Since 1985, Heidi Duckler has been choreographing dance along the boulevards and avenues of
Los Angeles, across the USA and around the world, promoting a unique approach to performance art: site specific dance. Incorporated as the Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre (HDDT) in 1988, the group now defines its role as “creating ephemeral contemporary art experiences in extraordinary places that boldly redefine the relationship between audience and art.”

Site specific dance is inherently subversive: commonly-used space that is often taken for granted become props for the most exquisite movements and unexpected exchange with the audience. Stairs meant for climbing to the next floor become an illicit corridor for a lovers’ rendez-vous and pas à deux; room service staff turn into magicians as they conjure up dreams in the beds they make. In both Duckler’s large scale works such as Sleeping with the Ambassador (Ambassador Hotel, 2003) and her iconic, more intimate works like Laundromatinee (1988-2012), HDDT creates choreography that both responds to a space and undermines assumptions regarding its original function. Since site specific dance is rooted in location, it should be no surprise that HDDT is committed to engaging the community it performs in, whether it’s in sun-drenched Miami, TinselTown or the narrow lanes of Hong Kong.

HDDT’s latest gig, the Expulsion Series, reflects this ambition, in that it invites the audience to reflect upon the demographic shifts that mark our current reality. Expulsion is based on the universal and often fragile idea of “home,” and themes of dislocation and cross-cultural collaboration. Its intent is to inspire an open dialogue about the impact these issues have on individuals, families, neighborhoods, and entire cultures.

Performed on three stories of scaffolding in a vacant lot, Expulsion has been conceived as a stage for dance, culture, and architecture. “Expulsion takes place in an empty lot and asks, ‘What has brought us to this place?’ Place for me is time, location and also a state of being,” says Heidi Duckler, Artistic Director and founder of HDDT. Using the HDDT trademark practice of the open rehearsal, work on Expulsion encourages community members to stumble upon dancers engaged in the creative development of the piece. These interactions between the public and artists serve not only as guerilla marketing, to promote word of mouth, but also inspire curiosity about the mundane environment, and to hopefully compel the audience into re-imagine their surroundings.

Expulsion came into being in 2010, when the Long Beach City Council developed a program entitled the “A LOT series”, that brought temporary visual and performance-based artwork to vacant lots in Long Beach, as part of the Arts Council for Long Beach to activate areas slated for redevelopment (approximately 40% of the city). Each project in A LOT was accompanied by an open-air symposium related to urban planning, civic engagement and art. The Arts Council Executive Director, Craig Watson commissioned HDDT to “show the site’s visual character and overall functionality.”

The Lot was located in Long Beach’s Cambodia town which Duckler felt made it imperative to work with the Cambodian community. Accordingly, HDDT collaborated with the Cambodia Khmer Arts Academy to create choreography that incorporated stories from local community members. It was an automatic hit with the audience, and inspired Heidi Duckler with the vision of bringing Expulsion into cultural communities throughout Southern California and beyond.

Here’s the current itinerary for Expulsion:

• Glendale, California in partnership with the Armenian community, Glendale Arts, and Djanbazian Dance Company. See video excerpt below (October 2011).

• Koreatown and Little Ethiopia communities in Los Angeles, California in collaboration with the Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Company, the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, Little Ethiopia Cultural and Resource Center, and the Little Ethiopia Cultural Group Dancers (May 2012).

• Portland, Oregon in collaboration with the Northwest & Painted Sky Northstar Dance Company (August 2012).

• East Los Angeles with Gema Sandoval’s Danza Floricanto/USA and the East Los Angeles Community Corporation (Spring 2013).

Significantly, Expulsion has grown into a program that encompasses not only performances, but also panel discussions and free community workshops via HDDT’s Curbside Conversations program. The panel discussions are led by influential arts and culture leaders who discuss the importance of artistic collaboration in their communities, and explore themes of cross-cultural collaboration, animating vacant space, and give community members a forum to share their ideas and opinions. Additionally, Expulsion offers a unique platform for the local dance communities to collaborate and showcase their work.

To keep up with HDDT, visit their Facebook page or stalk them on Twitter @Heididuckler

XCD would like to thank Heidi Duckler, Emily Wanserski and Shanda Domango for providing information about HDDT.
Photo Credits:
Expulsion Glendale: Andre Andreev & Sarah Tamor
Expulsion Long Beach: Vivian Babuts

During the 5th Astana Economic Forum, Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan, outlined a blueprint for a “G-Global Community” to replace the G8 and G-20.

