ALR on tour: South Carolina

I spent this past Thursday through Sunday in Columbia, South Carolina as a guest of the South Carolina AIGA. I gave a lecture on living/working as a socially conscious designer and my Skull-A-Day project to student and professional members of the AIGA, I also met with design students at South Carolina University, and was one of the judges for the AIGA InShow design competition. Thanks to all of the AIGA folks who were such kind hosts, I really enjoyed my visit!

Spotted in NYC: Something's Missing

On a most recent trip to NYC I noticed these friendly large red signs on several bodegas in the upper West Side neighborhood where I was staying.
Something about them seemed odd, and then I realized that the frames they were in typically hold cigarette advertising. Indeed there were no cigarette ads to be found anywhere on the facades (though alcohol ads were still plentiful). I'm not sure if this was a recent change or if this is a remnant of a previous ban on cigarette ads near schools that I've never encountered before. Anyone know the story?

Designism 3.0: October 2nd, NYC

On Thursday, October 2nd the Art Directors Club in NYC will host Designism 3.0, the third annual installment of an ongoing series of talks/discussions about socially conscious design...

Design activism deconstructed! Participate in an evening of discussion, debate, and presentations on Design Activism produced by Brian Collins, COLLINS, and Benjamin Palmer, The Barbarian Group.

A Designism Manifesto delivered by Allan Chochinov, Core77, is followed by IDEO who will share three design-driven projects that initiated real change. Six creatives present forward-thinking projects, and their results, in lightning speed—TAXI, Brainforest, MendeDesign, Avenue A|Razorfish, lettera27, and Brian Hurewitz with lolz. Milton Glaser shares his thoughts on Propaganda. Steven Heller moderates a discussion on the design of politics between Helen Walters, BusinessWeek Innovation & Design channel, Tony Hendra frequent contributor to The Huffington Post, Milton Glaser and surprise guests. ADC introduces its ingenious new tool to support the creative activist community with some additional tools for creatives doing pro bono work.

$30 ADC Members
$40 Non-Members
Opening Sappi Reception from 5:30-6:45pm is free to all who RSVP.

For more details visit the ADC website HERE.

Blue Gold

Flow is a new documentary which tells the story of the increasing privatization of water AKA "blue gold" and the frightening future it is creating. It's in selected US theaters now, find out more HERE.

Michael Moore's new film is FREE

Michael Moore is releasing his next movie "Slacker Uprising" as a free download starting on September 23rd. The film, is based on his 2004 get out the vote college campus tour. Sign up to download online HERE.

Branding for Nonprofits

I just finished reading DK Holland's excellent Branding for Nonprofits. Published in 2006, this slim volume is a must read for any nonprofit interesting in harnessing the power of branding (which should really be all of them) or even just considering working with professional graphic designers for the first time. Indeed, any designer already working with nonprofits might want to consider handing this out to new clients as a means of introduction.
The book, based on articles and lectures DK created for The Foundation Center, is filled with plenty of real world examples and resources and suggests a system of working that is easy to understand and follow. Holland does an excellent job spelling out the role of design and designers, while detailing most of the issues that come up as part of the branding process. While I wish more time was spent explaining why paying for design from folks that focus on nonprofits is better than asking for pro-bono work from large agencies (who make their money pushing cars, cigarettes, acohol, etc.), Ms. Holland does acknowledge that you often do get what you pay for.


Ask for it at your local independent bookstore.

Journalist Amy Goodman Arrested at RNC

Journalist Amy Goodman, of Democracy Now!, was arrested at the Republican National Convention on Monday. She was charged with conspiracy to riot, but was released today. More details HERE.