Designlife Fall 2014

The Magazine of the NC State University College of Design

FALL 2014

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THIS ISSUE Dean’s Message Meet Christian Hölljes JUSTIN Time Designstyle Designwork A Flash of Brilliance A Different Type of Innovation uniFORM Spring Commencement Improving Students’ Critical and Creative Thinking Designdialogue A Star by Design Things We Like Designsuccess Roger Clark Looks Back Ernst Reichl: A Rare Glimpse Bill Bayley: Making New Tracks Designhistory Designnotes In Memoriam DesignScene Design for Life DesignProcess

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The Designlife cover illustration was done by Stephen Minervino [‘14 ADN]. Stephen’s work can be viewed at: sjminervino.prosite.com

Dean Marvin Malecha writes about reinvention and the fragile line between leading and following.

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Art2Wear was held at the new Talley Student Union ballroom for its 13th successful season.

DESIGNLIFE IS ALL ABOUT INNOVATION! This issue employs a new technology called AUGMENTED REALITY [AR] which allows readers to view video and rich media content with their smartphones without having to leave the printed page: the video plays over the printed piece.

Here’s how it works: STEP 1. Download the FREE Wikitude™ app on your iPhone, Android or iPad. STEP 2. Look for the articles inside with the smartphone icon.

STEP 3. Open Wikitude™and hold your phone or iPad over the specified image and scan. it.

STEP 4. With your phone held over the page, view the interactive content – in real time!

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Game changers, entrepreneurs, and [re]inventors: our graduates are constantly responding to change.

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Designlife™ is a publication of the NC State University College of Design through the Office of Marketing Communications + Public Relations. Designlife is made possible through funding by the Designlife Board, an engaged community of College of Design alumni, friends and design enthusiasts from around the world.

DesignDialogue: Dare and Tina discuss challenges surrounding entrepreneurial life...among other things.

NC’s award-winning architect, Frank Harmon, discusses why he’d like to be invisible.

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Designlife is distributed to alumni, friends and Designlife members. We welcome your feedback and invite submissions via email to: collegeofdesign@ncsu.edu To receive news updates throughout the calendar year, please subscribe to Designlife online by visiting: design.ncsu.edu/designlife

MARVIN J. MALECHA, FAIA, DPACSA

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Dean of the College of Design

CAROL FOUNTAIN NIX Director of Marketing, Communications + Public Relations Associate Professor of the Practice Editor, Designer Cars as art? Barbara Wiedemann shares exciting details about what it took to put together an entire Porsche exhibit for the NC Museum of Art.

Industrial design students get first-hand industry experience working with Eastman Chemical Company.

ASHLEIGH CATES KINCAID Marketing Assistant Writer, Photographer

DAVE DELCAMBRE Feature Writer

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CARLA ABRAMCZYK Assistant Dean, External Relations and Development

JEAN MARIE LIVAUDAIS Director of Alumni and Professional Relations

JULIE M. MCLAURIN, AIA, LEED AP President, Designlife Board Assistant Professors, Andy Fox and David Hill collaborate to win a Clinton Global Initiative award.

Meet Julie McLaurin, the new Designlife Board president!

Dean’s message We live in an age of reinvention. Perhaps it has always been such. Yet, it deserves our attention. Reinvention conjures images of change under duress. It is a word that implies a certain urgency of action. Yet, it also is a characteristic of youth, vitality and open mindedness. From reinvention new things come and hope springs eternal. It is a characteristic of an agile spirit and most of all it can be considered an indicator of a life of continual iteration. Invention is a word that reflects the design spirit.

Reinvention refers to the stick-to-itiveness that Walt Disney credited with his success in animation, film and business. The implications of a failure to reinvent ourselves is that we will be left behind, our culture made weak and disrespected.

To reinvent is to lead. It can be observed that the American spirit has been defined by innovation and a fierce entrepreneurial sense. To the design spirit iteration and reinvention are one and the same.

More than a thousand years later in sixteenth century Italy the stone mason and architect, Andrea Palladio, was inspired by classical Greek and Roman architectural languages. His manner was deliberate and beautifully measured in its powerful images. Even today we are familiar with his interpretations through buildings all about us. His work, a reinvention of an earlier period, was nevertheless a reframing of the struggle for civilization in the midst of a chaotic period.

Along with the sense of reinvention comes the realization of just how fragile life really is for those who fail to understand, comprehend or do not have the capability to accommodate the necessity of change. While some forge ahead, others are left behind. It seems that we walk along a narrow path with a twist here and a turn there that defines the distance between leading and following, between the supremacy of culture and travails of chaos. It is this understanding of the urgency of reinvention in civilization that reminds us that our attention to

His greatest villas were set into large tracts of land that asserted a culture of cultivation and then presented gardens of considerable culture. The lesson from this work is the necessity of the assertion of human will inspired by reinvention.

No less a figure than Thomas Jefferson studied his work for inspiration at Monticello, which in itself was an exercise of building up and tearing down. In his own words, Mr. Jefferson articulated his clear intent to remix what is known with the ingredients of his own time in order to realize reinvention.

[RE] INVENTION the path requires our undivided attention. No sleepwalking is permitted. It is a path that may only be traversed by dedication and imagination. This requires a tactical approach to the journey. It is life’s path.

This is an old story told many times in history. A story told through the sculptural metopes on the Parthenon of Ancient Greece. On these sculpted panels a battle is depicted between humans and centaurs. It was a battle between the emergence of civilization and the chaos of the wild. What is clear in this story is that civilization was not granted to humans as a gift. It had to be earned, made and defended. These panels, on a structure that even today is considered the most sophisticated representation of its culture, reminds every generation that civilization is its responsibility. The Parthenon itself is the seventh temple to be built on its site. It is the product of continual reinvention.

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In a letter to Virginia governor, Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson justified the intent of the Declaration of Independence: “...not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of, not merely to say things which had never been said before; but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent and to satisfy ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take.”

The stories of almost every culture characterize life’s journey as a path between the cultivated field, the cultured garden and the deep dark forest path between the immoveable mountain and the dangerous precipice. Along the Golden Lane in the Prague Castle is a framed nineteenth century lithograph depicting two children, a boy and a girl, along a path of such a precipice. The boy is dangerously reaching out for a butterfly while the girl, in an equally precarious position, is

Reaching for beauty is always a precarious act.

It requires a combination of commitment and action.

reaching out for a flower. Behind them stands a protective guardian angel.

Reaching for beauty is always a precarious act. It always requires a combination of commitment and action. Our guardian angel is our own better nature, to act on behalf of those who cannot act on behalf of themselves. It is our own spirit of determination to accept failure and to get back up on the precipice again and again. In our own reinvention we are both child and guardian angel. We must act boldly, with imagination and an optimistic spirit, and similarly act to protect others who do the same.

As we look out into the world we see no lack of challenges to our civilization.

It seems at times that chaos is at our door. Perhaps we also see the difficulty of the task before us to sustain a culture of creativity and innovation in the face of wicked problems. Such problems inspire us to understand the critical necessity for the agile spirit who can reinvent to prevail. Continual reinvention is required of each of us throughout our lives. It is our way to hold off the chaos of the world to assert order and forge ahead. It is perhaps the most human of our characteristics.

Our forging ahead in the face of such challenge is the essence of the thought

processes we associate with design. The tools of design thinking sustain our confidence. Our creative spirit ensures our ability to see the world differently. As Thomas Jefferson observed, what is required is the “energy and perseverance to be continued through life.”

There is perhaps no more dramatic example of this ability to undertake reinvention than the example of Chris Downey, a graduate of this College, who studied to become an architect and began a successful career in San Francisco.

Because of a medical condition he lost his sight. That could have been the end of his story, but it is not. He addressed his challenge, reinvented the nature of how he would pursue his vocation, and he now fills a role in the profession of architecture never before conceived of. He has become the “eyes” of otherwise sighted architects. We need to look no further than to him for the true definition of reinvention. It is the ultimate expression of hope. Reinvention is an every day affair. It is what makes life special.

Marvin J. Malecha, FAIA, DPACSA Dean 5

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR This edition of Designlife™ focuses on how our alumni have designed their lives by identifying new opportunities, overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges, and shifting gears in the midst of economic fluctuations. A “design life” is about being nimble and recognizing opportunity, never stopping, and always remaining expectant of the best possible outcome. The career path of a designer is not linear with predictable pathways. Stephen Minervino’s cover illustration for this edition thematically conveys how many varying directions a designer might take in the lifespan of his or her career. Design is not only what we practice professionally; it is the way we move through our lives, invent or reinvent ourselves, design our spaces, our relationships, our careers and the world around us. Design, in a sense, is both practice and lifestyle. When combined with intention, there is very little that a designer cannot accomplish.

This past spring I had the opportunity to visit some of our west coast alums. Palo Alto is a heady place, buzzing with creativity, energy and technology. Just going to a local coffee shop and taking in the surge of cranial activity mixed with java can be overwhelming. I grabbed a cup of Philz Coffee, [Ether, not for the lighthearted!] and took out my Moleskine notebook to jot down a few post-interview notes, and promptly realized I was the only one in the entire place writing with an actual pen and paper.

Silicon Valley epitomizes sheer creative energy and ingenuity. It’s easy to think it all happens in the Valley, but in reality, that same creative, intellectual and technological capital exists right here in Raleigh and on campus at the College because wherever creativity lives, there is energy in abundance. The halls and studios here are alive with new ideas that arise from learning from the best and brightest. There’s a hum, a palpable sense of something happening – the perpetual feel of progress in the air. What sets the College apart is its focus on design thinking – design as a way of life rather than simply learning a craft or skill set. As designers, we are trained to be the most agile of professionals. Today, this has never been more critical. Economic shifts have caused designers to rethink, refocus and reinvent themselves. Sometimes that means going into business for oneself or leaving a business one has created to take a full-time position. Other times, it might mean doing something entirely new. As an entrepreneur for most of my own career, I can relate.

When you think about it, many things can be taken away from professionals who rely upon external factors in order to practice in their fields. You can’t take away someone’s creativity or way of thinking – that is what sets a true designer apart from many. Perhaps alum, Chris Downey, said it best: “The creative process is an intellectual process – it’s how you think; it’s how you problem solve; it’s how you imagine. You don’t have to have sight to have vision.”

Carol Fountain Nix [‘92 MGD] Designlife™ Editor and Director of Marketing Communications + Public Relations

Design Lab for K-12 Education Gets a Leadership Boost The Design Lab for K-12 Education has announced two new positions. Julia Rice will now serve as director and Sarah Brewer has been hired as the coordinator for pre-college programs. Rice takes on her new role after having served two years as a Design Camp coordinator. She brings a breadth of experience in community programming, design education, educator training, child and adolescent development, non-profit management, strategic planning and educational program design to this position. Her programmatic philosophy for the K-12 Design Lab includes three focus areas: pre-college programming, outreach and research, and educator development.

Sarah Brewer previously served as a program assistant for Design Camp and is responsible for coordinating and implementing precollege design education programs that further the missions of the Design Lab as well as the College.

LEFT: Sarah Brewer RIGHT: Julia Rice

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Professor Robin Abrams’ Winter Commencement Address Covers Everything From Empiricism to Doing the Laundry I have attended countless graduation ceremonies. If you add on the 20 years I’ve been teaching, that is a lot of graduation speeches. Two are particularly memorable. At my undergraduate graduation, Newton Minow, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, spoke. Fifty years ago, he referred to television as a “vast wasteland.” I remember he asked us to close our eyes and picture where we expected to be in ten years. He then told us that moment was the closest to those dreams we’d ever come. I remember feeling angry, certain that I knew where I was going. Later, I’ve come to realize, he was correct. and that I actually did accomplish much of that dream, just not in ways I could have possibly imagined. In other words, things didn’t go my way, but they went in fantastic and inconceivable ways, for which I am most grateful.

The second speech I remember was here at NC State just a few years ago. David Evans, a world-renowned photographer [’84 ADN], spoke at a graduation during the very depth of the economic recession, when graduates’ chances of getting a job straight out of school were pretty bleak. David’s talk was similar to Minow’s, but far gentler. He stated that upon graduation, rather than pushing yourself into what could be perceived as an unwelcoming world, you should listen to the forces of the universe and open yourself up to the possibilities it presented.

You may not know it, but you are embarking into the world as “empiricists.”

Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that emphasizes the role of experience and evidence, especially sensory experience, in the formation of ideas. Empiricism asserts that “knowledge is based on experience” and that “knowledge is tentative and probabilistic – and subject to continued revision.” The seeking of knowledge is a journey without an end, but it feeds our creative thinking and the formation of ideas from two sources: sensation and reflection.

These two things go hand in hand in all aspects of life. We experience things and then we think about what we’ve experienced and this slightly or greatly changes our way of being in the world. We take risks, we make mistakes, we learn and we move on. Sir Francis Bacon was an English philosopher and statesman who is considered the creator of empiricism.

Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand – and melting like a snowflake.

Sir Francis Bacon

Dr. Robin Abrams, AIA, ASLA and Head of the School of Architecture, giving the spring commencement address

Bacon wrote something that is so enduring as to have intense meaning on this very day: “Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity.

We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand – and melting like a snowflake.”

There is also a wonderful Zen saying: “First enlightenment, then the laundry.”

It is important to remember this order. Our role as designers is to put people in touch with the forces of life that sustain them, usually subconsciously. To do so, we must nurture our own creative souls. There will always be time to do laundry.

Similar to birds in different stages of flight – some have wings up, some down.

Some are going forward, some are going backwards. Some effortlessly glide through the air, some are struggling to get aloft. That is how it is going to be with you. Know that you will get to where you should be going in your own time and style. And it will be your own place, crafted through a series of experiences, reflections, and decisions that you do along the way.

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The A2W pre-show started with the first-year-experience student designs, followed by Charleston Fashion Week Representatives, Art + Design senior, Rebecca Walker, and Assistant Professor and Co-Director of A2W, Justin LeBlanc. [Justin was a leading contestant on last season’s hit TV fashion show, Project Runway.] The show began with a fashion film directed by Ben Scott [’14 MAD] and featured garments by Art + Design seniors, Morgan Cox and Sarah Cannon. The film introduced the show’s theme of Accelerated Evolution: Speed. This year, the animation studio played a major role in creating media for the show. Before each designer’s line hit the runway, an animated interpretation of the designer’s theme played.