“I think that the humanity has reached the ceiling for revolutions and world wars in the last century. Now the human wisdom is in keeping peace, otherwise we will destroy ourselves. Successful renewal of the global architecture can only be evolutionary in the 21st century. As we can see from the Arab Spring, the revolutions only slow down development of the communities, cast their economies and social standing back, complicate interstate relations and cause even greater problems.

The revolutions in the 21st century are possible and acceptable only in scientific knowledge and technologies, but they are destructive for political and social practices, especially if they are planted on economically unprepared ground. The path of reform is the only pathof progress in the 21st century.

“The international community can constructively develop only in the absence of revolutions, in terms of equality, mutual tolerance, transparency and global multi-polarity…successful renovation of the global architecture can be only evolutionary… the current relations between the countries should be based on justice, equality and consensus. The division of the great and minor countries in the 21st Century is out of date in terms of civilisation, the domination of some countries over others is not progress. This is a dead end for all…

The issue regarding the relations between the poles will (continue to) occur. It will be determined whether this will be an honest fair competition, global competitiveness, or (whether) the world will be an arena of tough political and ideological confrontation, the scene of a new arms race. The only alternative to these threats and challenges is to create “constructive multilateralism”….

There should be no geopolitical snobbery.”

–Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan and host of the 5th Astana Economic Forum

Thanks to Tengrinews.kz and Trend.az for the original article.

Okay. So you’ve come to terms with the idea of Service Design/Design Thinking/Designing with Empathy and all these evolving perspectives on Design, right? If you graduated from Design School a while ago, this is probably a new learning curve you’d rather not try on a new client. Or maybe you need a critical mass of like-minded people to work through a nascent idea.The solution? Join a Service Jam!

Jam Sessions–inspired by jazz and improvisation–are all the rage in the Universe of Problem Solving (read Design). Everyone’s jammin’, even IBM, and they seem to be having a good time.

Here’s an expose to the Mother of Jammers: The Global Service Jam

On 24 February, 2012, in affiliated sites around the globe, people interested in service and using a design-based approach to problem solving and creativity got together in the spirit of experimentation, co-operation and friendly competition. Teams had 48 hours to develop brand new services inspired by a shared theme and then publish the results. The finished “product”: a film of human interaction, photos of a mock-up, a dummy website, or anything else that provides a permanent, publishable record of their idea and work. These were uploaded and published for the world under Creative Commons licensing. For more details, visit the Jam Global Beat (timetable). Jams pull in from all walks of life: they include designers, students, academics, business people, customers, mums, kids and grand-dads.

Jammin’, the rules and How-Tos:

• Sign up
• Show up (on time)
• Bring any special tools you need
• Do not bring a team or an idea. Teams are formed and coordinated at The Jam.
• Do not bring pre-made content. The services developed at the Jam should be new
• Work together in a spirit of conversation and co-operation
• Be prepared to share the results of your work under a Creative Commons license
• Have fun, have fun and have fun!

And The No-Nos: The Global Jam isn’t:

• A conference. Though some local Jams might include some theory input, lectures are not encouraged. It’s about working together, to design and plan something which has the potential to become real.

• A networking or happy hour event: Contacts is made by sharing knowledge and working through ideas, plans and problems together. Participants are not there to show off  skills, or chat about the state of the industry

So while the Jam, like Jazz, might be free form, there is a clear goal at the end of 48 hours, i.e,  finished designs and plans which have the potential to become real, and  be published under Creative Commons licensing.

Here’s a sampling of the Jam Product voted the “Most Feasible” (that’s high praise indeed, given the Jam’s objectives)

Save Mr. Little Carpenter by ARTISINO, Shanghai
Objectives: to support China’s hidden treasures, dig through the mud for the lost pearls of craftsmen and artisans

Team members: Wand Qian, Erica, Tianwei, Ariel, Giulia and Natalie, Song Quing (not in photo).

ARTISINO’s goal is to create a mobile/online directory of Shanghai’s artisans, provide relevant information for locating and understanding them, promote their work and help establish quality standards of local hand-made goods and art products. One can easily buy a plastic stool for 20 RMB OR 2.50 USD, but handcrafted work has the distinct value of quality and durability, to be handed down the generations. Artisans are an important part of Chinese society and culture, in fact they could be considered an essential element of social harmony, and ARTISINO plans to ensure that. “We will look for these hidden treasures, for these diamonds in the rough. We will dig through the mud for those lost pearls.”

Here’s a sobering thought that inspired ARTISINO: According to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, about 44,000 of China’s 766,722 registered heritage sites have been lost and 17.7 percent of China’s cultural relics are badly preserved (source: Lu Na, China.org.cn)

To review ARTISINO’S exploration and jammin’ process, download this pdf.

It’s Today! And this year’s theme is Convergence.

