Please visit Icograda Design Week in Seattle for more information.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Lorraine Gauthier
 | TAXI >> How are research and market knowledge vital in helping one groom their designs?
Lorraine Gauthier >> We live in a global economy that makes research and market analysis critical tools in our designer kit bags. When you know what the challenges are whether it’s ferocious competition from another continent or our own dirty manufacturing process that forces us to buy carbon emission credits, hopefully it motivates us to pull out all the stops in driving design innovation. TAXI >> Besides being a design consultant in the Institute without Boundaries, you are also a writer and principal at Work Worth Doing. One of your exhibitions includes Massive Change: The Future of Global Design. What do you think the future has in store for design? |
Lorraine Gauthier >> The first year of the Massive Change project was a 12-month orgy of research about design and innovations that were changing the world. We found thousands of ways people were making things better and we came away with a positive, optimistic view of the future of global design. Our first draft of the Massive Change book was actually 1200 pages long, but we figured no one, not even Bruce Mau, could pull that off. Plus, we didn’t want to kill all those trees. So the exhibition and the book represent just a small taste of what is happing now, and that bodes well for the future. I think it was Buckminster Fuller who said, "The only way to predict the future, is to design it."
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Lorraine Gauthier >> We need to learn how to design all things so they have a positive impact on people and the environment. At Work Worth Doing, we think about sustainability, but it’s an overused term and tough to define. One rule of thumb I like is called seventh generation. It was the practice of Iroquois chiefs to consider the impact of their decisions on the seventh generation. Predicting the future isn’t easy, but the seventh generation precept is a good lens to look at the projects we’re working on and try to evaluate their potential positive and negative impact on people and the planet.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Andrea Marks
| TAXI >> One focus of your creative work has been the creation of a digital video documentary entitled Freedom on the Fence, the story of Polish posters from WWII through the fall of Communism. How do you think has history mould the today of design?
Andrea Marks >> Research for my project focused primarily on the history of Polish posters from WWII through the fall of Communism. My conversations and interviews were with poster artists who had worked during this period and not with the new generation of designers. However, I feel that anytime there is a very strong and powerful movement, be it social, political or in design, art, architecture, etc., there are strong influences that carry on through subsequent generations. Students are still studying at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts with professors who were very active during the heyday of the Polish poster. Today, these students are forging a new path of discovery, one which encompasses contemporary ideas and technology. This |  |
TAXI >> You work as an assistant professor in the Graphic Design program at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, focuses on creating innovative ways to experience design history. What do you think should design educators apply in their lessons to make lessons interesting and innovative?
Andrea Marks >> I am one of five full-time faculty members in the Graphic Design program at Oregon State. Five years ago, we designed a new curriculum, which allows us to teach a variety of courses. Classes I teach vary, from beginning typography classes, to senior level courses in contemporary design issues and identity systems. Students enjoy lectures that include a variety of media, from keynote presentations to videos and websites. Students today spend a lot of time “plugged in”, and they are used to a lot of interactivity in their world. Keeping a lesson interactive is key for keeping a class involved, both intellectually and emotionally. That interactivity can take many forms, from asking students to stop and write down their thoughts, to standing up and moving into a new working configuration in the classroom. I should also emphasize that writing is an important component to our program. This can range from writing to further develop a concept, writing a peer-review critique or writing a detailed project brief.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Andrea Marks >> The message would probably be that when you are passionate about something and have a vision, that energy, passion and vision can truly drive you. The Polish artists found a way to let their voices be heard, despite the many hardships they faced. Designers and artists can use their talents, abilities and vision to create meaningful and powerful messages. The Polish poster was a testament to the spirit of creative individualism, all within the confines of a Communist culture. This powerful story should be an inspiration to all generations.
© 2003 - 2007 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.