Before and after the show, guests were treated to presentations of the designers’ process boards and photos taken by the A2W photography studio, as well as fiber works created in the fibers studio. Also new and notable this year was the addition of an interactive touchscreen which allowed viewers to see works from previous A2W shows. Art + Design graduate students, Alyssa Barrett and Alex Pennachio, designed the screen and undergraduates, Katy Purinai and Christiane Ruggiero, designed accessories. Katie Scheuerle served as this year’s student director of the show.

Despite the fact the venue got rained out, being in the ballroom really emphasized what Art2Wear is really about – showcasing the talents that we have in the student population at North Carolina State University. Give the students a blank canvas and they will give the audience an amazing show, no matter the venue. The endurance and the determination of the Art2Wear team, directors, designers, and animators, made the show – rain or shine!

LEFT: Photo by Stephen Lindberg | Collection by Gillian Paige RIGHT: Photo by Kim Pham Collection by Sarah Cannon BOTTOM: Photo by Jillian Ohl | Collection by Sydney Smith

design.ncsu.edu/art2wear/

Design is a way of life for our graduates. See how some have shifted career paths, reinvented themselves, and learned new business skills in order to stay ahead of the game.

AUGMENTED REALITY: When you see the Wikitude™ app logo on the following articles, scan the images as directed to view extra photos and video interviews IN REAL TIME!

DESIGN ON DEMAND

By Dave Delcambre

Aly Khalifa Thinks Outside the Design Box

“ To be a designer you have to be an entrepreneur, period.”

says Aly Khalifa ['90 BEDN, '93 BS in Product Engineering] “ You have to be someone who’s thinking creatively and energetically about the market as well as how social networks play into the use of your product. That’s a big change from the way I was taught design originally.”

Photograph by Ashleigh Cates Kincaid

Khalifa points out how his time at the College of Design still broadly influences his work as a product designer, especially in the interdisciplinary context of his student days when he was also studying mechanical engineering concurrently, which Khalifa has dubbed his “bipolar education.” “With mechanical engineering, you have a focused amount of attention on something very specific and it was all about content. In constrast, design school was a 24/7 type of experience, not as linearly focused and always project-based,” he says. “I recall my lessons better from design school than I did from engineering school, but engineering gave me the skills and tools to be a better designer. On one side I was getting my technical chops and on the other, I was getting my mind opened up. I just loved my experience there.”

Khalifa, a member of the College’s Leader’s Council, founded Designbox, a “creative hub” for multidisciplinary designers who work within the space in downtown Raleigh. His firm is Gamil Design, which he manages with his wife and designer, Beth Khalifa. “I don’t think to be a ‘product’ designer makes sense, or to be a ‘graphic’ designer makes sense. I think you have to be a designer first, then you add on your own unique abilities to it all,” says Khalifa, who is a strong advocate for multidisciplinary study and practice.

He emphasizes that a product designer’s role is generally to create things that can be mass manufactured. “Product designers are intimately involved in the manufacturing of what they design. Often the biggest challenge is understanding how things are made with regard to the user as well as your own passion for the work. If you are making stuff in a factory that you don’t feel good about, what’s the point?” he explains. The inherent issue of product lifecycle and use is another significant factor. “A lot of times we only think about the single use of a product. We don’t think about its pre-use or where the product is going to end up.” he says. “Is it going to the landfill or is there a way to design for recyclability or even disassembly? Can you use open-source principles so people can repurpose certain components?” he asks. “That’s another big challenge as a designer that I still aspire to. It means the designer has to think beyond a component.”

Khalifa is currently embarking upon an exciting new product line called LYF Shoes. “We’re rethinking the design model of making customized footwear on demand. We can do it in 15 minutes, right in front of your very eyes, via a method called the ‘Digital Cobbler,’ ” he says. “The on-demand factor is cool enough but the real wow factor is their über hipness.

Compare them to Chuck Taylors made just for you and only you and in your unique color scheme. The shoes can be digitally printed from whatever image you want to provide and come in a endless variety of patterns and colors. Continued on page 10

Aly Khalifa with concept renderings of his new line of recyclable shoes

I don’t think to be a

product

designer makes sense, or to be a

graphic designer makes sense.

YOU HAVE TO BE A DESIGNER FIRST.

Aly Khalifa receiving a certificate for his Eisenhower Fellowship from the Chairman, General Colin Powell. Khalifa gave a speech about his fellowship experience preceding General Powell’s own remarks.

The LYF concept is not simply a design challenge. “We’re looking at all these metasystems – where the materials come from and how we rethink the manufacturing to delivery model.

When you stop and think about how many feet there are to clad in the world and the extreme individual appeal of LYF shoes, the possibilities are endless. Not content to stop after the design and purchase phases, Khalifa and his team have also put careful thought into the afterlife of the shoes. “We’ve designed a full life cycle for the shoes – when the user is done with them, we purchase them back at a discount to recycle so they can be completely landfill free. Additionally, this method of specific customer-focused manufacturing allows the user the ability to customize new ones based on their last pair.” Khalifa explains, “It is a closed loop story for the materials as well as the customer that will hopefully become part of a community where the shoes could be manufactured in downtowns everywhere and distributed locally. LYF Shoes are designed to fuse people, planet and profit into a new and disruptive model to bring customized, nontoxic footwear manufacturing back to our downtowns.”

While not available on the market just yet, LYF shoes have already generated interest via a Kickstarter campaign. “Crowdfunding is an amazing experience.“ Khalifa marvels. “We thought we knew our supply chain until we started this campaign, then a lot of people started contacting us about how they could help with it. Now we’re going to re-engineer and improve some things as a result. Where we thought we’d be in ten years we can now do by next year. We feel like we’re in touch with a global community about this project. For us, this is a real game changer. It’s all about looking at systems engineering and stepping outside what design would normally be. That’s top on our list.”

The LYF brand acronym embodies its mission: Love Your Fashion, Love Your Fit, and Love Your Footprint.

This is a real game changer, it’s really looking at systems engineering and stepping outside what design would normally be. That’s top on our list.

A New Social App That Takes the Cake

Who would guess that two tattoo-clad guys would create the most popular wedding app in the industry?

Justin Miller [’03 BGD] and Andy Heymann [’04 BGD] knew each other during their time at the College but headed down different paths after graduation. Miller went the corporate route, taking a job with IBM as an art director. Heymann had a plan to do one job a year in the world of graphic design with the goal of learning as much as he could, all the while keeping RaleighDesignLAB as his freelance business, which he still runs today.

In 2010, Miller came up with a concept that enabled people to collaboratively share photos and videos based on shared experiences or locations without being socially tied to one another. Two weeks later, he pitched Heymann his idea. Miller decided Heymann was the only guy in Raleigh crazy enough to try and do it, and at the end of 2010 they created their first app, Deja Mi, with funds raised from friends and family. Though DejaMi didn’t create the impact they wanted, it led them to create WedPics, a similar concept but more specifically focused on the wedding industry.

Miller describes the WedPics philosophy: “I see us as being game changers and re-inventors.

WedPics is reinventing the wedding industry which has been very stagnant. We are bringing the social element that people experience on a day-to-day basis into the wedding experience.

We have exploded into this market with only one wedding season under our belts, and capturing 10% of the US market in one year. It really showcases the fact that a group of guys like us could build this for a market that couldn’t be more different than we are – and could reach people who didn’t even know they needed this product.” The skill of designing for a specific audience is a strong concept learned at the College that has carried into their business. Heymann explains, “They taught me how to think like a designer. I don’t fit my own target audience so I have to put myself in the head of a bride-to-be. The College taught me concept thinking – realizing why I am doing everything I am doing.”

WedPics was recently featured on TechCrunch and just finished raising 1.5 million dollars from venture capital investors all over the country. WedPics is now used in 150 countries worldwide and many large-scale public companies are showing interest, which further validates what they are doing. Heymann says, “When we think about how many apps exist and how many you hear about on a daily basis, we are part of that very small percent that are actually making it.” They are not just making it – they are demonstrating how a social app company can succeed in Raleigh, NC, where they plan to stay and continue to grow.

Heymann said, “The exciting part is really growth. Building your team, giving people jobs, creating something a bunch of other people have tried to create but doing it better. I like the idea of winning which is sort of what we are doing right now, we are crushing our competition and that’s what keeps me going.”

Photos and article by Ashleigh Cates Kincaid

TOP: Justin Miller and Andy Heymann in their office space in downtown Raleigh LEFT: The WedPics mobile application

MIA BLUME

Gets Everyone ON BOARD

By Dave Delcambre

“It was awesome!” is how Mia Blume describes her time at the College.

Looking back on her time in College of Design studios, Mia Blume [’05 BGD] notes, “I think that was the first moment where I really realized my two passions, art and technology, could be fused into a career.” An interdisciplinary perspective has undoubtedly helped Blume in her current post where she leads the product design team at one of the hottest social media companies in the world, Pinterest. The company is based in the trendy SoMA district in downtown San Francisco, where walls are constantly being torn down to make room for more office space to house the growing number of “Pinners” who work there.

AUGMENTED REALITY: Use the Wikitude™ app to scan this image and learn more from Mia Blume!

“I had been a ‘Pinner’ [an avid user of Pinterest] before I realized I wanted to work at Pinterest,” Blume recalls, “When I worked at IDEO, Pinterest was a tiny startup literally across the street from our building. Every day that I went to lunch or walked down the street, I passed Pinterest and I was always kind of curious.” While those lunchtime walks didn’t directly lead to Pinterest at first [she had several other ventures in between], Blume was quick to get on board when the opportunity arose. “Pinterest was a product that I enjoyed using on a regular basis. It brought out a lot of my inspiration and creativity because it was a product that I was so passionate about personally. It was inevitable that I was going to become part of the team to help build it and make it better than it is today.”

LEFT: Blume in the Pinterest office space in downtown San Francisco Blume serves on the College’s Leader’s Council.

Photos by Carol Fountain Nix

I would advocate for a design curriculum that supports more collaboration with technology and engineering – to push the boundaries of building, not just designing. Getting into the construction of what we’re making, not just the craft – which is a fusion of business and technology and design – that is where we’re headed!

Blume wears many hats at Pinterest. Her work is focused on “setting the product design team up for success,” as she puts it. Blume seeks out new talent for the company, supports individual designers on various assignments, leads new design projects, and works closely with other team leaders to build a company culture that helps “build awesome stuff,” as she likes to say.

Pinterest’s mission is poised at the intersection of art and technology and the company is currently situated in the hottest place for such fusion to occur, Silicon Valley. When asked about the company’s mission, Blume turns philosophical. “From a people perspective, I feel that both technology and design are trying to accomplish the same thing – create things that allow people to do things that they couldn’t do before,” she says. “Both designers and engineers are problem solvers. There’s an alignment around what we want to achieve, but the skills we bring are different so we’re a perfect blend of talent and collaboration. If our designers aren’t sitting next to an engineer, prototyping and collaborating, they’re not going to build the kind of product we want to build. Designers and programmers have to learn each others’ languages in order to build a more holistic, well-rounded product. There’s not some designer sitting in the corner coming up with some magical idea then throwing it over the fence to engineering.

That just doesn’t exist here.”

Blume notes that the last few years have been especially fruitful for collaboration to flourish, emerging in particularly dynamic ways in Silicon Valley and New York. “That model has existed for a longer time in the physical world but not the digital world.” she says. “Now we’re starting to see a much higher bar for what a great product looks like and feels like that is evidence of that fusion of technology and design. I think it was kind of inevitable.”

Using Pinterest, users create their own unique experiences by developing galleries akin to traditional thumbtack boards – a type of visual digital diary that is half personal identity and half personal wishlist – which simultaneously personalizes contributor content and generates an organizational framework for individual experiences.

Coming full circle to her thoughts on design education, Blume is quick to cite the importance of design fundamentals. She finds close parallels with the fundamentals employed at Pinterest and the ones she learned while at the College. “A lot of the fundamentals are the same – understanding the fundamentals of design, the history, and what it means to give and receive feedback. Without those, you’re not going to survive.”

TOP: A hand-lettered sign in the office hallway MIDDLE AND BOTTOM: Pinterest office space in downtown San Francisco

“No matter what the skills are, the things we build are out in the world.” she says. “I would advocate for a design curriculum that supports more collaboration with technology and engineering – to push the boundaries of building, not just designing. Getting into the construction of what we’re making, not just the craft, but the product thinking – which is a fusion of business and technology and design. That is where we’re headed!”

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IDEOLOGY “At IDEO we’re in a great position,” says Danny Stillion [‘92 MGD]. “Clients are coming to us either at the top of their game and they’re looking for what’s next, or there’s been some disruption and they’re having to reinvent themselves. We’re constantly getting these interdisciplinary teams together to really focus on exactly that.”

Stillion [who serves on the College’s Leader’s Council] finds himself constantly in the thick of things as a design director and associate partner at IDEO, where he is intimately involved in a wide variety of projects.“Regardless of the details of any particular design problem IDEO is tasked with, it’s constantly going back to three lenses of design thinking: business viability, technical feasibility and, of course, what’s desirable from a human centered perspective,” he says.

By Dave Delcambre

When the topic turns to design education, Stillion sees room for improvement extending all the way down to early elementary level design fundamentals. “At IDEO, we’re often finding talent from overseas,” he says, “because they have maintained their culturallyimbued sensitivity for design from their early years. If we can get back to having a bit more of a balanced approach we’ll be better seeding the next generation of designers.” It is easy to see that Stillion has given careful thought to the question before. “I owe my existence as a designer to my fifth grade art teacher,” he reflects. “I’m hoping we can continue to do things at all education levels in the US. Certainly there are some other things that are already happening at the College of Design involving more disruptive ways to teach in terms of embracing entrepreneurship and the barriers to getting things out as a student today with Kickstarter and other things.