Get your whimsy on and Celebrate the
2012 World Communications Design Day!
Pronouncements, Events, Photos & Posters are welcome
on Facebook.
Decorate your twitter feed with #wcdd2012

Thanks to Rob Peters for these lovely posters.

The CAAD-AUS showcase at SaloneSatellite!

Graduation is in the air and in the spirit of the season, the XCD revisits its student showcase, featuring the work of aspiring professionals from the global design community. This post features the work of eight students and recent alumni from the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at the American University of Sharjah (AUS). Opening this week, CAAD will have the honour of being the first design school from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to exhibit at the prestigious SaloneSatellite in Milan, Italy (April 17 – 22, 2012).

Created in 1998 in Milan, SaloneSatellite counts as one of the most exciting gatherings of promising young designers. It’s the first international event to focus on young talent, attracting prominent design houses, manufacturers, the press and the general public. Many of the prototypes presented in previous editions have gone into production, launching successful careers in design.

CAAD was invited to join approximately 700 young designers and 18 international design schools. Eight furniture pieces designed and built by CAAD students will be on display; they issue from courses in Furniture Design Basics and the recently launched Furniture and Graphics taught by Professors Bill Sarnecky and Amir Berbic.

“After teaching beginning furniture design…, I teamed up this past semester with Amir Berbic to teach a new course entitled Form, Furniture and Graphics. Students in the course were encouraged to explore the potentially reciprocal relationship between two-dimensional graphics and three-dimensional form…” said Sarnecky.
Berbic adds, “In some examples of student work, typographic patterns became a skin for the piece of furniture, while in others, the form of letters was the shaping element. Students from both the architecture and design department enrolled in the course and the unique conditions of the course resulted in a hybrid between 2D and 3D design.”

Incidentally, the CAAD pieces on exhibit were designed by women (AUS is a co-educational institution) of Middle Eastern heritage. We share their thoughts and influences below:

THE VETO (KALLA) TABLE

Palestinian Rasha Dakkak, reflects a desire to shape visual culture in a way that best represents the Arab modern identity through her work entitled “Veto.” The table’s form is derived from a cross-sectional transformation of the Arabic word la (meaning refusal, denial or disbelief) into kalla (indicating strong disapproval, protest or objection). The concept is inspired by dissent expressed in the Arab world during the Arab Spring revolutions.

AMAL’S PRAYER CHAIR

Emirati Sarah Alagroobi’s project “Amal’s Prayer Chair” originates from her desire to aid her late grandmother and mother who struggled to pray in the prostrate position. According to Islamic tradition, those who cannot physically endure prostration may pray in a sitting position. The typographic pattern on the skin of the chair is derived from the Arabic letter kaf and refers to the “The Throne” (Ayatul-Kirsi), a powerful verse in the Holy Quran. The verse states: “His Chair doth extend, Over the heavens And the Earth…” This chair rocks to aid in the act of praying.

THE THINKER’S CHAIR

Maha Habib’s “The Thinker’s Chair,” was inspired by Rodin’s masterpiece “The Thinker.” The arching support compels a person to sit in a similar fashion as The Thinker, whose uncomfortable and tortured pose suggests a difficult intellectual struggle. The weaving pattern of text on the surface responds to grid lines established by the wood laminations, and refers to Dante’s Divine Comedy, Rodin’s original theme for the sculpture.

A PHOENICIAN READING TABLE

In her entry entitled “Phoenician Reading Table,” Noor Jarrah’s is inspired by the Phoenician alphabet, one of the earliest forms of writing. The table surface engraved with Phoenician letterforms provides a base for Latin script emerging from a new, “modern” tablet. The tablet ultimately supports a book in the open reading position.

THE DE-LAMINATION TABLE

Syrian Ghenwa Soucar’s entry entitled “De-lamination Table” consists of four layers that appear to delaminate like a flexed deck of playing cards. Each of the four layers consist of three laminations of red oak that were steam bent, then glue laminated to lock in the final form.

CANDELABRA

The polycarbonate panels of Heba Hammad’s table entitled “Candelabra,” originally responded to the ritual of burning candles. The cells of the panels would define pathways for the resulting wax trails. During the design and construction process, the piece evolved into a celebration of its own existence as a minimalist and transparent object.

D-BENCH

Danah Al Kubaisy, from Saudi Arabia, explores eruption as a formal quality in “D-Bench,” and the deregulation of a rational ordering system along its length. The piece consists of 36 3mm-thick hand-shaped aluminum bars fastened with machine screws to a welded aluminum tube frame. The piece was sandblasted after fabrication and assembly.

