Category Archives: DESIGN

Call for Participants// Synthetic Aesthetics

Synthetic Aesthetic asks: How would you design nature?

The project is a collaborative effort between artists/designers and scientists/engineers that strives “to bring creative practitioners and those who are expert at studying, analysing and designing the synthetic/natural interface together with the existing synthetic biology community to help with the work of designing, understanding and building the living world.” (Synthetic Aesthetic)

Through the creation of “balanced exchanges” artists/designers will spend time in bioengineering labs, and scientists/engineers will spend their time in design studios, for 12 unique residencies.

The application deadline is fast approaching (March 31st), but there is still time to apply for this amazing project.

Call for participants:

We seek participants for a project on synthetic biology, design, and aesthetics. The project will provide funding to bring together scientists and engineers working in synthetic biology with artists, designers, and other creative practitioners. 

Resources will be made available for twelve funded ‘embedded residencies’, in which six artists and designers will spend two weeks in laboratories, and six scientists and engineers will spend two weeks in artistic studios and design workspaces (institutions or independent studios). The participants will be in six exchanges (synbio/creative), each pair spending four weeks working together over the project.  It is our intention that such collaborations will lead to presentable results, although the form these take is entirely open to the participants. Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the project.

We aim to construct the groundwork for future collaborations that could inform new types of engineering, new schools of art and design, and innovative approaches to the study of synthetic biology in society.

For application details, and for more information, click here.

Source: Core77

Scanning the Transdisciplinary

“To mark the launch of the new Graduate Program in Transdisciplinary Design, this year’s Stephan Weiss Lecture Series in The School of Design Strategies is dedicated to the theme of transdisciplinary design. The series will explore the shifting of boundaries of design in a complex world. Designers are rethinking their practices as they increasingly confront a world in which the complexity and interconnectedness of its people, infrastructures, networks, and economies challenges traditional, disciplinary responses. Designers are increasingly designing businesses, services, experiences, policies, and even emergent social forms; and along the way they are inventing new methods, new tools, and new ways of conceiving design. This year’s series will include a diverse range of designers and design thinkers who are reflecting on these new conditions and envisioning future practices. Staged as a series of four moderated conversations, the Stephan Weiss Lecture Series for 2010 will present multiple vantages on the state of design today and the possibilities for design tomorrow.” (Parsons, MFA Transdisciplinary Design)

If you missed the first lecture, Transformational Networks, on Feb. 23rd, you can still catch the next two in the series:

Transfiguring Practices, Thursday, March 25, 6-8 pm

What are the pressures on design consultancies and businesses as the rules of the game are shifting in unpredictable ways? How are design-led businesses succeeding at defining new territories to work in and new ways of operating?

Transitional States, Tuesday, April 6, 6-8 pm

Can design play a role in governmental and non-governmental delivery of things like infrastructure, education, and health care? What kinds of alliances and collaborations are forming to bring design-led practices into large scale social and technological services?

Source: Parsons, MFA Transdisciplinary Design

Headspace: On Scent as Design

“On March 26, Parsons and MoMA with IFF, Seed, and Coty present Headspace: On Scent as Design.

Headspace is a one-day symposium on the conception, impact, and potential applications of scent. This event gathers leading thinkers, designers, scientists, artists, established perfumers as well as “accidental perfumers” (a selection of architects, designers, and chefs invited to experiment with scent) to acknowledge scent as a new territory for design and begin to draft the outline of this new practice. The event marks the establishment of a new MFA in Transdisciplinary Design at Parsons.” (Headspace)

Click here for more info on the event.

Title: Headspace: On Scent as Design
Location: New York
Link out: Click here

Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2010-03-26
End Time: 18:30

Organic Exchange/MADE-BY: ‘The Case for Sustainable Fashion’

“MADE-BY and Organic Exchange is delighted to invite you to a unique 2-day intensive seminar on sustainable fashion (clothing and textile) in Stockholm! This seminar is the perfect opportunity to assist textile and apparel professionals working in brands and retailers to come up to speed on changes and opportunities in the supply chain.