IDEO is a global design consultancy firm entering its third decade with some 550 employees – and work spanning almost any industry you can imagine. Yet they work hard to maintain a company culture focused on people-centered perspectives that remain nimble and highly responsive. Stillion explains, “The interdisciplinary teams generally distill their approach into a few key concepts such as: ‘How do you change the game?’ and ‘How do you innovate through a challenge in the marketplace?’”These phrases dovetail perfectly with the mantra the company has made famous: “How Might We?” Stillion describes IDEO’s heavily collaborative design approach: “It begins by going out into the world and getting inspired by extreme users and looking at the interesting technologies that are being brought to the table by a range of clients in order to help them come up with a new angle.” The process is nothing if not collective, a quality that is easy to pick up on even without Stillion reciting the disciplines a typical IDEO design production team entails.

“It’s business designers, industrial designers, interaction designers, design researchers, electrical/mechanical engineers all coming together to really focus on an issue and break new ground,” he explains. That breadth of interactivity is not what you’d likely encounter in many design offices but it is the most exciting part of the equation for Stillion. “It’s where the magic happens,” he exclaims.

When asked about the top qualities a designer needs to have to be an entrepreneur or game changer, Stillion responds quickly with no shortage of ideas, “For me it always starts with curiosity – especially in the digital realm where things are always changing. Couple that with passion for your skill and for working with others – I think those are key areas for breaking new ground. Getting out in the world and understanding other people’s frames of mind and the context in which products or services are going to be deployed is really critical as well.”

Current passions for Stillion are his projects in the transportation field. “Right now we’re working on car-sharing perspectives for a large manufacturer – helping them think about how they move from traditional ownership approaches to trends we’re seeing today of shared ownership of vehicles,” he said. “There’s a lot of work in the automotive industry right now. They’re in a kind of Renaissance period.”

ABOVE: Digital prototyping at IDEO’s Palo Alto office RIGHT: Stillion directing his team There’s still room for improvement by bridging over more of those types of barriers,” he insists. “Sparking what we can do with young designers and empowering them in different ways are really the bookends for what I’d like to see happening.”

“Design is a way of life and it’s empowering through your creativity. That’s what we’re all about here at IDEO and it’s exciting to see schools like the College of Design bringing up the next generation to allow that to happen.”

DESIGN THINKING : BUSINESS VIABILITY : TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY : WHAT IS DESIRABLE FROM A HUMAN CENTERED PERSPECTIVE?

INSPIRE

EVOLVE

EVALUATE

AUGMENTED REALITY: Use the Wikitude™ app to scan this image and learn more from Danny Stillion!

DESIGN IS A WAY OF LIFE, EMPOWERING THROUGH CREATIVITY. IT’S EXCITING TO SEE THE COLLEGE OF DESIGN BRINGING UP THE NEXT GENERATION TO ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN.

A MAN WITH A

VISION

Sometimes “re-invention” comes in the form of seemingly insurmountable personal challenges.

For designers and artists, the loss of one’s eyesight has to be pretty far up the list as far as challenges go.

Architect Chris Downey has not only persevered after losing his sight, he has thrived in new ways in both his profession and in his approach to life. He credits his design education as one way of helping him cope.

After graduating from the College of Design, Chris Downey [‘84 BEDA] began his career in Boston with Schwartz/Silver Architects. He subsequently received his masters degree at UC Berkeley and in 2008, joined Michelle Kaufmann Designs in Oakland, CA, as a managing principal where he managed the sustainable modular construction area of practice for the firm. Life was good and architects were enjoying a bustling economy – then came the bad news. Downey was diagnosed with a brain tumor shortly after starting his new job and subsequently underwent surgery. He describes the growth as “the best tumor in the worst spot” near the pituitary gland and pressuring his optic nerve. Immediately after surgery, Downey still had some basic visual sensations of light and could detect blurry shapes, but within a few days his eyesight faltered, leading to a total loss of sight. This led to what he understatedly terms, “an abrupt retooling and refocusing of my architectural career.” The adjustment required dedicated hard work and specialized rehabilitative training to allow him to resume his career. A testament to his character, Downey was determined to move forward and went back to work exactly a month after the surgery. “I figured since there were no books on how to be a blind architect, I may as well get back to work and figure it out for myself,” he said.

It was anything but easy. “Initially a lot of people, especially friends that are architects, would say things like ‘losing your sight as an architect, that’s the worst thing imaginable,’ ” Downey remembers. “I never thought about that. I’m an avid cyclist and had nightmares of me flying off a road and ending up with a physical disability, but I never thought about blindness. To wake up one day and find you’re blind...” his voice trails off and he snaps his fingers to illustrate how quickly things changed, adding wryly, “It’s a bit disruptive.Thinking as a designer and losing your sight, the immediate reaction is that’s the end of the world.

But the creative process is an intellectual process – it’s how you think; it’s how you problem solve; it’s how you imagine.”

For Downey, his new circumstance presented challenges that harkened back to his earliest student days. “I started realizing that with a design education it goes back to things that came up in my design fundamentals classes at the School of Design,” Downey thoughtfully recalls. “It was very much like the design process in general – this is the situation, these are the givens, these are the constraints. I remember having projects in school and there would be some constraint that seemed to ruin the project,” he says.“Often the approach would be to try and ignore it but you can’t do that. It’s not until you just absolutely embrace it that you can find something magical and surprising. That’s really what I tried to do in this case was to embrace it.”

The creative process is an intellectual process – it’s how you think; it’s how you problem solve; it’s how you imagine.

You don’t have to have sight to have vision.

Photo by Don Fogg

AUGMENTED REALITY: AUGMENTED

Kaufmann’s workplace also provided a welcoming and encouraging environment for Downey’s post-surgery return. “The office was filled with fun, energetic, positive people,” he recollects. However, the firm fell victim to the economic downturn of 2008 that hit the architectural industry especially hard, leading to Downey’s layoff and the office’s eventual closure. Forced to start anew in the depths of the recession in the winter of 2009, he began having success working as a special consultant to architects and design firms engaged with projects for the

Use the WIKItude™

REALITY: app to scan this image Use thesee Wikitude™ app and how Chris to scan thisisimage andthe Downey shaping seeworld how Chris Downey of architecture is shaping world in a newthe light. of architecture in a new light.

visually impaired. He has amassed an impressive roster of clients including working with HUD on a blind housing renovation in New York and working with Duke University’s Eye Center in Durham, NC. One project in particular proved to be a watershed moment for the Downey. “The Polytrauma and Blind Rehabilitation Center in Palo Alto was a place where my disability became valued to the client and to the architects that I was working with,” he said. “It immediately turned my disability upside down and I tried to imagine how that could be a differentiating strength.” Downey found that his newfound role allowed him to have an unexpected influence on the architecture itself. “It enabled the builders to find value in alternative views, opinions and experiences, which within the profession itself, has been really interesting because as designers we’re so heroically visual.” It is a term Downey uses often, one that has guided his rethinking of architecture. “It’s not that I’m not interested in the visual aspects of architecture anymore, but in many ways, I think of that as the easy part. I can still make things look good but it’s much more challenging to think about how to make the tactile experience or physical aspect of a building really worthwhile, engaging and delightful.”

The capability to guide potential experiences in compelling ways outside the traditional aesthetic boundaries of architecture is a key aspect of Downey’s reinvented career and perspective. “We tend to use sight and vision as interchangeable things, but these are hardly interchangeable in my situation,” he noted. “I can be an architect without sight, but I can’t be an architect without vision. I’m actually starting to realize that I have perhaps better vision now working without sight in terms of a broader spectrum of things to consider, ways to work, people to consider, and the society at large to design for and include in projects.” Downey has also gained an added appreciation of the power of our other senses and the capabilities for tapping into those in building design.

As designers, we’re so heroically visual. Blindness is less about not having As designers, we’re so heroically is less aboutand not having sight; about sight; it’s about really focusing visual. on all Blindness these other senses that gives a it’s very really focusing on all to these senses and I think thatwhether gives a very unique contribution unique contribution theother architectural experience you’re designing for visually impaired or forwhether everyone in general.

It for makes for a much more to the architectural experience you’re designing the visually impaired or for rich and engaging environment. everyone in general.

It makes for a much more rich and engaging environment.

Photo by Carol Fountain Nix

“I realize blindness is less about not having sight,” he says, “it’s about really focusing on all these other senses and I think that gives a very unique contribution to the architectural experience whether you’re designing for the visually impaired or for everyone in general. It makes for a much more rich and engaging environment.”

The success with this new approach has allowed Downey to again establish his own design practice, Architecture for the Blind, where he is involved with challenging projects like the massive Transbay Transit Center in downtown San Francisco, a four-block-long multi-modal regional hub that will link eleven different public transit systems and provide connections to new nearby office and residential towers, parks and shops. “My role is to figure out how on earth the blind are going to function in that kind of facility,” Downey said, “I use that bus service myself so it’s exciting to imagine improvements for how the visually impaired will get to work or school and function on a daily level.”

A critical part of Downey’s toolbox is a very specific printer that allows him to print out CAD drawings with embossed lines that read like Braille [see photo on left]. With these prints he can decipher the plans and renderings and walk through the spaces of a planned building with his fingertips similar to the way he reads Braille. He also uses thin wax sticks as a drawing tool that he can easily press together and/or remove right on top of drawings to give his sketch ideas tactile form.

Another equally exciting prospect on the horizon for Downey is what he considers the “holy grail” of design for an architect – a museum. “I have the opportunity to consult with the Institute for Human Centered Design in Boston on the accessibility of an exhibit for the new Edward M. Kennedy museum, which is under construction next to the John F. Kennedy library at the University of Massachusetts,” he said. “This work goes well beyond simply providing accessible physical access to building entrances and interior facilities. The real challenge is how to make content available to people with sensory impairments. Disability and blindness cuts across ethnic and social racial and economic lines. I’ve heard it said in the disability community that there are really only two types of people – those with disabilities and those who haven’t quite found theirs yet. As Downey has reinvented his life and his career, it is obvious that he has found his niche and strength – as a true visionary.

By Dave Delcambre 19

Barry Williams: Building Characters From Pixels to People For Barry Williams [’03 BID, BAD], much of his career path has been about discovery. From a sunny

second floor space with a grand view over the San Francisco waterfront with the Golden Gate bridge in the distance, Williams reflects on his career explorations and reinvention.

“So much of my foundation has been about discovering who I am as an

Building Char One Pixe

Focus on the design fundam professionals need to know. with your craft or trade. If y you can really hit a wall.

artist and designer and how I fit in the world; how I use my talents to work in whatever area,” Williams says. At Lucasfilm, Williams serves a dual role between conceptualizing animation and visual effects and supervising the work of various production teams. He is constantly juggling a multitude of assignments and overseeing groups of animators and visual effects artists who breathe life into the stunning cinematic scenes we’ve come to expect on the big screen .

Lucasfilm would be an interesting place for just about anyone to work, but for an alumni like Barry Williams, who holds a joint degree in Industrial Design and Art + Design, it is a perfect fit. Williams has had tremendous success in leveraging his design education and skills into his current supervisory position. “What I’ve come to really enjoy is the transition from doing a lot of hands-on work to helping and seeing many other people succeed,” he said. “When an artist comes in and shows me something that looks amazing – and they’re extremely proud of the work and the process it took to create it – it’s just awesome to celebrate it with them,” Williams explains. “That has now become the highlight of my work – watching people overcome challenges and grow in their creative pursuits is a big part of what I like in my current role.”

Lucasfilm is the holding company for the famed special effects company, Industrial Light and Magic, [which produced the special effects for Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and the Raiders of the Lost Ark series and the Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter films in addition to over 300 other movies] as well as the video gaming division, LucasArts, which publishes a wide range of Star Wars and Lego™ digital games.

The company was started by legendary filmmaker, George Lucas, who relocated the company to the Presidio in San Francisco in 2005. Lucas renovated a former military base and took great care to relate the architecture and landscaping with the surrounding historical campus. The grounds alone are astonishing, featuring landmarks relating to Lucasfilm works, including a giant fountain with Star Wars’ beloved Yoda welcoming visitors to the main entryway. Lucas led the company as chairman and chief executive before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in October 2012.

For Williams and his colleagues at Lucasfilm, the company’s relocation itself was a game changing move. He recalls the adjustment period after they first got settled in. ”The community at first was a little bit unsure about us coming here because we were so big, but when they saw what George [Lucas] did to the place, they were super excited,” Williams said, adding whimsically, “He even brought a Starbucks here!”

racters: el [and Person] at a Time

mentals we learned in Art + Design – the basics of what all artists and creative . Those are extremely important and will basically set a ceiling on how far you can go you have a good solid foundation, the sky’s really the limit – but if you miss that part

Williams is currently working on a new movie called Tomorrowland that will be released next year. “My role is a computer graphic supervisor, someone who looks after the various different groups that have to work on the movie,” he explained. Filmmaking is a labor-intensive process and the projects that Lucasfilm produces are no exception. “We have animation, lighting, effects artists – all the different people and teams that go into making visual effects.” Williams said. “One of the great things about working at a place like Lucasfilm is that you’re surrounded by people who are extremely talented and very good at what they do. It’s extremely humbling when most of the people on my team know more than I do.” He adds modestly, “I’m almost there learning from them. Many people have worked here for 30 years or more so there’s a lot of opportunity to be inspired by what the people around you are doing.”

While much of his time at Lucasfilm is focused on creating futuristic environments, Williams fondly recalls the influence of his years here. “I look back on my time at the School of Design with awesome memories,” Williams recalls. “Staying up late all hours of the night, working on my paintings and making things, being creative. It’s such a great time to be able to do that, to have that sort of freedom in a classroom setting. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to make that kind of investment in just pure exploration again,” he notes wistfully.

Williams recalls a somewhat vague introductory employment period when he first came to Lucasfilm. “When I came out here, I no idea what I was going to be doing,” he said.

“They put me in front of a computer, gave me something to do and left me alone for two weeks to see if I could do it.” As it turns out, Williams’s academic freedom of exploration extended into professional creative staying power and he has been with the company over 11 years now.

Describing how his past Art + Design training meshes with his current work at Lucasfilm, Williams said, “I always loved painting landscapes so right now one of my primary focuses is creating digital environments – whether futuristic cities or trying to recreate a period that we can’t film in anymore. Recreating those environments is my passion and is what I really love doing,” Though he has veered off on a quite different career trajectory from the typical industrial designer and artist, Williams is quick to note how solid design fundamentals have helped him along the way. “I learned everything that I do now from school. It’s all still composition and color, light and shadow,” Williams points out.

“I’m still painting pictures, I’m just using different tools to do it.”