MESH TABLE

Starting with a triangular unit, Bahraini Marwa Abdulla Hasan’s “Mesh Table” gradually transforms from a 2D surface pattern toward relief and ultimately into 3D form. A combination of chiseling and hand-held routing with jig and template were used to achieve the pattern condition on the wood.

The selection reflects the academic vision and institutional goals of the College of Architecture, Art and Design at AUS; design faculty and students have a history of making that has contributed significantly to the regional and international material culture. As CAAD Dean Peter Di Sabatino notes, “It is very much an honor, and very gratifying, to be sharing the creative voice, and the creative energy, of the Middle East in such a significant, global venue.”

About AUS

American University of Sharjah (AUS) was founded in 1997 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. AUS is a not-for-profit, independent, institution of higher education formed on the American model. It offers 25 majors and 52 minors at the undergraduate level, and 14 master’s degrees through the College of Architecture, Art and Design; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Engineering; and the School of Business and Management. These programs are designed to meet the challenges of a competitive and dynamic business and industrial environment.

For more information, please contact Nazzal Yousef, Director of Media Relations.
Check out previous XCD showcase student work at this link
If you are a student and would like to share your experiences or showcase your graduating work, email us.

XCD gives the thumbs up to Maggie Macnab’s Design by Nature.

Biomimicry, derived from the Greek for “imitating life”, is a growing field that looks to Nature for problem-solving and processes. It’s therefore no wonder that the quintessential visual problem-solver, the Designer, is embracing this “new field” as a source of inspiration, or more accurately, openly acknowledging Nature as creative muse. Maggie Macnab has tapped into this current in her new book, Design by Nature , where she attempts to formalize the Natural World’s impact on the design process.

This is a daunting task, particularly when one considers that for over approximately 3.8 billion years, Nature has gone through a process of trial and error to refine the living organisms, processes, and materials on planet Earth. But Maggie is no stranger to dissecting the impact of an environment on the Designer’s subconscious mind: in her previous book, Decoding Design: Understanding and Using Symbols in Visual Communication (F+W, 2008) and reviewed by XCD, Maggie explores the iconography of various cultures (both corporate and ethnic) and its impact on contemporary identity and communication design.

The material Macnab covers is rather dense, rendering her book more functional as a reference manual or visual Chapbook. Maggie deftly addresses this with color-coordination, introduction of key concepts by chapter, and by illustrating her narratives with case studies of practitioners from around the world including Stefan Sagmeister (USA), Albert-Jan Pool (The Netherlands) and Igendesign (Hungary). Her book is punctuated with devices that will appeal to various learning styles, including engaging call-outs, practice exercises, interesting “biofacts”–did you know that our eye structure evolved from merely detecting movement into the camera-like contraption to balance light (and color) with movement? These really help connect the dots between natural manifestation and our perception of “good design”.

And if you’d like to take your new visual reference guide out for your daily commune with Nature, there’s a dash of poetry too, as this photo caption indicates:

“The last dandelion seed clings
precariously to the flower head awaiting
the right breeze at the right time,
to blow it into its next state of being.”*

Download this pdf for a preview of Maggie’s introduction to Design by Nature or check out some sample chapters where Maggie evaluates the use of patterns by Nature and the sensuality of Nature.*

*Excerpted from Design by Nature: Master Design Basics Using Nature’s Universal Shapes and Patterns by Maggie Macnab Copyright © 2012. Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and New Riders.

*********************************

MAGGIE MACNAB has owned Macnab Design since 1981 and has been a strategic visual communicator for over three decades. Her work has been published in design industry publications and has received international honors. She teaches design theory at the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM, USA) and Santa Fe University of Art and Design (Santa Fe, NM, USA), and is past president of the Communication Artists of New Mexico. She also speaks for conferences, guest lectures at schools in the US and abroad, gives workshops on integrating symbolism into design, and consults on developing strategic and creative identities.

As national and cultural entities thrive in a globalised economy, they face an interesting balancing act between being reaping the benefits of diverse voices and influences while highlighting their assets and identity. Many advocates of economic development are turning to Design for affirmation. XCD continues to follow the interaction between municipalities and engaged citizens using design. Our latest article covers the Munich Creative Business Week (MCBW) scheduled for February 7-12, 2012 and is based on an interview with Bayern Design, the principal event organiser.

If you’re cruising through The Continent looking for Design Inspiration or have some frequent flyer miles you need to cash in, this might be worth checking out…

Who’s hosting?

MCBW is sponsored by the Bavarian State Ministry for the Economy, Infrastructure, Traffic and Technology. The organising team, Bayern Design, gathers designers, publicists, web developers and communications experts dedicated to promoting the value of design, its relevance in our daily lives and in promoting generally accepted standards.

