David Gibson: "Finding the Hidden Logic"

Two Twelve's co-founder, David Gibson, embraces a user-centered approach to helping people through complex environments. In an interview with the Society for Environmental Graphic Design, David looks at his approach to wayfinding and design, based on his past education, experiences and interests.2009 SEGD Fellow David Gibson, co-founder and managing principal of Two Twelve, is internationally respected for his thoughtful, user-centered approach to information design. In his new book, The Wayfinding Handbook: Information Design for Public Places, David shares his insights about finding the "hidden logic" in complex wayfinding situations.

An educator and advocate of the value of design for the public good, David has lectured at universities and design events worldwide. Within the past year he has been featured in The New York Times and Metropolis magazine, and well as on BusinessWeek's Innovation and Design Channel. He is a two-time past president and board member of SEGD and also served on AIGA's national board.

When did you first discover design?
I was 17 when Expo67 was held in my hometown of Montreal. It turned me on to this whole new world of creating special places using color, image, type, graphics, and media. I was dazzled by the work of people like Moshe Safdie, Buckminster Fuller, and Chermayeff and Geismar. I had a resident passport to this World's Fair and must have gone 50 times.

More: www.icograda.org/feature/current/articles1588.htm

Winners of the AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design Competition

AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design (AIGA/XCD) has announced the winners of its first "Celebrating the Role of Culture in Design" Competition.

AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design is an AIGA National Chapter established to foster greater communication between designers across cultures, as well as a better understanding of the interwoven experience of design and culture in our lives.

More: www.dexigner.com/jump/news/18488

British Book Design and Production Awards 2009 Shortlist

The BPIF, Oxford Brookes University and The Publishers Association announced the shortlist for the British Book Design and Production Awards 2009.

Winners will be unveiled on Thursday 29 October at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

More: www.dexigner.com/jump/news/18523

SEGD Design Awards Go Online with 2010 Program

SEGD, the Society for Environmental Graphic Design, announced that the annual SEGD Design Awards Program will be accessible online for the first time in the 20-plus-year history of the program.

More than 1,600 SEGD members work in the planning, design, fabrication, and implementation of communications in the built environment.

The annual SEGD Design Awards Program recognizes the best in environmental graphic design; by bringing the program online, SEGD can offer those members-and non-members- the opportunity to participate and demonstrate excellence.

"Taking our awards online will significantly improve the submission process for entrants and responds to the many requests we've had to streamline and update the process," says Leslie Gallery Dilworth, CEO of SEGD.

"Additionally, it will allow us to showcase not only the winners, but also all the entries, in new ways."

The deadline for submissions to the 2010 SEGD Design Awards Program is January 29, 2010; the late deadline is February 12, 2010.

The entry materials and website will go live in early October 2009.

More: www.dexigner.com/jump/news/18536

100 best posters 08 – Germany, Austria, Switzerland

An exhibition of 100 Beste Plakate e.V., Berlin in cooperation with the Deutsche Plakat Museum and with the red dot design museum, Essen

From 28 August to 27 September 2009 the red dot design museum will present the exhibition “100 best posters 08 – Germany, Austria, Switzerland” and thus the results of the competition with the same name held by the association “100 Beste Plakate e.V.”. The 100 winning posters, which were selected by a jury of six from the 1,521 submitted entries, present the most current trends of contemporary poster design from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The wide spectrum of designs with regards to styles, techniques and subjects, was staged in the unusual exhibition concept of an interdisciplinary study project of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam under the direction of Nauka Kirschner and Prof. Hermann Weizenegger. The organiser is the Deutsche Plakat Museum (German poster museum) at the Folkwang Museum, Essen, in co-operation with the association “100 Beste Plakate e.V.”, Berlin. The exhibition opening will take place on 27 August 2009 at 6:00 pm at the red dot design museum on the Zollverein world cultural heritage site.

A poster is regarded as an effective, demonstrative, and immediate means of communication. With a stylised design language the exhibition thus uses the visual image of a demonstration. The posters are presented on so-called “lollipops”, which are placards typically seen at demonstrations, and the room installation brings across the vivid character in a dynamic way.

Members of the jury chaired by Bastian Abry and Dimitri Broquard, Zurich, which was in session on 26 and 27 February 2009, were Cordula Alessandri, Vienna, Prof. Georg Barber, Berlin, Dr. Anita Kühnel, Berlin, and Christian Lagé, Berlin.

Besides the presentation of the 100 best posters 08 in Berlin, the red dot design museum in Essen will be the second stop of the exhibition before it will be on show in Lucerne and Vienna at the end of the year.

Address:
red dot design museum
Zeche Zollverein
Gelsenkirchener Straße 181
45309 Essen, Germany

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Thursday: 11 am to 6 pm
Friday to Sunday and public holidays: 11 am to 8 pm

Admission fees:
8 euros per person; concessions 3 euros

For further information as well as images to download visit http://www.100-beste-plakate.de/ and http://www.museum-folkwang.de/ .