When asked what advice he would give a student looking to get into visual effects work, Williams emphasized, “Focus on the design fundamentals we learned in Art + Design – the basics of what all artists and creative professionals need to know. Those are extremely important and will basically set a ceiling on how far you can go with your craft or trade. If you have a good solid foundation, the sky’s really the limit – but if you miss that part then you can really hit a wall. But if you’ve paid attention and done the work that you should have been doing along the way, I think all that will go into whatever you end up doing and create successful outcomes.”

AUGMENTED REALITY:

By Dave Delcambre

Use the WIKItude™ app to scan this spread to learn more about Barry’s experiences as a designer at LucasFilm.

Dave Wofford [’94 BEDN] stands with his feet in the 15th and the 21st centuries.

He runs Horse & Buggy Press in downtown Durham, where he serves many roles as entrepreneur, designer, typesetter, printer, binder, and publisher, while proving daily that books are not dying but remain a lively and expanding form of communication, capable of being produced in myriad ways.

Wofford operates in a spacious studio in the Bull City Arts Collaborative, which he co-founded in 2005, where he is surrounded by old and new printing technologies.

As our world increasingly becomes m special place for well-designed and

By Martha Scotford

Depending on the client, the book’s content, the intended audience, and the budget, Wofford can guide you to an edition of lush and tactile hand-bound books, letterpress printed on handmade paper to share with a few dozen of your closest family and friends, or you can have 500 books with full color digitally-printed interiors and letterpress covers to sell and launch a new cultural project — or an amazing number of hybrids in-between. All are handsome books carrying a message that you want to hold, read and keep.

Wofford sees his creative and business model as a choice between readers and collectors. The former are a varied multitude who appreciate or learn to appreciate the added power of the physical presentation of ideas; the latter are a smaller number of individuals more focused on the materials and processes, the closer to older and handmade the better. The addition of modern technologies into the mix allows him and his collaborators to increase both their expressive range and their audiences. Each book collaboration creates a strong stage and intimate setting for the specific work through Wofford’s gathering of physical materials, visual and sequential organization, choices of color, texture, and typeface, and integration of mechanical, photographic and digital processes.

TOP: Wood type from the Horse & Buggy Press studio ABOVE: Wofford setting wood type in a compositing stick at his downtown Durham studio RIGHT: Wofford feeding a broadside into the paper grippers of one of the two Vandercook letterpresses

more digital in nature, there is still a d beautifully-produced bound books.

“Over the years I’ve found the goals and focus of my work shifting.

After spending my initial years at Horse & Buggy integrating my own handmade paper with letterpress printing, I’ve recently been very interested in integrating high-end digital printing and letterpress printing within fine press books. By showing the possibilities of both media and processes, I am able to combine the best aspects of digital printing and letterpress printing in the context of the same printed artifact,” Wofford explains.

Wofford’s shop contains wood and metal type, two hand-cranked Vandercook letterpresses, a Mac computer with a color-calibrated 24-inch monitor for doing photography color correction and editing work, and a guillotine purchased when Pine State milk company went out of business. He designs and prints a variety of projects on the letterpress; however, he now “sets type” and produces photopolymer plates for printing using Adobe InDesign.

To achieve the look of wood type he prints the actual wood type then scans it into a digital format to have an infinitely scalable file to work with.

By Martha Scotford

Wofford also works with many photographers on fine press book editions. While halftones were developed in the 19th century for letterpress printing, now varieties of digital and offset printing can provide much richer results. Printing, as an early industrial process, has always benefitted from economies of scale, but new digital printing methods such as the Indigo press provide budgetfriendly opportunities for small edition work.

Wofford outlines his philosophy by explaining: “I find it meaningful to show people it is possible to create beautiful, contemporary and affordable work by integrating old and new technologies, and to show, as our world increasingly becomes more digital in nature, there is still a special place for well designed and beautifully produced bound books. In a world of more and more stuff, and a field of more and more ephemeral material that quickly disappears into cyberspace – or the recycle bin – I enjoy spending a good bit of my studio time on projects that I know will be getting passed down to the next generation, and help people slow down and back away from the digital devices that increasingly interrupt and clutter our lives.”

Photos by Mackenzie Brough

For more information, visit: horseandbuggypress.wordpress.com

Designdialogue What does a practicing veteran architect have in common with a current student and emerging artist?

Art + Design senior, Dare Coulter, and Raleigh architect, Tina Govan [’80 BEDA], discuss how they face many of the same challenges.

TINA GOVAN: When I went to school here I really enjoyed it but when I got out I felt a bit at a loss in terms of fitting into a traditional architecture firm. After the School of Design I worked in the Peace Corps in West Africa for a couple of years and taught architecture and math. When I returned, I attended grad school at MIT for two years, where I met and studied with several professors from Japan. Through those connections, I was able to work in Japan for a couple of years. I had a whole different kind of experience working there, and that has influenced me to this day. It’s a different kind of professional role than you see typically here in the U.S. I experienced a more integrated personal and professional life combination – it wasn’t so much about punching a clock. We ate together, we got up from our desk in the middle of the day and go to the public bath or sauna together. I really admired that model and didn’t see anything like it in the U.S. When I returned, I wondered, ‘Can I have that happen here?’ But it was a difficult goal to achieve.

By the time I came back from Japan, I was also at the point where I wanted to have a family so there were all these different kinds of experiences and demands on me that were happening at the same time I was trying to become a professional architect. I was constantly shifting and reevaluating what I needed to do and almost by necessity, I had to find my own work since I was going to have a family. Balancing family and career was another challenge I hadn’t prepared myself for.

My career has just sort of evolved, not according to any real prepared plan. It’s a discovery process. I never felt like ‘Oh I’m there. I’ve made it now.’ It’s a constantly evolving process.

You’re always dissatisfied or hungry for the next thing or adjusting to the market or changing circumstances that are constantly happening so you stay in a state of unease in a way, trying to make things better and discover what it is that you want to do. That is hopefully the thing that unfolds as you work.

Dare Coulter

I would love to give that back to people. If everybody’s working together it changes things. Sometimes you have to just go with unconventional things in order to create real change and impact in the world.

My career is a discovery process. I never felt like, “Oh, I’m there. I’ve made it now.” It’s a constantly evolving process. You’re always dissatisfied or hungry for the next thing or adjusting to the market or changing circumstances so you stay in a state of unease in a way, trying to make things better and discover what it is that you want to do. That is hopefully the thing that unfolds as you work.

DARE COULTER: That’s really what I’m hoping for. When you say you saw the things you didn’t want – I’m seeing those things now. Just talking to people it seems like everyone is so unhappy with what they’re doing and I’m looking at this and saying “Ok. What is it that I want to do?”

I have this idea that I’ve termed, “absent money;” it’s the idea that I need to figure out a way to make income so that I can go and live life since I want to travel and see the world. I think if your life happens in a way that you want to or if you can go for the sort of lifestyle where you can make your own way like you’ve done with your career and life, then that’s a great thing.

TINA GOVAN: So many designers aspire to run their own businesses and it would be helpful for students to have some education around the business aspect of design. With [design] education you don’t get a lot of perspective on that. In the field of architecture, women tend to drop out of it to a great extent. The women who do actually become architects is not that great of a percentage in the profession because of the whole family issue – they can’t figure out how to balance the two. I think that’s a shame. Women bring a very critical perspective to the profession. We just need new models for how to work in this country. The traditional architectural office, with the boss, the hierarchy and the underlings, is an outdated model.

DARE COULTER: Sometimes you have to just go with unconventional things in order to create real change and impact in the world. For example, I have always wanted to be a tattoo artist, so I got a couple of jobs at local tattoo shops and eventually ended up becoming a manager.

Ultimately one day I’d like to open my own center doing tattoos for women who have had breast cancer since plastic surgeons are generally responsible for doing tattooing after surgery. After that reconstructive surgery it allows people the chance to reclaim a part of themselves and I would love to give that back to people. If everybody’s working together it changes things.

TINA GOVAN: There’s an interesting thing that I’m involved in that’s been developing recently.

It’s just in the incubator stage and partly due to Obamacare. People are now more able to go out, start their own firms and have their own initiative because they don’t have to rely on an employer for health care, which is huge. I have a colleague who is just starting his own venture as a result of this. He, myself, and a few other practicing designers and architects are starting an umbrella firm of sorts. We could share knowledge and contacts and go after projects that we couldn’t do as easily on our own. We could each broaden our horizons by getting experience in other areas of the field and working with others. It’s a way to blur the boundaries between these “firm silos”and foster greater collaboration. We have the ability to form a flexible and dynamic group of people that can work together, which is reminiscent of the Japanese studio course I took at MIT. I also appreciate that we’re all on equal footing as business owners and have our own identities. We can come together around something and have a certain looseness and fun – and move out of the somewhat typical stuffy architecture business model. I’m hopeful that sort of new model will blossom and spread and evolve.

FRANK HARMON Architecture As a Way of Life Architecture is ultimately an expression of our society, and the more I can facilitate that and become, in a sense, invisible in my work – so that it seems to belong to its place and the people who use it – the happier I’m going to be.

Article by Ashleigh Cates Kincaid | Photo by William Morgan 26

Frank Harmon is an inspiration to young architects across the state and a pillar of creativity in the Raleigh community. His pages of credentials and awards range from wood design to sustainability and his projects, from private residences to major museums. At this stage in his career, Harmon is opting for more transparency as a way to create harmony in his work.“I think architecture is ultimately an expression of our society, and the more I can facilitate that and become, in a sense, invisible in my work – so that it seems to belong to its place and the people who use it – the happier I’m going to be.” Harmon said.

Harmon studied at the College of Design for two years before going to London to finish his architecture degree at the Architectural Association School of Architecture.

During that time, the climate of North Carolina was still predominantly agricultural.

“I came to NC State in 1960, and at that time, the School of Design was just about the only design/artistic game in town in North Carolina. It was a very special place. It was, in a sense, a stand-alone institution.” Harmon said.

After graduating and working in New York and London for a couple years, Harmon could have started his own firm in Atlanta or San Francisco, where architecture and art were booming. He knew that in those cities, he would have been a little fish in a big pond. Instead, Harmon decided to head back home to practice, where he would be a big fish in a little pond, creating waves of inspiration and standing proudly as a North Carolina architect.

Early in his practice, Harmon needed time to develop his style and niche. His roots played a large part in honing and embracing that. “Somewhere along the line after 10-15 years of experience, I think as architects, we start to look to our inner voice.”

Harmon said. “I think my inner voice comes from my childhood and growing up around the forest and creeks of Greensboro, North Carolina. And now looking back on it, most of what I know about architecture I learned by the time I was eight years old, fishing for crawfish and watching birds build nests along the riverbank and knowing the difference in how the water flowed between one season and the next. Those earliest memories I’ve always tried to build on in my work.”

Harmon has been a professor of practice at the College since 1981 and has always considered himself an architect as well as a teacher. His appreciation for the impact of his upbringing has permeated his teaching goals and shaped the way he approaches the educational experience with his students. “My primary goal with my students is to get them to trust themselves and who they are and it’s very hard to do. We all start out learning from other designers and we tend to think these other designers get their inspiration, perhaps, straight from Heaven. But one of my roles in teaching is to introduce designers, architects, to my students and to get the students to understand that these are people. Every architect had a childhood, every architect went to school, every architect had mentors, every architect grew up in a certain way that shaped his or her life and work. So one of my goals is to empower my students to respect their background, from Elkin or Okracoke, as a great source of design,” he says.

At this juncture in his career, when Harmon has collected just about every architectural award imaginable, one might wonder if there is anything left that he could possibly want to add to his legacy in North Carolina architecture. Harmon responds reflectively: “At this stage in life, I’m more interested in buildings that draw people together and create a sense of community than I am doing buildings that stand out and are unique. I’m more interested in being the architect that facilitates a gathering or way of life than I am in creating a monument, and I think that’s natural as one gets older.”

A few months ago, Harmon boarded the USS North Carolina to receive the F. Carter Williams Gold Medal, the highest honor the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects [ AIA NC] bestows on an architect, as well as four other prestigious awards for projects his firm designed. In his nomination letter for Harmon, fellow architect Jeffrey Lee, FAIA, principal of Clark Nexsen, stated: “Across the architectural profession, Frank Harmon, FAIA, is the face of North Carolina architecture. Through his words, his deeds, and the work of his firm, he has brought to a national audience a glimpse of the unique character and architectural culture of his home state. Frank cares about how his buildings enhance the lives of those who use them.

He cares about how they are crafted and detailed. He cares about how they tread softly upon their sites, and he cares deeply about the contribution his buildings make to the architectural legacy of North Carolina.”

We couldn’t have said it any better.

AUGMENTED REALITY: Use the Wikitude™ app to scan this image [RIGHT] and learn more about Frank Harmon’s life and work.

Practice where you preach: The AIA North Carolina headquarters Harmon designed.

Harmon’s firm occupies the 2nd floor offices.

AUGMENTED REALITY:

ART: AT THE SPEE

Use the Wikitude™ app to scan the Porsche image [right] to see the Porsche by Design video!

© 2014 NC Museum of Art Photography

The North Carolina Museum of Art recently ventured into new territory w audiences, the exhibition marked a departure from the museum’s trad focused solely on automotive design. Barbara Wiedemann [‘91 MPD] c former Museum Director, Ken Gross. She sat down down for a brief Q&A and logistics of displaying 22 sports cars in a

DAVE DELCAMBRE: How did you get involved with the NC Museum of Art exhibition in the first place?

