_i exist by implication_

Screenshot capture of the Social Studies Conference’s website.

A typical scene in my life…

April 2008… I decide to submit a draft for the Social Studies Conference: Educating Designers in a Connected World to be held at MICA this upcoming October. Deadline for submissions… July 15th. Yup, I got time.

July 14th: 6:00pm… Dammit! It’s been raining all day, internet connection has been down, and I have to submit the abstract! Tic, tock… Tic, toc…

hehehe

I submitted the abstract on time (see below)(and I even got a happy confirmation e-mail from the conference).
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Two daily planner page designs, one for a fourth grader and the other for a college freshman.

Last semester was all about the graphic designer’s role in culture. I can’t speak for the whole class, but it would be safe to say that sometimes it would concur, even if for a moment —you can imagine how hard is to get 12 people to agree on an idea—, that owning up to the title of graphic designer not only relates to the things one can make, but also to the understanding and acceptance of one’s role as a gatekeeper of culture. You may or may not agree with this, (maybe it’s a bit too much for you to fathom… A designer is more than just pretty things?), but the following text knows that a (good) graphic designer is not dictated by what it makes, but by a combination of the artifacts with what he or she thinks. Since such is the case, shouldn’t it, then, be part of our social responsibility to design according to how we should, and not according to how we know?
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Most of my friends think my profession is cool. They don’t really see me as cool, they just think what I do is cool, but guys (and gals alike), let me use this opportunity to share with you a little secret: Photoshop is just a small part of what I do.

Don’t look at me that way. It is a sad truth that you have to accept: Photoshop is just one tool among many others that I use. Since we are in the topic, I will confess one thing: I would not be a graphic designer if it were not for this image editing software.

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Photo by Stu Alden

I spent this past week at the American Institute of Graphic Arts’ (AIGA) NEXT Conference in Denver, Colorado. For those of you who know me well, yes, this was the conference about which I rambled on all summer while I awaited the results of the selection process of a contest for designers under the age of 26. See the file I submitted as my application for the contest, called Command X. (I know that for many of you the summer seemed endless as I waited for the deliberation. Thanks for sticking with me.)

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We continue to explore the realms of creation, collaboration and co-creation… Take Blurb, where you can create your own book, print it and have it sold for others to buy.

The Phonofone, a Canadian product, amplifies the iPod using almost prehistoric technology…

The Iquique social interest housing project* by ELEMENTAL** and Alejandro Aravena.***

* ] ELEMENTAL Iquique social interest housing [ Looks to deal with extremely low cost housing that can be a real means to overcoming poverty. The project intends to design neighborhoods of good quality, expandable housing units, which in turn can be well located in cities, and able to develop harmoniously over time. These structurally safe units would be built for $7,500 per family.

There were three goals: the best possible architectural design (having intelligence and precision in form), the best possible engineering and construction (using development and lab tests for new prefabricated components and seismic systems), and the best possible social and community work (offering pre- and post-construction guidance to residents).

** ] ELEMENTAL [ Based at the Universidad Católica de Chile's school of architecture, supported by a Chilean government grant and by the Harvard Design School, is an initiative to build seven exemplary projects of around 200 units each throughout Chile, bringing together the best practices in construction, engineering, social work and architecture, while at the same time aiming to offer a concrete contribution to housing for the poor.

*** ] Alejandro Aravena [ Architect Universidad Católica de Chile 1992, independent professional practice since 1994. Studied history and theory in Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia (1992-93). Visiting Professor at Harvard University between 2000 and 2005. Professor at the Universidad Católica since 1994. Since 2006 he is the Elemental Copec Professor at UC and Executive Director of ELEMENTAL.

original conditions of Iquique

project as delivered by architects

2 years later

project as delivered by architects

2 years later

Higuera + Sánchez Arquitects restored this beat up location

and created this interesting living space. The building, treated as a template, allowed the residents to customize their spaces.