Speakers and several important topics covered include:

• Environmentally Friendly Fabrics – Understand the Definition, Sourcing and Production Issues,
• A Discussion on Recycled Materials – Polyester and Nylon,
• Responsible Processing – The Good The Bad & The Ugly of Dyeing and Finishing Industry,
• Product Integrity – Certification, Labeling, Transparency and Traceability,
• Social Compliance – Understand the Different Systems and Learn The Actual Work Done,
• Setting Sustainability Strategy – Learn from the Perspective of Leading Brands, Their Pitfalls, Triumphs and Lessons Learned,
• Communication Strategy – How Sustainability and Branding Strengthen Each Other?
• Fashion and Consumer Trends Towards Sustainability in Europe.

Participants will be encouraged to be critical, ask questions and share experiences during discussions. It would be an excellent place to actively share knowledge and information and to network at every possible level.” (MADE-BY)

Click here to download the latest version of the agenda.

Here are some testimonials from past events:

“Most valuable aspect was meeting with other people facing the same issues and discussing how we can work through to a solution together”

– Marks & Spencer, United Kingdom

“After the seminar, striking argument towards our top management on sustainable fashion production has been developed!”

– INTERSPORT International, Switzerland

“A real thorough approach to looking at all aspects of building and implementing a sustainable strategy, fantastically useful and incredibly interesting”

– Ted Baker, United Kingdom

“The most valuable aspect were the case studies of brands committed to sustainable fashion, good networking opportunities and the open atmosphere during interactive discussion”

– PUMA, Germany

Title: Organic Exchange/MADE-BY: ‘The Case for Sustainable Fasion’
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Link out: Click here
Start Date: 2010-05-26
End Date: 2010-05-27

American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA): Green Summit

“The seminar, to be held at the Chateau Frontenac Hotel, will include an overview of new life-cycle assessment research; information and tools designed to help market the benefits of reusable textiles; and information on how to enhance and measure the sustainability of a facility’s operations.

The Green Summit is open to ARTA members and non-members and as well as education and networking opportunities, will also feature supplier exhibits.

Announcing the event, ARTA president Steve Tinker said that to remain competitive, businesses would need to incorporate sustainable practices into operations and be able to verify those efforts. “Some might argue that ‘green’ is a trend, but legislative and consumer indicators show that the focus on sustainability is here to stay,” he said.

‘The green era offers a unique opportunity for the textile services industry. We’ve been providing and supporting a green product — reusable textiles — for more than a century! The immediate challenge lies in quantifying the green benefits of reusable textiles and of our operations, and then marketing those benefits to our customers.’” (Ecotextile News)

Source: Ecotextile News

Title: American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA): Green Summit
Location: Quebec City, Canada
Link out: Click here
Start Date: 2010-07-22
End Date: 2010-07-23

Responsible Leather

Is there such a product?  According to Hare+Hart, there is and they’re using it to make beautifully designed pieces.  Company founders, Jennie Engelhardt and Emily Harrison, tell us on their website:

“we believe that the materials and production process are just as important as the aesthetics. We produce our collection in Argentina so that all of our cow leather is sourced from grass-fed, free roaming Argentine cows, providing a better life for the cow as well as preventing marring of the hide. We choose hides from cows that are also being used for beef so that no part of the animal is wasted.”

They then go on to address labour conditions in the production process saying that “we ensure that all of the craftsmen working on our items receive fair wages and benefits.”

Over at GretaGuide, the video below was posted showing Jennie and Emily talking about their company, its values and their vision for the future.

Hare+Hart: Ethical Leather Line from Greta Eagan on Vimeo.

Their look book is stunning with easy to wear, graceful everyday pieces.  I love, love, love their Schiller jacket and their Donelan tuxedo blazer.

It’s no secret that Mary and I are fans of their designs.  Mary has even become a fan on facebook!  Still, SA is a website dedicated to responsible design and it’s clear that Hare+Hart have the design bit covered, but we want to know more about the responsible part of their business.  So, I emailed Hare+Hart yesterday asking them for an interview and they have graciously accepted (thanks guys!).

If you have any questions that you would like me to ask, please let me know by email or on our facebook fanpage.  I plan to email the interview questions on Monday.  Stay tuned for an update to this story!!