BARBARA WIEDEMANN: I went to director Larry Wheeler with a proposal for “Porsche

by Design” in 2011—he’d requested fresh exhibition ideas from the staff. Unbeknownst to me, the seed for a car show had been planted by an architect here in town, Bill Hopkins [‘70 BARCH], and North Carolina artist Robert Irwin [‘78 MPD], who are longtime friends of the Museum. Bill and Bob had pitched a car show to the NC Museum of Art, which helped to get things rolling [no pun intended!] by the time my proposal came along. In 2011, the Museum’s very successful Rembrandt show had just ended, and future projects were up for discussion. My friend Rory Ingram had just invited me out to see the Ingram Collection [of vintage cars] in Durham. Because I’d grown up around Porsches, I realized this was a phenomenal collection of world-class cars. That collection and the Ingram family’s generosity about sharing their passion for Porsche were an inspiration. I did some research on design departments at different museums and cars in art museums. It felt like a natural fit for North Carolina. Larry and Caterri Woodram [CFO of the NC Museum of Art] agreed that the proposal was worthy of presenting to the curatorial staff. It built pretty quickly from there. Automotive writer Dan Neil, Pulitzer Prize-winning senior editor for the Wall Street Journal [and Raleigh resident], was a great resource. He recommended our guest curator, Ken Gross, who came on board in 2011. Ken had done a car show with the High Museum in Atlanta and worked with other art museums on these types of exhibitions. In October 2011 at Porsche’s “Rennsport IV” event in California, we began talking with many of the most important Porsche collectors in the world about lending us their cars. Usually the course of planning a show is three or four years out, but this show was a little more condensed.

DD: It sounds like Ken’s experience helped lay the groundwork. Did this help you know what to expect and plan for?

BW: Ken brought a lot of knowledge to the table. He is a really encyclopedic resource about cars in general and art museum exhibitions specifically. He is also a writer, and his connections and experience were invaluable. I did a series of Porsche by Design videos with local filmmaker, Art Howard, and that was really impactful as they could be shared through the Museum’s social media and website and as a media tool. The videos captured dynamic, unscripted conversations about cars alongside vintage footage from the Porsche archives.

Our members and the general public got an early glimpse of what was to come. Jay Leno is probably the best known “gearhead” in the world, and it was a thrill for me to talk with him and have his iconic presence in our very first video, released six months before the opening.

DD: This show obviously demanded a somewhat different approach in term of education and marketing. What was most different for the Porsche show?

BW: Hugely important was that the lenders allowed photography. Most of our shows [as with most museums] prohibit photography of the artwork. Initially, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with their Janis Joplin convertible, wasn’t on board. Fortunately, they relented. People went wild! Everybody that came to the show could say, [sticking out her hand as if taking a mock cellphone picture] “Hey, guess what I just saw” and offer their own interpretation of it. It had an immediate viral effect. And those videos drew a lot of media attention, because writers could embed them in their posts and blogs. “Faster, Farther!” became a Vimeo “Staff Pick” seen by over 90,000 viewers. We recorded over 650 newspaper, magazine, TV, radio, and online stories in the US and Europe about the show.

DD: What were some of the logistics in terms of getting the cars to Raleigh and getting them into the Museum?

BW: With a painting show, trucks unload all of the paintings into a holding area. With these large racing and sports cars that came from all over the world, we had to roll them into

ED OF CHANGE © 2014 NC Art Howard

with the Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed show. Intended to attract new ditional curatorial programming and was its first large-scale exhibition co-curated the show along with automotive consultant, journalist and A with Designlife feature writer, Dave Delcambre, to discuss the planning a space reserved for painting and sculpture. the galleries immediately. Our registrars, art handlers and exhibition design team did an incredible job of coordinating the installation. The cars were rolled into place with one person at the wheel and an art handler at every tire. Our staff designed these gorgeous platforms and systems to lift them up and put them in place and arrange them as needed.

It was all highly orchestrated. The conservators had to maintain each car with painstaking detail. Every Monday [when the museum is closed] they checked each car and dusted it.

Although these are highly collectible cars, a lot of the Porsches are still raced in vintage races. Even if they don’t race them, all of the collectors get them out on the track or on the road regularly to keep everything functioning. The chance to see the cars being driven was another reason we liked those vintage videos so much.

DD: So the response to the show was positive?

BW: It was terrific. We had close to 90,000 visitors, I believe from all 50 states. I met some folks from Germany, Canada, and Australia in the galleries. It’s a very passionate crowd — we had a bunch of Porsche Club of America groups who came from Maine to Florida to Tennessee to see this collection, many traveling along the highways in long parades of their own Porsche sports cars.

DD: I got the feeling with this show that a major component of it was outreach to people who might not normally go to an art museum.

BW: That’s always one of the goals for an art museum – how can you bring the art to more people or bring more people to the place to have an incredible experience with art? I would go through every day and watch people interacting with the cars. I saw lots of new faces.

I’d also visit with the cars off-hours, when the galleries were empty. We were really thrilled that Ralph Lauren lent us his sleek silver Porsche 959. At the opening of the Louvre’s Musée des Arts Décoratif show: L’Art de l’Automobile: Chefs-d’Ouvre de la Collection Ralph Lauren, Lauren said, “All the cars are talking to each other and are excited to be here.” Alone in the

© 2014 NC Art Howard

galleries, I knew exactly what he meant. I could almost hear the cars whispering amongst themselves.

DD: Do you think it might lead to other design shows as well?

BW: I hope so. It was the first design show of that blockbuster scale that was done at the Museum and shouldn’t be the last. Design is a pretty broad and rich topic. We had a number of state legislators and corporate and community leaders come through, and I enjoyed doing those special tours and sharing my pride in this stellar state art museum’s collection and campus. That shared level of excitement was fun.

DD: Was it difficult for you coming from more of a graphic design background to work on an industrial design show? Was that difficult for you to transition over?

BW: It was fun because it was going back into my past and my dad’s work. He brought our family to the US from Canada when I was a year old and worked for Porsche, Audi, and Volkswagen in America. Dad and mom came to the show and Dad got to spend time with the cars he had actually worked on. He stood in front of the [Type 718] RS60 and said, “I spent a year of my life working on this race car. I studied this engine and I had to take it apart and could probably put it back together today.” I loved that. Many curators are called on to work in areas that are outside of their area of expertise, and over time they become very knowledgeable. As publications director, I never thought I’d be managing curator of a design show but now when I think about it, I think, “That was cool. That was a good fit. I want to do that again!”

TOP LEFT: Porsche by Design guest curator Ken Gross, Porsche by Design managing curator Barbara Wiedemann, and NC Museum of Art Director Lawrence J. Wheeler CENTER: This Porsche Type 917 16-cylinder Spyder prototype from 1969, on loan to the NC Museum of Art from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

RIGHT: Barbara Wiedemann and Jay Leno

The Future of Design is All Within Reach ENTREPRENEUR, GAME CHANGER AND PROFESSOR, PAUL MONTGOMERY, HAS SOME GOOD NEWS FOR STUDENTS: YOU HAVE WAY MORE OPTIONS NOW THAN EVER BEFORE

THERE ARE ESSENTIALLY NO BOUNDS FOR DESIGNERS TODAY. WITH THE ONSLAUGHT OF INTERACTION DESIGN INTELLIGENCE, 3D PRINTING AND THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE ELECTRO/MECHANICAL WORLD WITHIN REACH OF DESIGNERS AS INDIVIDUALS, THE POTENTIAL OF WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS HUGE. Paul Montgomery [’81 BED Product Design] defines “game changing” in the context of his early business years: “The path of a design consultant is intrinsically game changing since you’re moving from a product to a product.” Looking back on his career, which began at Texas Instruments and includes a stint at FrogDesign as a design director, he points out that the technical aspects of today’s design professions have enormous ramifications, allowing designers to move much more rapidly than ever before. “More recently, game changing is especially applicable in that the technologies from when I began in the early ‘80’s until now have completely changed,” he explains. While design professions today are charting a new frontier filled with technical prowess, Montgomery says there is an added benefit that comes with new technology: creating an environment well-suited for interdisciplinary practice which, in turn, fosters multiple career paths for new graduates. “There is unbelievable opportunity,” he says, “and I think all of that is going to change the nature of the three or four traditional paths a consultant/designer can take in his or her career.”

“With traditional career directions somewhat phased out, the practice of design no longer has to remain tied to consulting or working for a big corporation as it used to be.” Montgomery observes. The climate may now be more conducive to allowing design professionals to be themselves while making their mark in the world. Montgomery suggests that designers no longer have to brace for a world of compromise either. Put another way, there’s no longer as much pressure to “subjugate your own sensibility,” he says.

There are more opportunities for designers to be entrepreneurs and find new pathways for their skills and experience.

Montgomery certainly found a career path by starting his own industrial design firm, Montgomery Pfeifer, in 1990. The successful firm has produced work for clients such as Apple, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and Logitech, and won numerous awards including the prestigious IAAA Gold Award.

“The expectations of what we can be as 3D designers [particularly] signals the dawn of a golden age,” he notes. “There are essentially no bounds for designers today. With the onslaught of interaction design intelligence, 3D printing and the accessibility of the electro/ mechanical world within reach of designers as individuals, the potential of what we have right now is huge.”

ABOVE: Montgomery Pfeifer’s latest product, the Backbone Helium [H2]™ a bike mount for a smartphone TOP RIGHT: The Backbone Helium in action BACKGROUND IMAGE: Prototypes RIGHT: Ogee Bearbone™ packaging FAR RIGHT: Paul Montgomery at CalArts

AUGMENTED REALITY: Use the Wikitude™ app to scan this image and receive more design wisdom from Paul Montgomery!

Does he mean today’s designers simply have better tech tools? A larger toolbox at their disposal? “Exactly,” he says, adding that the development of product and conceptual development are no longer restricted to the domain of larger businesses or consultancies. Instead these too are “much more available to an individual” these days. He elaborates on the far reaching impact and the new responsibilities that accompany this sea change, ‘It’s also a challenge for designers to be more rigorous in what they do as their responsibility reaches directly to the end user, not just theoretically,” he notes, describing how the process of getting one’s designs out into the world has also been accelerated. “When something you do actually arrives in the hand of somebody and they’re actually using it – that’s a whole different dynamic.”

As an entrepreneur, and additionally, an associate professor of design at the California College of the Arts [CalArts], Montgomery has some advice for graduates about becoming a design entrepreneur nowadays. “You have way more options right now. I think you don’t have to necessarily go into the consulting world. It is key to have a sense of focus. Know what you want to go after and move in that direction,” If you know you want to do it on your own, then better do it sooner rather than wait.”

By Dave Delcambre

The Natural Learning Initiative Celebrates Fifteen Years of Action Research Designing life into the spaces used by children and families is the goal of the Natural Learning Initiative [NLI], embodied in its mission: “Creating environments for healthy human development and a healthy biosphere for generations to come.”

Professor Robin Moore had already worked in the field of children’s outdoor environments for 25 years before founding NLI with Dr. Nilda Cosco in 2000 as a research design assistance, professional development and dissemination, and research unit associated with the Department of Landscape Architecture. The NLI team is comprised of faculty members, researchers, graduate students and alumni.

The recent NLI Retrospective Exhibition: Celebrating 15 Years was held in the Brooks Hall Gallery March 3rd and presented an overview of NLI’s multi-faceted work. NLI projects to date include more than 100 sponsors with an annual average value of $650,000 over the last five years. This funding level indicates the growing interest in the field of children’s environments and underscores the potential for landscape architecture practice.

NLI supports landscape architecture professional development as seen in the Cincinnati PlayScape Initiative, launched in 2009, as a collaboration between the Cincinnati Nature Center [CNC] and the Arlitt Child and Family Research and Education Center at the University of Cincinnati [UC]. The UC Niehoff Urban Studio, with Moore and Cosco as instructors, offered a “Playscape Design” professional development program for regional landscape architects.

Subsequently, two teams of program graduates successfully competed for two “Nature PlayScape” design projects sponsored by CNC [1.5 acres, opened 2011] and the Arlitt Center [.25 acre, opened 2012]. Both focused on design for nature play and learning using locally-sourced natural construction materials. Rachel Robinson Landscape Architecture collaborated with both teams. NLI served as technical advisor. UC named Moore as the signature designer for the Arlitt Nature PlayScape.

The Cincinnati PlayScape Initiative is an example of the growth of opportunities for landscape design in non-formal education institutions. Further evidence of professional opportunities in this field comes from NLI’s participation in design

teams led by national firms such as Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates [MVVA], NYC; SWA, Houston; Nelson, Byrd, Woltz Landscape Architects; and Ten Eyck Landscape Architects and Terra Design. Projects include public parks, children’s museums, and botanical gardens.

Public health issues resulting from a combination of sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition have driven much of NLI’s work. Children from all walks of life in urban, suburban, and rural settings spend little unsupervised time outside.

This lack of outdoor time contributes to North Carolina’s high rates of childhood obesity. NLI’s ongoing Preventing Obesity by Design [POD] program provides children with opportunities for gardening and free play in natural settings on a daily basis, which directly impacts their physical, social, and cognitive development.

The POD model combines NLI’s outdoor learning environment [OLE] design expertise with statewide early childhood technical assistance agencies, and policy initiatives. Using a grassroots engagement strategy and professional trainings, POD has resulted in more than fifty OLE renovations and naturalization projects in childcare centers across North Carolina. A six-part, Outdoor Learning Environment TOOLKIT published by NLI is helping to drive POD adoption across the state among a professional network of experts. They include landscape architects and designers interested in gaining community engagement skills and an understanding of NLI’s research-based approach to design for children and families.

Creating environments for healthy human development and a healthy biosphere for generations to come NLI’s passion for designing life into children’s spaces has been boosted by an ongoing partnership with the National Wildlife Federation [NWF], which resulted in the publication, Nature Play at Home [2013]. Another major joint project, Nature Play Learning, national guidelines for the design and management of nature play and learning areas, is currently in production supported by a grant from the US Forest Service.

Design of outdoor environment projects for children and families invariably begins with a participatory design, process regardless of the scope of the site.

Cincinnati Nature Center, Teardrop Park in Battery Park City, and the outdoor learning environment at Raleigh Nursery School, all started with the same fundamental approach. Engage the community to learn how the space will be used, set goals, and recommend design elements to achieve those goals. What follows is a natural environment integrated into the lives of children and families.

Design can help children discover the joy of following a twisting path that leads to a climbing rock in a sun filled clearing. Design can ensure accompanying adults find a restful place to sit nestled under a shade tree around the corner within eyeshot but not within “helicoptering” distance. For NLI design is the key.

Written by the NLI Staff

TOP: Nature PlayScape: Cincinnati Nature Center, Milford, OH. Design team: Sharon Floro, RLA, ASLA; Rachel Robinson Landscape Architecture; Luke Schelly; Natural Learning Initiative. BELOW RIGHT: Edible Schoolyard: Greensboro Children’s Museum, Downtown Greensboro, NC. Design team: Carla Delcrambe, RLA; David Swanson, RLA; Natural Learning Initiative.