As the event’s title suggests, there is also a balance to be struck between creative and commercial interests. Bayern Design is primarily concerned with giving momentum to interdisciplinary design discourse while bringing together people in the creative and economic sectors . “Today, products aim at a variety of target groups / stakeholders – and, simultaneously, are subjected to critically observing customers. The integration of multidisciplinary know how – especially before developing new products, is becoming more and more important,” says Dr. Silke Claus, CEO of Bayern Design. “Another fact is that most people think of Design…as fashion. Of course Design has a strong link to fashion and aesthetics, but we strongly believe that our events will show Design as being something more than that – as a relevant factor for innovative, young start-ups as well as global companies like our premium partner BMW.” Dr. Claus continues: “We are focused on industrial and communication design and our intention is to be business driven. And that is the main difference (between us and) other design events you’ll hear about in Germany.”

Who’s invited?

MCBW is planned for a worldwide audience of creatives, with a broad range of events being held in English. A classic example of the globalised nature of Design is the “Font for Japan” project, organised by web designers worldwide in honour of the victims of last year’s seismic sea wave and atomic catastrophe of Fukushima. In the same vein, MCBW seeks to highlight various perspectives of design, rooted in cultural differences and to increase dialogue between designers from different horizons. “MCBW believes that Design connects, it does not divide”.

So what is “Bayerisches” Design, anyway?

Outside of automotive design, many non-Germans think of the whimsy of Bavarian design and craftsmanship, especially in traditional tourism products. In modern design, Bavarian Design is pragmatic, driven by technology, streamlined and user-oriented, with a high emphasis on the use of innovative material. And speaking of innovation, MCBW intends to highlight aspects of design that Bavaria is less identified with, namely Interaction design, Social Design, Interior Design, Communication and Typography.

Event Highlights include:

Respect and Uebermut: MCBW devotes itself to esteem and value added issues. For one day, Munich residents and international speakers from all design disciplines and economic disciplines will share their view of the subject “Responsibility during design”. From ecological, economic, social, sustainable and innovative perspectives, they will investigate proposals concerning how and to what extent design can make a difference.

A talk on “Behaviorology” in Architecture and Inspiring Design: A discussion with Co-Principal of Atelier Bow-Wow Momoyo Kaijima, BMW Guggenheim Lab design architect, together with Benoit Jacob, Head of BMW i Design, BMW’s sustainable mobility division as we explore the crucial role design and architecture can play in creating sustainable urban living.

Satyendra Pakhalé: Industrial Design with Cultural Content: “I am always curious, my mind is pre-occupied with typologies, materials, technologies, symbols, rituals and their cultural significance. In our studio we are as much engaged in industrial projects as, with exploring new ways of making things.”

Other speakers will include Stefan Diez, Anja und Sandra Umann, Vera-Maria, Glahn and Marcus Wendt, who focuses on Biomimicry

The general public is expected to be an active part of the event as well: “… people in general are interested in some way or other in the development of new designs, whether they are driven by interest in technology or the environment or even searching for information about making judicial purchases”. Accordingly, a number of non-designers will counted amongst the speakers, including King Bansha of Ghana, and acclaimed Bavarian actress Marianne Sägebrecht. MCBW is keen to promote dialogue about the design process by inviting the chief designers of BMW to speak about their daily activities and new products.

Have fun in Bavaria!

Forget Oktoberfest, there’s so much more to Munich: with events like TypeClubbing,  you’ll have to make time to socialise with your new Barvarian friends after your daily dose of Intense Inspiration. And, if that’s not enough, get out and a take short trip to the Bavarian Alps, experience the genuine “Bayerischen Lebenstil”. Make a “Hüttn-Tour” and meet extraordinary Bavarian “Landvolk” (countryfolk) and you will see why Bavarians say: “It´s nice to be a Preis (Prussian), but it is higher to be a Bayer!

ACHTUNG: watch out for the “Wolpadinga”

For more details, check out these links:

TOCA ME design conference 2012 – Inspired by Design
MHMK – Panel Talk
TypeClubbing: Design – live and for drinking
Design + Entrepreneurship
TypeWalk: Typographical walk through Munich
Chico and Rita. A film by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, presented by Ingo Maurer
A talk on “Behaviorology” in Architecture and Inspiring Design
Satyendra Pakhalé: Industrial Design with Cultural Content
Lunar Europe Design Expression
Licht – Magie – Technologie (Light – Magic – Technology)

XCD thanks Frida Larios for sharing this piece.

Still haven’t had enough? Ok, then, visit GAP