Social Alterations// Slides

Nadira and I both promised to make the slides from our presentations at the FEI conference available online, and here they are, along with a slideshow of some of the images we captured from the event. I’ve reposted the videos of the presentations for convenience.

Thanks to everyone who offered feedback, we were so grateful for your considerations. Please, keep let’s keep the conversation going!

Be sure to contact us with any questions!

Social Alterations: An Education Lab for Socially Responsible Fashion Design

Social Alterations @ FEI from Social Alterations on Vimeo.

CSR Trends in China’s Apparel Supply Chain

CSR Trends in China’s Apparel Supply Chain from Social Alterations on Vimeo.


Find more photos like this on Social Alterations

Lunamano

Carolina Gomez-Aubert is the Creative Director behind Lunamano : material rescue and re-design.

Presenting both her company and academic research at the FEI conference earlier this month, Carolina passionately described the desperate situation of the women she works with in El Salvador: one woman had been turned away from working at the Maquila for getting pregnant; another was left without income when her husband, away at work in America, suddenly stopped sending money when he found someone else. Lunamano offers these women an opportunity for empowerment and the chance at financial security through socially, culturally, economically and environmentally sensitive, fair labour practices.

Partnering with local suppliers in El Salvador, the resources used to create each design have been taken from reclaimed materials such as discarded foam and the old tubing from air-conditioning units, for example.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Carolina for a long chat last week and learned so much more about the project. Now living in London, and inspired by both her El Salvadorian culture and the birth or her daughter, Carolina describes her work as the “vessel that keeps her heritage alive in a foreign land”.

To place an order, or to learn more about this exciting project, contact Carolina, here.

Responsible Design: Why should design students care?

Earlier this month SA had the pleasure of interviewing David Goldsmith from The Swedish School of Textiles and Parsons, Eleanor Dorrien-Smith from PARTIMI, Kat Ross and Larissa Clark from the Environmental Justice Foundation, Carolina Gomez-Aubert from Lunamano, and Sophie Koers from the Fair Wear Foundation.

We asked them for their take on responsible design, and why they think design students should care.

Responsible Design: Why should design students care? from Social Alterations on Vimeo.

What does responsible design mean to you, and why do you think design students should care?

READ// Kate Fletcher, Matilda Lee, and Sandy Black

 

The ‘Open Space’ at the FEI conference featured celebrated authors Kate Fletcher, Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys, Matilda Lee, Eco-Chic: The Savvy Shoppers Guide to Ethical Fashion, and Sandy Black, Eco-Chic: The Fashion Paradox. You can find these texts and others in our reading section.

 

FEI set the stage for the Open Space format as an opportunity for conference participants to network, strategise, learn, share, challenge, be inspired and stimulate one another in a supportive environment. Fletcher, Lee and Black each presented their own discussion question, and participants were also given the chance to create posed further questions and create discussion groups.

Here is what they came up with:

1. How can we communicate providence to consumers?

2. International cooperation on ethical fashion

3. Raising awareness of organic cotton, and the impact on farmers

4. How do we get youth more involved?

5. How do we encourage behaviour change amongst consumers?

6. Scale-how big, how much? (Kate Fletcher)

7. How to get the media to be a driver for sustainable fashion? (Matilda Lee)

8. Design education-encouraging designers (Sandy Black)

9. How to bring ethics into fashion education internationally

Participants could move around and exchange ideas for a period of over two hours. To close the Open Space, a representative from each ‘talk’ presented key insights.

For those of you that weren’t following along on twitter, here are a few edited highlights that came out of the discussions.

  • What would happen if we could control scale in fashion?

             What about considering ‘Post-fashion stress disorder’?

             Fast fashion, can we raise awareness, similar to smoking bans?

             Can we change the discourse of fast fashion?

  • How can we communicate providence to consumers??

             Changing the discourse depending on who you’re speaking with:

             In some circles fashion is a bad word, so talk garment and apparel and clothing etc…

  • How to connect consumers to the cotton farmer?

             Spread the word, tell stories and stay focused.

  • Design educators encouraging designers:

             Make the experience real

             Connect the designer to the factory

             Make it exciting w/ different design strategies: design for disassembly, for example

What are your thoughts on these issues and questions? Feel free to leave a comment below!