33

Re:design. Re:imagine.

Industrial design students get first-hand industry experience working with Eastman Chemical Company

We want to tell you all about the cutting-edge work going on in Eastman’s sponsored studios in collaboration with Industrial Design, but we really can’t. NC State is focused on being a game changer in their public-private research endeavors and the College of Design is leading the way. The ongoing collaboration between Eastman Chemical Company and the Industrial Design department is so successful we can’t tell you much about it. With numerous patents being created from each sponsored studio, the students are participating in an incomparable learning experience while Eastman is getting groundbreaking intellectual property as students experiment with their materials. Eastman is providing $10 million over six years as part of a unique intellectual property agreement with the university.

The public-private agreement, driven by Eastman’s determination to forge a world-class, open-innovation collaboration with a leading university, established the Eastman Chemical Company Center of Excellence partnership and the Eastman Innovation Center lab on Centennial Campus. The master research agreement created one central point of contact for Eastman to coordinate activities with both academic and administrative units. Having pre-established costs and intellectual property arrangements makes it easier to ramp up new projects quickly and streamline interactions between Eastman scientists and University faculty and students. The agreement also allows visiting Eastman scientists to work in NC State labs while allowing NC State researchers to do the same at Eastman sites. In the first year of operations at the Eastman Innovation Center, Eastman scientists collaborated with their University colleagues on 30 multidisciplinary projects.

In addition to being a student in the Masters of Industrial Design program, Jennifer Peavey is the innovation manager at Eastman. Peavey recognizes the importance of design in creating a cohesive product. “Often what happens in our technology groups is they can’t translate to customers the value of what they are doing or can’t connect with the business, and we are seeing design as that glue. Students here are able to know just enough about technology and just enough about business to capture someone’s imagination. If you can give them something that they can experience, that is huge.”

Cari Parker, vice president of corporate technology for Eastman, had an indelible first experience with students and faculty in design. “During my first visit to the industrial design program, I was overwhelmed by the energy and creativity of the students and faculty,” Parker said. “I saw Eastman products being used in unique and clever ways. The students were able to articulate the value of their designs and were a pleasure to interact with. Eastman’s collaboration and partnership with NC State, and particularly with the industrial design program, are key to enabling our company to continue to grow through customer- focused innovation.”

Director of the Eastman Innovation Center, Stewart Witzeman, said the collaboration has grown even quicker than expected. “When we entered into the partnership, we knew the College of Design would complement our work with departments like materials science, chemistry, engineering, textiles and forest biomaterials,” Witzeman said. “But the collaborative efforts with faculty and students in design have greatly exceeded our expectations. We have been pleased to see how productive that relationship has worked and the number of novel ideas it has contributed that are highly relevant to our business.”

Danielle Souder has participated in two Eastman sponsored studios as an undergraduate. In Spring 2013, led by Professor Bryan Laffitte, Souder designed a sound mesh system that can be installed in apartments without the assistance of a professional. It is a low-cost solution to multiliving spaces where noise is carried through shared walls. She took Eastman Chemical’s Cerfis™ technology, which utilizes arch-shaped panels, and backed them with a thin, sound absorbent foam. Though it wasn’t one of the projects Eastman pursued a patent for, it was a unique learning experience for Souder. “Having had the opportunity to partner with Eastman gave me the knowledge, understanding, and practice I needed to push an idea through all phases of the design process,” Sounder said. “We were challenged to re-design and re-imagine a material within Eastman’s family of products, but most of all we were encouraged to engage users, understand the consumer market, and create products that accentuated each material’s unique properties and manufacturing processes. From our first critique to our very last innovation presentations, Eastman’s key business leaders and engineers were really involved and invested in our work. Students were able to share ideas quickly and receive strong design feedback because communication was open and inspiring.”

Eastman has been very hands-on in the learning experience within the studios. “Above all, I thrive in collaborative environments where I am able to work with individuals of various skills and expertise and I love creating work that influences, makes an impact, and addresses social needs. So for me, this studio experience with Eastman was empowering and exciting. The collaboration between Eastman and NCSU will only continue to grow and strengthen over the years, becoming a center for designers, engineers, scientists, psychologists, entrepreneurs, and teachers to come together and utilize Eastman’s innovative materials to solve big problems and patent great products.”

By Ashleigh Cates Kincaid Images by Danielle Souder

TOP LEFT: Material customization: Eastman Cerfis™ Coating can be customized with matching paint, wood veneer or a textured coating.

CENTER: Side view of the sound absorption process BELOW: A modular, sound dampening panel system that consumers can be confident will effectively prevent noise and sound vibrations from permeating shared walls.

Designwork

Going Coastal

By Ashleigh Cates Kincaid

In 2008, Associate Professor of Architecture David Hill [‘96 BEDA, ‘97 BARCH] won an international design competition with his work titled, “What If New York City.” He looked at where a large city like New York would house refugees if a hurricane hit, because the density doesn’t allow people to sprawl out. Around the same time, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, Andy Fox was teaching at the University of Georgia and working with a graduate student in Miami on an idea that they developed called PARCs: Pro-Active Recovery Communities. They were focused on how to design civic landscapes, specifically parks, to be highly adaptive and flexible for the instances that require these public spaces to serve a recovery role.

“We realized about 18 months ago that David and I had shared interests in recovery planning and design for some level of natural hazard response.” Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, Andy Fox, says of his recent collaboration with Assistant Professor of Architecture, David Hill. To address these interests, and a lack of student learning opportunities in the recovery planning area, Fox and Hill have started the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab, a collaborative series of courses and projects between architecture and landscape architecture, with interdisciplinary views built into the curriculum.

Fox and Hill are working with the University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute [CSI], which is key to all their endeavors. The CSI is a research, teaching, and extension campus located on Roanoke Island that is available to all 17 University of North Carolina schools. They understand the needs of design to work with all the sciences.

UNC Director Nancy White, MLA, PhD and Sustainable Design Specialist and Interim Director of Academic Operations Robert McClendon, MLA, LEED AP, both received 36

their master of landscape architecture degrees from the College of Design and are supporting the effort of combining design and science at CSI. Fox and Hill knew they needed a way to support these courses financially. They started by applying for and receiving a 2014 NC State Extension, Engagement, and Economic Development grant.

Once they dove deeper into formulating the types of learning experiences they wanted to do with the class, they knew they would need more non-traditional funding.

Fox and Hill decided to engage the professional communities for support. The Clinton Global Initiative teamed with the American Institute of Architects [AIA] and Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture [ACSA] to provide research grants to support two projects a year for the next ten years. The theme changes each year, and this year the theme is focused on resiliency. Fox and Hill’s winning proposal, entitled “Pro-Active Recovery Community Structures [PARCS] for the Outer Banks” was one of only two awarded [the other recipient was Carnegie Mellon University].

Two award-winning professors combine their shared interests in recovery planning, design and natural hazard response to gain research support from The

Clinton Global Initiative

In his response to the winning proposals, AIA CEO Robert Ivy, FAIA, says, “Both of these awards represent the best of our profession’s visionary thinking – inspired by our profession’s dream of creating more resilient and verdant places to work and play. We look forward to seeing the results of this research and continuing AIA’s commitment.” These grants will support the next twelve months of the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab and give the project the legs to grow.

The project began this summer. Fox and Hill used the five-week summer session to introduce students to the uniqueness of the North Carolina coast. They traveled to the coast three times during the five-week course to study the area and meet with stakeholders. Their field studies included auto and kayak tours and this fal they plan to conduct aerial tours to better understand the true scope of the land/sea interface from above. “The students love being on site; they are able to bounce ideas off the stakeholders and learn so much.” Hill says. “The big thing with students is getting them to understand someone else’s issues and that designers don’t practice in a vacuum – they are always working for a client or in a community in some way.”

Even in a short five weeks, architecture student, Bridgette Cannon, felt like she gained a lot of experience in researching site dynamics as well as learning in unconventional ways.

“A big part of the course was investigatory, so it wasn’t all in books or on Google and Wikipedia. Instead it was my partner and I on the phone with historians and tax assessors; it was kayaking out to historical sites to see things for ourselves; and it was camping and cooking with new friends. The exchange of knowledge between the architecture and landscape architecture departments is priceless. The interdisciplinary study approach was the main reason I registered for the class and I wasn’t disappointed.”

“We see this lasting year after year. “ Fox says. “This isn’t a onetime class we are developing; this will be a long-term course and interdisciplinary research trajectory led from within the College of Design. We are working with coastal engineering, civil and environmental engineering, forest biomaterials, the College of Natural Resources, and the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Beyond that, we are working with UNC’s Department of City and Regional Planning and

Student researchers on site on the North Carolina coast this past spring. (L to R): Meredith Smith, Aaron Longo, Yi-Chang Liao, Morgan Cooney, Nick Roberts, Todgi Dozier, Lauren Woodard, Beth Faragan, Garret Frank, Logan Free, Jared Kaelin, Rachel Wilson, Zhendong Ding

This isn’t a one-time class we are developing – this will be a long-term course and interdisciplinary research trajectory led from within the College of Design. their Coastal Hazards Center. This is a large and complex undertaking, so we can’t operate in a vacuum, but instead, must facilitate the conversation between scientists, planners, and designers. Designers excel at seeing the big picture. In this way, design can serve to facilitate a broader dialogue.”

“We are looking at all kinds of challenges in the Outer Banks, including weather intensity, potential for sea level rise, the change in climate issues, and other development issues,” Hill explains. The Coastal Dynamics Design Lab is focused on building a bridge between science and communities, seeing through a designer’s eyes, and helping others imagine various scenarios for the conditions that they live in.

The first full studio will start in the Fall 2014 and will focus on their PARCS project. Students will be developing proposals for an abandoned landfill site in Manteo, NC. Hill describes the project as dealing with potential designs that would address a number of programmatic things that coastal communities need. “In future years, we will take these different ideas and apply them in different places and test them in different scenarios to come up with lessons learned that will hopefully be transferrable to the New Jersey coast, the Florida coast, and even California disaster relief. If these solutions can really work in these kind of ways they won’t be isolated to just hurricane response and sea level change, they can hopefully be highly applicable across national hazards,” he says.

Designwork Every year, the Master of Graphic Design candidates host a symposium that is open to current and recent graduate students from across the country. For NC State’s sixth biennial symposium, participants investigated the theme of Improversion [a combination of “improvisation” and “subversion”]. The symposium provided an opportunity for

IMPROVERSION

participants to challenge the norms of their

own design culture – be it conventions, rules of thumb or methods – in order to either confirm these or discover how they could be revised for new contexts.

The two-day event welcomed graduate graphic design students from NC State University, Maryland Institute College of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Texas State University,

Vermont College of Fine Arts, York University and alumni, faculty and friends. Participants were invited to present and discuss work either in-person at the event, or virtually using Google Hangouts.

TOP: Will Walkington [‘14 MGD] and Ryan Foose [‘14 MGD] kick off the symposium in the Hunt Library Creativity Studio.

The symposium was a collaborative “lab” or

MIDDLE: Improversion social media posts

“sandbox,” where all participants had input on

BELOW: Erin Hauber [‘13 MGD] has a virtual chat with fellow alum, Marysol Ortega, on a mobile device.

the activities and insights that would follow.

The event was held in January at the Hunt Library’s multimedia Creativity Studio, utilizing the room’s technology to project student work and connect with virtual participants.

38

Garbage IN

Not many people look at a pile of trash and see art – or the opening of a new waste treatment facility as a gallery

Three College of Design artists recently teamed up to create a 40-foot-long interactive wall relief made from the creative transformation of recycled materials, and then embedded with animated kaleidoscopes. Lee Cherry [’96 BEDI, ’05 MBA], Assistant Professor Marc Russo [’11 MAD] and Matt McConnell [’94 BEDA, ’95 BEDI] created the installation titled, “The Wilders Grove Project,”named after the solid waste facility. The project was initiated by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission. The artists knew each other from their time at the College and decided to collaborate. Cherry said, “What we submitted as a group seemed to really stand out in terms of how we were going to produce public art using public support and influence. It really struck a chord with the panel members.” McConnell brought experience in large-scale layout and fabrication to the project. Cherry and Russo have video and digital programming experience that was crucial in the creation of the kaleidoscopes, which were central to the piece. Six digital kaleidoscopes, created by Cherry and Russo, track the story of recycling and its impact from products on the shelf to waste, recycled materials, and the environment. The center two kaleidoscopes are interactive with a kiosk and a turning wheel that invites visitors to interact with the piece and create their own forms.

McConnell described the goal of the project as “an expression of the transformation of attitudes and action in the community with regards to recycling and the impact it has on our environment.” The recyclable materials used for the project included aluminum can tabs, green fabric, red paper packaging, plastic shopping bags, and chipboard packaging. With three different artistic specialties and the opportunity to reinvent, they were able to create something outside of the traditional wall sculpture.

For the design team, one of the most rewarding parts of the project was the community element. Cherry said, “What made this process so unique was the installation really incorporated a large community of volunteers from the public that helped create and assemble portions of the installation. We were all really taken aback as to the number of volunteers and the support we received from people that came to our events or talked to us during our open forum sessions down at CAM. We had individuals sign up or companies that donated time for their workers to help with creating and selecting the different recycled materials for inclusion in the sculpture panels.” The project took more than 200 volunteers to complete.

By Ashleigh Cates Kincaid

Photos by John Kincaid

TOP: Inset view of some of the recycled materials used MIDDLE: Lee Cherry and Matt McConnell BOTTOM: An exhibition panel

To learn more about the project, visit wildersgroveproject.com

A Chat with Graphic Design Senior, Michael Caledonia 1. Why did you choose to attend the College of Design?

Both of my parents and a few other family members are NC State alumni. Being a fan of the Wolfpack my entire life, I never really considered attending anywhere else. I was lucky enough to discover a passion for graphic design at a young age, then the planets aligned as I realized there was a kickass design program right down the road at my favorite university.

2. What experiences in your background led to your becoming a designer?

Growing up I was always on the computer playing competitive video games. I became involved in online gaming communities and was active on their forums. I would see these custom-made image banners featuring sweet graphics and I just had to make one for myself.

