design

The CONNECT Design Conference is this Friday. It is a speaker series organized by The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago which brings together speakers from a variety of design disciplines and takes place in Chicago at the Merchandise Mart. It runs from 10 AM to 4 PM.

I am speaking as a web designer, but the focus isn't on web design per se. The audience will run the gamut of both design professionals and students so the topic will be more about leveraging technology and the context of its use in design.

It's been a while since I've had to do anything in front of an audience and never in this capacity. It's a little scary but exciting. According to the organizers of the event, there should be around 300 people.

For those that don't know, Heartland Alliance has changed the name of the Art Against AIDS event to The Art of Human Rights beginning this year. It is coming up fast on February 19th, 2010 so you should get your tickets soon!

It is an event/fundraiser that I have been affiliated with for over 3 years now benefitting the Heartland Alliance. Artists donate their work for both silent and live fine art auctions. Proceeds from the event will help Heartland Alliance provide housing, healthcare, economic security, and legal protections services to more than 200,000 people whose lives are threatened by poverty and danger, including those living with HIV/AIDS.

Sometimes it's easy to look around at design in everyday life and forget to notice one large facet. Man-made design - The products, advertisements, technology, STUFF - is constantly in our faces and we have become so attuned to marketing that we sometimes don't see past it.

I live in a major city and I certainly understand. But even amidst the steel, stone and glass of Chicago skyscrapers lies an intricate and complex architecture built with cellulose and water vapor. We just have to force ourselves to look up or down from time to time to notice.

Why can't we all just get along and play nice?

IE... I'm looking at you.

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Often the most revolutionary solution to a problem, design or otherwise, is the easiest to implement... And overlook. Rather than create new methods or invent new products, the most graceful and creative approach may be entirely conventional and simple. You just have to look at it from a slightly unconventional angle.

Take Scott Amron as an example. He makes his living taking everyday problems and making prototypes of products to solve them for companies like Oxo.

I just recently wrapped up work on Direct2Food for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago! It's nothing short of unbelievably exciting for me... This website has been in heavy development of various sorts for the last year plus a handful of months. I was practically doing cartwheels.

Uh, great... So what IS Direct2Food, anyway?

It's a site developed for the Illinois Food and Nutrition Advocacy Partnership designed to help members of the metropolitan Chicago community access the information and resources necessary to ensure food is on their tables. It does that by helping both service providers and consumers locate food pantries, soup kitchens, and meal programs closest to them as well as helping to determine if they are eligible for further assistance like food stamps and resources for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).