Big Picture Design Challenge

Call for entries: Big Picture Design Challenge
Melbourne (Australia) - The Design Institute of Australia, in partnership with McDonald's, invites Australia's and New Zealand's best young designers to submit entries into the inaugural Big Picture Design Challenge, recently endorsed by Icograda. This is a unique opportunity and platform for Australia's and New Zealand's design students and recent graduates to showcase their designs.

There have been big changes at McDonald's recently - from new menu ranges to re-designed restaurants. This competition gives design students and recent graduates the chance to get in on the action and showcase their talent.

The challenge: Design outstanding images destined for any surface or area at McDonald's restaurants, which define and promote Australia's and New Zealand's diversity.

The opportunity: See your designs in McDonald's restaurants. $4,000 in cash prizes to be won!

For over 35 years, McDonald's has been a part of the fabric of Australian society with over two thirds of stores owned and operated by small business people. In recent years, McDonald's Australia and New Zealand has taken a contemporary approach to refurbishing its restaurants with the help of the region's best designers. Architecture and interior design featuring photography and illustrative graphics have become an integral part of communicating McDonald's brand and providing unique and interesting environments for their customers.

Through a partnership between the DIA and McDonald's, the Big Picture Design Challenge will provide a unique opportunity and platform for young designers.

The entry period will run from 10 August - 12 October 2009.

More: www.design.org.au/bigpicture/

Earth = Heart Poster

Designer: Kuribayashi, Takayuki
Member of: JAGDA, Japan


About the design
This poster series, created as an independent production, is a vision of the ecological poster. EARTH=HEART is composed of the same spelling.

A word from the designer: "I do believe that each one of us should be more interested in global environment concerns. We have the obligation to leave this wonderful global environment behind us. Let's think about it seriously, each one of us, and value neighbouring nature and living things."

More: www.icograda.org/feature/galleria/galleria411.htm

Lahti Poster Biennial 2009

An unparallel amount of entries was submitted for the 17th International Lahti Poster Biennial. Nearly 2 600 posters from as many as 49 countries from all over the world were offered for this year's exhibition, which exceeded the number of posters submitted for the 2007 event by more than 1 000. The great number of posters sent from Iran, China, Taiwan, Japan and Poland and their high general standard is worth noticing. New participating countries include New Zealand and United Arab Emirates. Especially young graphic designers from various parts of the world have taken a great interest in the category of environmental posters. On the other hand, the number of commercial posters offered for the show has decreased compared with previous biennial exhibitions.

The competition committee of the Lahti Poster Biennial has chosen 252 posters to be displayed in the exhibition. The criteria emphasized in the selection process included topicality, high-quality visual design, seeking new ways of expression and multicultural tendencies, which have always been central issues in Lahti Poster Biennial.

The 17th International Lahti Poster Biennial will be organized by Poster Museum, Lahti, Grafia ry and Poster Friends 14 June - 27 September 2009 at Lahti Art Museum. There are two categories in the exhibition. The general category includes social and ideological posters, commercial posters and cultural posters. In addition, there is a special category for environmental posters in the exhibition.

Michal Batory from France, Vladimir Chaika from Russia, Bruno Monguzzi from Switzerland, Antti Raudaskoski from Finland and David Tartakover from Israel have been invited as members of the International Jury selecting the prize winning posters. Grand Prix, Grafia Prix, Lauri Tarasti prize, 2nd Prize and certificates of honour will be granted in the exhibition.

More: www.dexigner.com/jump/news/18009

Winner of Greenpeace Design Awards 2009

Greenpeace and the University of South Australia announced the winner of the Greenpeace Design Awards 2009.

The winner is Sam Dickson whose design was chosen from over 1,500 entries.

In second place was Denis Popenkov, and third place was Spencer Harrison.

Greenpeace Head of Fundraising Chris Washington-Sare said, "On behalf of Greenpeace and the panel of judges, I'd like to congratulate the winner and two finalists for their excellent designs.

"Creation and innovation are very important in environmental campaigning, and we were pleased to collaborate with the international creative community on the Greenpeace Design Awards.

"Thanks to everyone who entered the awards and for your dedication, hard work and talent," he said.

The entries were assessed by an expert panel of judges working in the fields of graphic design, illustration, photography, visual communication and trend navigation.

Greenpeace was also represented on the panel.

Hosted by Greenpeace Australia Pacific in conjunction with UniLife Inc. and the University of South Australia, the international awards were created to help raise awareness of environmental issues through innovation and creativity.

The brief was to design a poster that delivers the message "Be a Part of the Action," in recognition of the role of peaceful direct action in Greenpeace campaigns.

Over 1,500 people entered from 77 countries worldwide.

More: www.dexigner.com/jump/news/18377