Then I discovered Photoshop. I watched heaps of tutorials and in the process I stumbled upon a few articles about graphic design. It wasn’t long before I had my own shop set up in the forums, making $5 per signature. [That’s big money when you’re 12!] I realized there were people doing this as a career. I researched graphic design as a profession then promptly made it a goal from my freshman year of high school to get into the NC State College of Design.

3. What are your favorite courses?

My favorite courses are both typography and studio. A strong foundation of typography is essential to any design project and Denise Gonzalez Crisp does a wonderful job introducing the subject and guiding her students to develop a discerning taste. I firmly believe every design major should be required to take at least an introductory typography course. Studio was where it all came together – the knowledge, the experience, and the opportunities.

Santiago Piedrafta was known for pushing his students, and it showed as I saw us creating our best work yet as we attempted to meet his rigorous demands. His experience, energy, and passion for educating his students was unparalleled.

4. What are the top level things a designer needs to know/be able to do to be successful? a. Embrace failure. As designers, we could spend hours working on a project only to realize it’s complete crap and have to start anew. Most people would see the time spent as a waste of time, but studying your own failures is how you continually develop and grow as a designer. b. Find a balance between work and free time. During the past couple years I took every opportunity I could get – entered contests, worked side jobs, etc. – and on top of all that went full steam ahead on school projects. I often didn’t have enough time to sit down and relax and my work probably suffered because I didn’t have the time or energy I should have allocated to each task. c. Find something you truly enjoy making and incorporate it into your work. Throughout the years I’ve seen classmates discover interests in a variety of subjects from handlettering to woodworking. These interests and skills transfer a certain personal richness to their projects, distinguishing their work from the rest.

5. What is the “culture of design” at the College?

The culture at the College of Design is a wonderfully unique one. The smaller size of our population allows for a more close-knit community, but I would always encourage venturing outside of the infamous ‘design bubble’ and spending time with those outside of the program.

People also really seem to enjoy Marvin’s glasses and “ The Egg.”

SEWN x STRAWN BARTON STRAWN [‘09 BEDA, ‘13 MBA] didn’t plan on designing clothes.

He couldn’t sew, so he asked his mother for lessons and a passion was born – and so was a business. Strawn’s Lumina Clothing Co. features their signature bowties as well as pants and button-down shirts, all produced in the United States. Most of their merchandise is purchased online, but you can also shop at their trendy new downtown Raleigh store. The featured denim is made from Cone Denim’s White Oak Mill in Greensboro, NC. www.luminaclothingcom.

SWEET ALABAMA NATALIE CHANIN [‘87 BEDN] is the founder and creative director of Alabama Chanin, as well as the author of several books sharing her designs. Her work has been featured in Vogue, the New York Times and Time magazine. Chanin’s clothes are made-to-order and all hand stitched in Florence, Alabama. The featured “Reverse Magdalena Jane Tank” is 100% mediumweight organic cotton jersey and features their Magdalena stencil, sewn in placement fashion using reverse applique. www.alabamachanin.com

AIKEN’ TO HAVE ONE HOLLY AIKEN [‘97 BADN ] is a nationallyacclaimed designer, working out of Stitch, her downtown Raleigh showroom. Aiken’s products are primarily made from vinyl with bold black webbing trim, accented by stripes or crisp geometric shapes. Her color palette is slightly retro and always just right. Every one of Holly’s bags is made in North Carolina and has been lovingly constructed with precision and care to withstand the daily grind.

FRESH CUT DAVID BRYAN [‘11 MID] designed and developed the Handibot Smart Power Tool – a portable, Computer Numeric Control tool that precisely cuts, carves, and engraves a variety of materials.

Roughly the size of a milk crate, Handibot is well suited to be carried to the location where machining is required, allowing a nearly infinite work area with proper setup. www.handibot.com

Share the things YOU like with us!

Email: collegeofdesign@ncsu.edu or tweet @NCStateDesign: #thingswelike

www.hollyaiken.com

NO FOOLIN’ ANDREA DONNELLY [‘06 BADN] fell in love with the loom in beginning textiles studio. With her affinity for textiles, Donnelly launched her luxury handwoven scarf business. She experiments with color, texture, pattern and design, making each scarf one of a kind. www.littlefooltextiles.com

Faculty + Students

Designsuccess The College had an exceptional showing at the 2014 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture [ACSA] Awards in Miami Beach, recognizing two professors and an alumni.

ALUMNI DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE, PATRICK RAND, FAIA, was awarded with the 2014 Distinguished Professor Award. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE, SARA GLEE QUEEN [‘02 BEDA] was recognized with the 2014 ACSA/AIAS New Faculty Teaching Award. Each will be included in the digital edition of the Architectural Education Awards for 2014.

Congratulations to the Winners of the Ninth Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium First Place: Wesley Hare [‘14 MID] Sketching the User Experience for Creating Next Generation Graphics Tablets: An Investigation in Humancomputer Interactions with Tangible and Touch Screen Interfaces for Digital Sketching Applications 2nd Place: Muntazar Monsur [PhD CANDIDATE] Architecture and Learning Motivations: Understanding the Spatial Influence of Indoor-Outdoor Relationships in Early Childhood Institutions

MUNTAZAR MONSUR [PHD CANDIDATE] received the 2014 Student Design Award at the Environmental Design and Research Association annual conference in New Orleans for his winning poster design. The poster was selected as the best form among 150 student entries from around the globe. The poster focused on his dissertation research and was entitled, Measuring Indoor-Outdoor Spatial Relationship in a Preschool Classroom Environment.

BRIAN FRANSON [‘14 MID] and YANKUN MU [‘14 MID] have been chosen as finalists for their work in fall semester’s Product Innovation Lab course. Their work has received a grant from MGH-APF [$10,000 for each team]. They are invited to a special session at the IEEE-EMBS Annual Conference in Chicago at the end of August.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ART + DESIGN AND ART HISTORIAN, RUSSELL FLINCHUM was the guest speaker at the Gregg Museum’s annual “Friends of the Gregg” purchase party in June.

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Left to right: Professor Dana Gulling, Assistant Professor Sara Glee Queen [‘02 BEDA], Tonic Design Co-Owner Vincent Petrarca [‘94 BEDA, ‘99 BARCH], Professor Patrick Rand, Dean Marvin Malecha, and Head of the School of Architecture Robin Abrams

LAUREN CADDICK [‘14 BADN] a Park Scholar, received The Mathews Medal, the highest non-academic distinction awarded to students, established by the NC State Board of Trustees and given annually at the Founders Day Dinner to honor seniors who have made significant contributions based on leadership and service.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF THE PRACTICE IN ARCHITECTURE, CHUCK LADD, was recently invited to the Champions for Change for Solar Deployment event at the White House in Washington D.C. He was asked to participate in discussions about how to increase the use of renewable energy generation in the country.

THE 3RD ANNUAL COLLEGE OF DESIGN CAREER EXPO AND SPRING INTERVIEW DAYS was the largest yet. The turn-out from employers grew almost 32% and participating companies conducted 294 interviews with over 100 current students during the Interview Days.

FACULTY FEATURED IN NEW DESIGN PUBLICATION Many College of Design faculty and previous faculty contributed to the publication, Design School Wisdom: Make First. Stay Awake, and Other Essential Lessons for Work and Life, published by Chronicle Books. Contributors from the College include: Associate Professor of Graphic Design Kermit Bailey [‘87 MPD], Associate Professor of Art + Design Patrick Fitzgerald, Amber Howard [‘13 PHD] and Professor Emeritus Martha Scotford.

SAMUEL PATTERSON, a senior in industrial design, received the Celia Moh Scholarship, established in 2011 to provide tuition for students focusing on the home furnishings industry.

GEORGE HALLOWELL, PHD, AIA [post doctoral teaching scholar] recently received an honorable mention in the 2014 AIA National Photography Competition for a photograph he took in New York at the 9/11 Memorial. The photo will be published in the annual AIA desk calendar.

Designlife Goes Platinum!

The redesigned spring 2013 edition of Designlife magazine won an Hermes International Platinum Creative Award in the publications category. The Hermes Award is based on evaluations from the International Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals. Out of over 5000 entries, DesignLife was one of 700 platinum winners, the highest level awarded.

Alumni

Designnotes ALEX ISLEY [‘83 BED] was named the recipient of the 2014 American Institute of Graphic Arts [AIGA] medal, the highest honor for the graphic design profession. He started Alexander Isley Inc. in 1988 after working for Spy magazine. Isley has work in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress.

Susan Cannon

Dennis Stallings

SUSAN COLE CANNON, FAIA LEED AP [‘78 BEDA] and DENNIS STALLINGS, FAIA, [‘84 BED, ‘88 MARCH] have been named 2014 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Fellows. Out of a total AIA membership of over 83,000, there are just over 3,100 distinguished with the honor of fellowship and honorary fellowship. The fellowship program was developed to celebrate those architects who have made a significant contribution in architecture and society and achieved excellence in the profession. Stallings is Principal and Design Director with Clark Nexsen in Raleigh and Cannon is Principal at Cannon Architects.

JP REUER [‘84 BEDA] is a LEED-accredited architect and licensed general contractor and has lived and worked on projects in New York, Montreal, Halifax, Berlin, Zurich, Vienna and Doha, Qatar. Since establishing his own practice in 1999, Reuer has concentrated primarily on single and multi-family residential dwellings in historic, urban districts. His designs are contextually driven and emphasize energy-efficiency and durability. Reuer is an original member of Designbox, a collaborative of diverse creative professionals that is part of creative “thinktank” and community incubator.

REBEKAH ZABARSKY [‘12 BADS] is a chalkboard artist from The Carter Building in Raleigh. The Clark Gallery will be transforming its shutters into a poetry wall for the neighborhood and Rebekah designed the header that will stretch across the tops of the shutters. The project was completed in June.

CHRIS CLEARMAN [‘10 BID] was named Edison Nation’s Inventor of the Month. Clearman created the Credit Card Asthma Inhaler, a single-use inhaler that fits in your pocket.

As a product designer by profession, he was able to create a prototype of his idea, which was inspired by growing up as a child with asthma.

Alex Isley

Henry Sanoff HENRY HENRY SANOFF [PROFESSOR EMERITUS ARCH], distinguished professor of architecture at the College from 1966-2006, recently served at the keynote speaker at an education symposium at the University of Koblenz, Germany.

Kathleen Kincaid KATHLEEN KINCAID [’92 MGD] recently joined the New York Times digital division as the Group Director of Product Design Strategy and Operations. Kincaid has worked with Microsoft, Yahoo!, Real Simple magazine, Live Nation, Condé Nast, Ziff Davis, and numerous start-ups, guiding their development of product strategy, launching new products, and repositioning and extending product brands.

Before taking the position with the New York Times, Kincaid was the the VP of Product Development for Ziff Davis and Director of Product Management and User Experience for Yahoo! Finance. She started her Product UX career as an interactive designer for Microsoft where she shaped the product development of many consumer products, including the award-winning Encarta Encyclopedia, Encarta Online, MSN Network, MSNBC, and Slate.com. Kincaid is a self-proclaimed news junkie and shelter magazine fan. She enjoys designing and making furniture and sewing. She lives in New York City with her partner Martha Hornthal, two daughters, and a “crazy” Chihuahua.

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Alumni

Designnotes ENRIQUE R. DOMINGUEZ [‘09 BADN] painted a mural for the Time and Navigation Exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. After graduation, Dominguez acquired an internship with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and has had the pleasure of sculpting, painting and building exhibits all over the country.

The Freelon Group, led by PHIL FREELON, FAIA, LEED AP [‘75 BEDA] has joined Perkins + Will, creating one of North

Dan Harrigan

Carolina’s largest and most award-winning architecture and design practices. Freelon will lead the Perkins + Will offices in RTP and Charlotte as the Managing and Design Director. Freelon comes to Perkins + Will as an important member of the firmwide leadership team and will also join its Board of Directors and serve as a key leader for the firm’s cultural and civic practice.

DAN L. HARRIGAN, AIA, NCARB [‘79 BEDA] is a principal at Spillman Farmer Architects in Pennsylvania, PA. His firm recently won the inaugural AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Firm Award. The award recognizes the most prominent and achieved architectural studios in the state. Spillman Farmer also received a 2013 Citation of Merit Award for the design of the Lafayette College Arts Plaza. The Citation of Merit Award recognizes projects with excellence in details or special design elements.

CLAUDIA DOMINGUEZ [‘12 MAD] produced a series entitled, Women Mending Women, that will be permanently displayed in 12 Planned Parenthood clinics along the east coast. She is currently teaching at Coastal Carolina

Enrique R. Dominguez SUSAN HATCHELL, FASLA, [‘82, MLA] received two 2014 North Carolina Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects [NCASLA] Merit Awards in recognition of outstanding professional achievement. The James B. Hunt Library on Centennial Campus has won several state and national design awards since its construction in 2012.

The Yadkin River Greenway Feasibility Study is a longrange planning document that will help shape bicycle and pedestrian facilities in Lewisville, Clemmons and Bermuda Run. Hatchell, FASLA, LEED AP is President of Susan Hatchell Landscape Architecture, PLLC in Raleigh. The firm specializes in the design of parks, greenways, campuses, streetscape projects and other public work.

University in Conway, SC. Her work, Hysteria, was recently published in the Fall 2013 Surface Design journal.

The American Society of Landscape Architects recently held its second annual Diversity Summit. The event is intended to draw on the experiences of young AfricanAmerican and Latino practitioners from around the nation.

Among the eighteen participants this year were College of Design alumni COURTNEY HINSON, ASLA, [‘07 MLA] and WESLEY BROWN, ASLA [‘09 BLA]. This was Hinson’s first year, while Brown has been involved both years. The information gathered during these summits serves to guide ASLA’s programming and recruitment efforts.

Phil Freelon

Susan Hatchell

Courtney Hinson and Wesley Brown 44

Let us know what you’re up to! design.ncsu.edu/designnotes

Designnotes

Alumni

In Memoriam

Cheryl Harrison

CHERYL SMITH HARRISON, 50, of Raleigh died on January 11, 2014. She was born in Tokyo, Japan to Col. Dale Smith and Edith Marie Hildebran Smith.

Abie Harris It’s been an especially fruitful period for ABIE HARRIS, FAIA, [‘57 BARCH] the past several years. Since retiring from his position as head of campus planning at NC State in 1998, Abie has devoted his time to his work as a full-time artist, prolifically producing paintings and drawings from his home studio in Raleigh’s Cameron Park neighborhood. A retrospective selection of his work curated by founding Gregg Museum director Charlotte Wainwright was recently on display at the Roundabout Art Collective in Raleigh coinciding with Abie’s 80th birthday this past January.

Spend some time with his artwork and it becomes quickly apparent that there is no hard and fast separation between Abie’s former professional life as an architect and campus planner and his current artistic production.

Drawings done in the early 1990’s for NC State’s Centennial Campus Master Plan continue to inform current paintings which meld spatial study, form and composition with bold brightly colored figure ground markings. His early drawings of classical architecture produced during a year of study abroad in 1958-59 comfortably coexist with his colorful pastels of the lawn at the University of Virginia campus. Sketches inspired by the countryside of western North Carolina juxtapose comfortably with the abstractions of Harris’s Goldberg Variations drawings to coincide with a performance by a local string quartet. Most telling was the inviting nature of the Roundabout show. Meant to invoke the artist’s studio, the exhibition spanned Harris’s prolific six decade output while also giving the viewer a glimpse into his process and conceptual approach.

Charles Boney Sr.

CHARLES H. BONEY SR., FAIA, [’50 BARCH] a Fellow of the American Institute for Architects and a Wilmington architect, passed away Friday, May 16, 2014 at his home. He was 89 years old.

While at the College of Design, he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Leadership Fraternity, was an alternate winner of the Paris Prize in Architecture and played on the varsity tennis team. In 1998, he was honored as an outstanding alumnus with a Wings on Wings award. He was very interested in healthcare design as well as historic preservation.

Following graduation, he joined his father and two brothers at Boney Architects where he was president and chief designer. He held over a dozen AIA positions at the local, state and national levels and served as president of AIA NC in 1974 as well as holding leadership roles in many civic and service organizations. He was a passionate advocate for the College of Design.

Cheryl grew up in High Point, NC and graduated from High Point Central High School in 1981.

She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Zoology from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1985 and a doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree from NC State University in 1989. She worked as a veterinarian and taught at NC State University as well as Wake Technical Community College. After the birth of her son, Cheryl changed her life goals toward her passion for art. She was finishing up her Masters of Art + Design degree from the College with a focus in fibers, surface design, and textile collage illustration. She was an accomplished painter, fiber artist, and recently published children’s book author. Her art conveyed the importance of humananimal relations and the need to preserve and protect the natural world.

ROBERT EUGENE MESSICK [’66 BPD] passed away March 11, 2014. After graduating from the College, he taught Product Design from 19661968 and designed and produced multimedia presentations in collaboration with the campus theater. He later taught at Cornell University.

HARRY ELLENZWEIG, FAIA, [’55 BARCH] passed away on June 13, 2014. His work focused on innovative designs for academic institutions and on a wide range of public projects. He was known for his interest in user experience in design.

By Dave Delcambre

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Turan Duda [‘76 BEDA and Chair of this year’s award dinner], Curt Fentress [‘72 BARCH], and Linda Duda at the 2014 Design Guild Award dinner

The 2014 Career Fair set records for attendance and employer participation.

Kat Robichaud [’06 BGD] signing copies of DesignLife for adoring fans after placing in the top ten on the TV hit music show, The Voice. Robichaud gave a lecture and performed for an audience that included the local community.

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Mitchell Silver, FAICP, PP, giving his award speech at the 2014 Design Guild award dinner held at the Angus Barn in the spring.

Leader’s Council member, Bill Flournoy, meeting with Jong Seon Lee, a PhD student, at the spring session presentation.

Photos of Design Guild dinner by Becky Kirkland

Designscene

Rising 11th and 12th grade “Design Campers” heading to Leazer Hall.

Kenneth Luker, AIA, previous president of the Design Guild board, working with a student during last spring’s Leader’s Council weekend.

Neck n’ Neck: Dean Marvin Malecha and Assistant Professor and Project Runway finalist, Justin LeBlanc, sporting 3D-printed bowties that LeBlanc designed.

Transitions Change is a constant in the world of design. You might have noticed a new symbol next to the Designlife™ masthead. As a result of the College’s branding effort, we are in the process of trademarking the term, “Designlife,” which encapsulates the way we practice and teach design in an interdisciplinary environment here at the College. As part of our brand language, we use Designlife in several ways: Design your life; Design is life; Design for life; and finally, our new standard tagline: We teach students to design for life. The brand will be used for all College-related endeavors, including Designlife™ magazine and its associated media suite.

Design Guild Becomes Designlife Board The Design Guild Board of Directors has voted to change the name “Design Guild” to “Designlife;” therefore the organization will now be referred to as the Designlife Board. Design Guild membership program contributors may continue to donate to the Designlife Fund to enhance design education at the College of Design. The annual Design Guild Award will now be called the Designlife Award.

Julie McLaurin to Lead the DesignLife Board Julie McLaurin, AIA, succeeds Kenneth Luker, AIA, as board president for a twoyear term beginning July 1, 2014. Julie, an associate with O’Brien/Atkins Associates, is an alumna with a 1989 Bachelor of Environmental Design and 1990 Bachelor of Architecture. Julie has long been involved with the College of Design and has served on the Design Guild board since 2010. In addition, she currently serves on the North Carolina Board of Architecture and is active with NCARB. Not only is Julie personally motivated to lead the board of directors, she also continues the many decades long history of service by alumni firm O’Brien/Atkins Associates. Julie has also served as president of AIA Triangle and on the board of AIA North Carolina.

“ I look forward to working with my fellow board members and the College of Design administration as we transition to the new brand.

Our relationships with the network of leaders, volunteers and donors help make NC State Design one of the best design schools in the country for students, for area professionals and for the community at large. Designlife embodies how we, as professionals, approach our work, our passion, our life. We will work to convey this spirit to all who connect with the College of Design community.”

Julie McLaurin, AIA, [‘89 BEDA, ‘93 BARCH] President, Designlife Board

Designlife Board of Directors Julie M. McLaurin, AIA, LEED AP [President] O’Brien/Atkins Associates, P.A. Jennifer Heintz Attride, AIA Clark Nexsen Paul D. Boney, FAIA LS3P Associates LTD Michael S. Cole, Sr., RLA, FASLA ColeJenest & Stone Scott Cutler Clancy & Theys Construction Company Turan Duda, FAIA Duda/Paine Architects, LLP Greg Hatem Empire Properties, LLC Walt Havener, ASLA Surface 678 Christine Hilt, FASLA CLH Design, P.A. Dan Howe, ASLA City of Raleigh Lou Jurkowski, FAIA EYP/BJAC, P.A. Kenneth Luker, AIA Perkins + Will Craig McDuffie McDuffie Design Vansana Nolintha Bida Manda Restaurant Alfred F. Platt, Jr., AIA Platt Architecture, P.A. Roula Qubain, AIA H2Q Architecture J. David Ramseur, AIA RPA Design, P.C. Don Tise, AIA Tise-Kiester Architects Cheryl Walker, FAIA, LEED AP Gantt Huberman Architects Frank J. Werner Oldcastle 48

Donna Globus Helps Architecture Students “ Cross the Line” With a New Endowment Donna J. Globus, AIA, wants to help track three architecture students find their place in an interdisciplinary world. Donna is establishing the Globus Track Three School of Architecture Endowment. Donna, a 1990 track three graduate of the NC State College of Design herself, is no stranger to the pursuit of interdisciplinary knowledge. Donna describes the scholarship opportunity: As my 50th birthday approaches this year, I decided it was time to do some estate planning. I wanted to include the NC State University College of Design in my plans, as my experience there played a major role in shaping the person I have become. I was an M.Arch student in the Track Three program, which was for students with undergraduate majors [other than architecture]. Although I had completed an interdisciplinary self-designed undergraduate major in aesthetic and structural design at Duke, I was still categorized as track three, which at the time demanded eight semesters of studio. This was fine by me, as I had significant interests in many design disciplines, and took full advantage of the breadth of elective courses at the College of Design for four full years.

It has always been my tendency to “cross the lines” between disciplines; it was my interest in both engineering and art that drew me to architecture in the first place. I have continued my tendency toward the interdisciplinary in my professional life, practicing as an architect and now working as a construction manager. In my personal pursuits, I have engaged a significant interest in book arts and printmaking, balancing my professional career with a life as an artist.”

The Globus Track Three School of Architecture Endowment is intended to support interdisciplinary experiences which integrate knowledge and methods from different design disciplines within the College of Design. It is my hope that others will experience the “connections between” which have been so influential in my own life.

Donna’s endowment gift will ensure that track three architecture students gain a wide knowledge of design disciplines and the integral nature of design in our world. In other words, they will be prepared for a life in design.

Donna Globus, AIA, crosses the line between printmaking, book arts, and architectural practice

Designlife Fund ™

THANK YOU! Listed below are donors to the College of Design [individuals, firms, companies, and foundations] who contributed $100 or more to the College of Design between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014. The list includes in-kind donations. Please accept our deepest apologies for any errors or omissions. $250,000+

Civitas, Inc. Clancy & Theys Construction Company Clearscapes, PA ColeJenest & Stone PA $100,000+ Rufus G. Coulter Empire Properties Nancy and Reginald H. Cude John Rex Endowment Jeanette and William H. Dove Duda/Paine Architects LLP $25,000 - $60,000 Marjorie and Charles A. Flink II RCI Foundation Sandra and Patrick Gomez Steven D. Schuster and Richard J. Green Mary Ann Howard Teresa L. Hawkins Jane and William Valentine JDavis Architects PLLC The John R. McAdams $10,000 - $24,999 Company Inc Deutsche Bank Irwin E. Jones Linda and Turan Duda Mary Lou Jurkowski Curtis W. Fentress Myra and Kevin M. Kane International Business Rayford W. Law Machines Corp Cynthia and Marvin Malecha J. H. Purvis, Jr. Steven Miller Fred M. Taylor Nancy King and Charles Moretz, Jr. $5,000 - $9,999 Tess and Bill O’Brien Adams an Oldcastle Company Katherine and Richard Peele David Allen Company RATIO Architects Inc Greg Hatem Jane and Richard E. McCommons Lisa and Stephen Robertson Sasaki Associates Inc. Linda Noble and Craig McDuffie North Carolina Botanical Garden Smith Sinnett Architecture Kim M. Tanzer PlayCore Tolson French Design, LLC Martha Scotford Janice and Charles Travis III WhiskyTree, Inc. Michael Tribble Michele and John Vernon $2,500 - $4,999 Barbara and Douglas Carolinas Concrete Westmoreland Masonry Association WGM Design Inc. Harriet Cooper Katherine White and Jane and Richard Curtis Thomas Urquhart The Freelon Group Architects Janene and Timothy Winstead Grote Industries LLC Withers & Ravenel Inc. Law Offices of Perry R. Safran LS3P Associates Ltd $500 - $999 Tracy and John Martin Carla and Bernard Abramczyk Balfour Beatty Construction $1,000 - $2,499 G. A. Belanger Robin F. Abrams Kelly and Bruce Branson AIA Triangle, North Carolina Martha and Paul Braswell Chapter C. T. Weekends Inc. Lisa and Thomas Barrie Cline Design Associates, PA William K. Bayley Construction Specification Institute Eugenie L. Birch Cotton Incorporated BMH Architects DHM Design Corporation Janet and L. Franklin Bost Barbara and Royce Earnest Karen and Gene Bressler Bright Horizons Family Solutions Faten and Paul Falkenbury C.T. Wilson Construction Co., Inc. Polly R. Hawkins Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC Foundation

Ellen Cassilly Architect, Inc.

Dorothy and Robert Haynes Betsy and William Hood Linda Jewell and Raymond Freeman II Ann and Gene Jones Kane Realty Corporation Kimley-Horn & Associates Inc. Karen V. Larsen Rhoda and Thomas Lawrence Julie M. McLaurin Morningstar Law Group NC Museum Art Foundation Inc O’Brien Atkins Associates PA April and David Parker Parsons Brinckerhoff Group Admin., Inc. Ann and Irvin Pearce Platt Architecture, PA Wallace and Bill Prestwood Nancy and J. David Ramseur Rodgers Builders Inc. Catherine and William Singer Judith and Ross Skelton Stewart Engineering Inc. Swanson & Associates PA Juanita Shearer-Swink and Rodney L. Swink Cynthia and Thomas Trowbridge Allison Krausen and Kyle H. Webb

Moser, Mayer, Phoenix Associates, PA Patricia Parker and Alan Nagle Emily and Edwin Pease Pencil Me In Jennifer Peters Poetzsch Architecture PA Mary Hoffman and O. Earl Pope, Jr. Chihiro and Lynn Powell Claire and John Rodgers Pamela and Michael Smith Heather H. Taylor Larry K. Walters Myra and Benjamin Whitener Leslie and Marshall Wilson Fiona and Scott Wolf Rosemary and G. Smedes York

$100 - $249

3G Consulting LLC Christopher G. Adams Jeremy A. Aker Anthony C. Aretakis Steven E. Arnaudin Joseph P. Arnold Billy A. Askey John D. Barnes The Bell Family Foundation Lesley P. Bender $250 - $499 Benjamin D. Benson Carolyn and Chet Allen Alan D. Bolzan Taimi and Robert Anderson Terry Bottom Theda and Laurin Askew Donald L. Branch Harry Bates Michael B. Burke Douglas M. Bennett Benjamin B. Cahoon Kim and Rich Caldwell Peggy J. Callaway Margaret and Alexander Carter II H. Clymer Cease, Jr. CBSA Architects, Inc Center Line Productions Inc Linda Gantt and Alan Clark Joan W. Chase D. L. Collins Huijin Chuang Design Development James A. Claywell William L. Flournoy, Jr. Clement & Wynn Program Allison and Scott Garner Managers Inc Lani and Warren Ginn CLH Design PA Suzanne and W. Easley Hamner R. David Cole Christine M. Hoeffner Betsy M. Collie Laurie and H. Christian Holljes Joseph A. Cox Loretta Shaia and Daniel Howe R. M. Craun, Jr. David N. James J. