I will be giving a Closed Loop presentation at Pecha Kucha in Atlanta on February 21st. I can’t wait!
[taken from the website]
Atlanta Pecha Kucha is an informal forum for creative work encompassing a range of disciplines: advertising, architecture, art, fashion, food, graphics, media (digital, moving, mixed), products…
The key to Pecha Kucha is the simple formula: 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Each invited speaker has the spotlight for 6 minutes 40 seconds to share and show off their work before the program moves on to the next presentation. The unfolding mix of stuff on show keeps everyone engaged and talking. The bar eases the conversation.
If you are in the Atlanta area, you should come out on Feb 21!
Pecha Kucha is held at Octane Coffee Lounge
[1009 Marietta St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318]
Hope to see you there!
Well, unfortunately my Powerplant design did not make the cut to the final round of the Inventure Prize. Although I am pretty disappointed, I learned a lot from the experience. While working on the Powerplant, I did a lot of collaborative research– consulting with electrical engineering and geochemistry friends. Inventure made me realize how relevant these types of collaborations are.
How many brilliant researchers are out there.. making discoveries, advancing science.. but do not have the skills to make their impact accessible? Maybe that is my role in industrial design. I’d like to bridge the gap between researches/engineers/scientists and industrial designers. Maybe…
Wesley Wang, a fellow industrial design student at Georgia Tech, sent me this really interesting article written by Design Continuum yesterday. It raises the question, “How do we [as designers] talk to people about Green”. Continuum acknowledges the fact that the average consumer probably does not know how a product they are buying affects the environment. For example- consumers may recognize excess packaging and recyclability — but how much insight do they have into transportation and manufacturing?
I personally have had a difficult time talking to people about what makes a product “sustainable”. There are so many complex factors to consider. I am currently taking a course about sustainable design and materials and it continues to raise more reg flags in my mind about how hard it is to be green! And I mean really green, none of that green washing. Any one can create a green-leaf-shaped logo and dump their product into a cardboard box and claim they are green. How can we really educate consumers so they can good decisions? I think this is going to be a big hurdle for designers [now] and in the future.
Click here to read the article >> Colorblind: Understand How Consumers Think About the Environment
Last summer I went to an Environmental Commission meeting in my hometown of Oakland, New Jersey. I was just surfing the web and came across a .PDF of the minutes from that meeting. Check out the minutes if you are interested >> ECAug2009
There is (or should be) and Environmental Commission or Environmental organization in every town. Usually, their meetings are open to the public >> but no one external ever shows! So if there is something you want to see happen in your town… check out when and where your local environmental group meets! Groups like these work closely with the mayor and town government. They have a lot of power! If you are really passionate about seeing some improvements where you live, these meetings are worth attending.
Shout out to Oakland, NJ.
Woo hoo! I have made it to the semi-finals with my Powerplant concept. The next judging round is Thursday, February 4th. We are going to give a presentation around 12 minutes long to explain and sell our idea. I am really happy that I made it this far… but there is so much at stake! The top two inventions win $15,000 and $10,000!
Wish me luck next week!
Check it out… Closed Loop is now accepting donations. Click the “DONATE” page at the top right for full details.
Today I presented my Powerplant idea in the Inventure Contest at Georgia Tech. Wish me luck! Today was just the first round… finalists are announced in the coming days. A lot of people seemed interested. I got some great feedback about how to improve the design too.
If you are in the Atlanta area, come to the Shed on Thursday and participate in AVANT: Volume 3 for a night of drinks and design discussion. I am lucky enough to be one of the speakers that night. The event is sponsored by David VanArsdale from People of Resource and the Museum of Design Atlanta.
…kind of.
My friend Cristina, an intern at the People of Resource, told me today that a Closed Loop business card was featured briefly in a commercial for Mojito. Mojito is a new, compact wallet designed by Malcolm Fontier. People of Resource did a great job creating the commercial.
Click here to watch the Mojito commercial. Look for the Closed Loop card in the top left corner.Check out Mojito Promo Part 1 on vimeo too if you are interested.
Now I know in the commercial most of the cards, included Closed Loop, were deemed “unnecessary”. However, I am just excited that Closed Loop is starting to build a presence in the Atlanta design community (even if just for a few seconds).
Whew, it has been a while. Last semester really drained me and I was unable to keep up with my posts. It is a new year and I have recovered…Closed Loop is doing it big in ‘10!
This Thursday I will be speaking about Closed Loop at Avant Design Discussions that is hosted by People of Resource and the Museum of Design in Atlanta. Avant is “a modern take on the age old tradition of dinner, drinks, and design discussions. More details to come…
Watch this video >> AVANT 101 to learn more about the Thursday shindig.
