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Instigating a discourse on “the process of designing for real people”, 52 Weeks of UX is a well-designed blog bringing you weekly insights into better user experience design practices. Run by Joshua Porter and Joshua Brewer, the 52 week blog is currently in its 24th week so there’s plenty of content to dig through already and plenty more to come too. Definitely worth a read!

“Smart and Mini Architecture for Local communities and Low income,” or SMALL Architecture, was founded by architect, Li Ye, and is the Beijing chapter of Architecture for Humanity. Barely a year old, SMALL have undertaken a number of socially-led projects to offer design as a service to the often forgotten local Chinese communities. We met with Li Ye this month to discover more about the organization and working as an NGO in China.

Notes on Design: Can you tell us about SMALL Architecture. When was it founded and why?

Li Ye: SMALL was formally founded in July 2009. We provide an architectural service to those who require non-commercial work, and our clients are usually local communities who do not have much money (i.e. low income). In this context, we consider design as a social service.

The concept for SMALL was actually formulated in the summer of 2008 when I was ready to graduate from Tsinghua University’s School of Architecture. Most of my classmates chose paths like real estate or architectural firms for quick money or fame, but I felt I wanted to do something different. I took a break between university and “starting a career”, and tried to do something non-profit; I wanted to see what I would learn this way.

Fortunately, I found my partner, Xiao Zhen, who works in real estate. Also in our team are Hao Xue (law background), Rong Xiao and Huang Zheng (architecture) and Zara Arshad (design). We are currently focusing on small projects to fulfill SMALL’s vision.

Tulou Housing project, Fujian province.

Notes on Design: What is your relationship to Architecture for Humanity (AfH)?

Li Ye: SMALL was registered as AfH’s financially independent Beijing chapter. Chinese regulation, however, enforces very strict control over border cash flow. If you operate as a branch of a foreign firm or NGO, you cannot accept local donations or investment. This severely limits our work, so we decided to run the financial aspect of our organization independently. Our aim, however, definitely remains the same as AfH – bringing design services to communities in need. Read the rest of this entry »

As thousands of creatives leave the confines of academia and get ready to embark on their careers, we are reminded that the transition from graduate to professional designer/creative is not an easy one. To support this years graduates London College of Communication are launching Futurising, the UK’s very first two day festival dedicated to supporting and guiding all creative students and graduates across the UK. Pitched as a one-stop shop of opportunities, advice and information it is sure to be an exciting event.

Futurising takes place over 29th-30th June 2010, in London’s Shoreditch High Street. To find out about the event and to register your place, visit Futurising.org and follow the live updates on twitter @Futurising.

Communication Arts, the leading professional journal for visual communications, has launched a new Typography competition to celebrate the best use of typography as the primary visual element in design and advertising, plus new typeface designs, calligraphy and handlettering.

Jurors include Stephen Coles, type director at the FontShop and editor of Typographica; Allan Haley, director of Words & Letters at Monotype Imaging and past president of the New York Type Directors Club; and Ellen Lupton, designer, curator, critic and author of Thinking with Type. Their selections will be showcased on www.commarts.com and reproduced in the January/February 2011 issue of Communication Arts. More than 50,000 copies of the issue will be distributed worldwide assuring important exposure to the creators and publishers of these award-winning projects.

Entry deadline: September 10, 2010.
Submission requirements and FAQs can be found at CommArts.com/competitions/typography

Good 50×70, the social communications project is back for 2010 for its fourth edition. Asking the communication design community to support social issues the project is definitely one of the most prominent social oriented activities in the industry. Good 50×70 asks communication designers to respond to a series of creative briefs that support the issues of a number of NGOs and charities. Poster submissions will be judged online by a jury including Jonathan Barnbrook, Lars Müller, David Berman, Woody Pirtle and Massimo Vignelli.

For more information about the briefs and the project, visit Good50x70.org. The deadline has been extended until Tuesday 22nd June at 00.00 GMT time.

Take-Less by MSLK.

Next weekend “Take-Less,” an eco-art installation designed to bring awareness to society’s mass consumption of plastic take-out food containers, will be unveiled in NYC. 

As the popularity of take-out meals increases, so does its waste. New York design firm, MSLK is dedicated to raising awareness on the rampant consumption of single-use plastic that has become an unfortunate societal norm in the US. None of the plastic waste from take-out containers is currently being recycled and only a few options are biodegradable. They are building the number “2629” out of plastic take-out containers to demonstrate the number of take-out meals consumed in the US each second and the ramifications of that waste. Plastic is polluting our oceans, filling our landfills, and compromising our health.

“Take-less” will be displayed at the Figment Art Festival on Governors Island in New York City from June 11th-13th.

MSLK presents the following facts:

- 2629 take-out meals are consumed in the U.S. every second
- In 1 second the U.S. produces enough take-out waste to cover half of a football field
- Plastic is made from oil, a non-renewable resource
- Plastic does not biodegrade
- Take-out plastics are currently not recyclable
- Paper, metal, and reusable containers are better for the environment

For more information, please call me at 718-545-0075 or sheri@mslk.com

London based Illustrator and Creative Facilitator Emily Wilkinson, works with visual concepts, language and narrative to provide an empathy with information through an interdisciplinary practice, within which she places an emphasis on catalyzing creativity and education for positive change. With an MA in Design Futures from Goldsmiths and previous experience working as a designer at Futerra Sustainability Communications, Emily is currently working as an Associate of Reos Partners. We spoke to Emily this month to uncover more about her everyday motivations, creative practice and responses to designing futures.

Notes on Design: Can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?

Emily: I’m currently working as an Illustrator and Facilitator, although within those areas of interest I also design, art-direct, design, write and research. I originally trained and worked as a graphic designer which was a valuable starting point, but I wanted to be more interdisciplinary and work face-to-face with people rather than be stuck behind a screen. Studying again last year helped me to define what I’m really passionate about; the way that we are all creative and how everyday creativity in education and society ultimately makes for a better world. My first love was illustration and image-making, which combined with new interests in writing and facilitation continues to shape my practice.

Notes on Design: How did your career start?

Emily: I originally trained as a Graphic Designer at Cardiff School of Art and Design. Following that I worked in a Welsh studio as a junior designer. Following that I made the move to London, to work as a designer for sustainability communications agency Futerra. Designing for Futerra was a great learning experience; I loved working in sustainability and worked with some very inspiring and energetic people. Read the rest of this entry »

With a uniquely playful and colourful approach to both two and three dimensional work, London based Illustrator and Set Maker Hattie Newman has spent her first two graduate years working for an array of high profile clients, including; AMV BBDO, Cadbury, Sony, Fedrigoni UK, Grafik Magazine, The Guardian, Macmillan Publishers, Make A Wish Foundation, Royal Mail and Universal Records. Notes on Design caught up with Hattie this month for a quick glimpse into her world.

Notes on Design: Can you give us a brief insight into who you are and what you do?

Hattie: I am an illustrator and set maker working in London. My background includes a first class degree in Illustration from UWE, Bristol and a breadth of projects for a range of clients. Combining my two and three dimensional imaginations, I enjoy making work inspired by all things charming and strange.

Notes on Design: So, how did your career start?

Hattie: I am originally from the quiet countryside of West Devon, but I studied my degree in Illustration at Bristol UWE. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this month Notes on Design made a studio visit to UK based graphic designer – Lucy Brown. I was welcomed just in time for a quaint essential 4pm cup of tea and chat. Lucy Brown studio is situated in the leafy rural setting of North West England and within this studio snapshot Lucy talks about her studio build, inspirations and passion for the country life.

Notes on Design: Lucy, please enlighten us a little about where your studio is located, and how it came to fruition?

Lucy: The studio is in Cheshire surrounded by fields and cows. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place to work. I renovated the building, with help from family and friends, between November ’09 and March of this year. Much blood, sweat, paint and tears went into it, all hours of the day and night, and in the middle of winter it was testing on the finger tips at times! It was originally a stable building, then an office, and now a typographic curiosity shop of sorts.

The studio came into being over 5 years of experiences that taught me to know myself and how I work. It takes time to learn who you are, and time to build the courage to accept it in this industry. I studied graphic design/typography over 4 years at the London College of Communication. In first year, I thought I knew everything. In second year, I realised I didn’t but didn’t understand how I would ever get to a point where I did. In third year, I realised I knew nothing and wanting to learn just a portion of what would be a lifetime of learning. Read the rest of this entry »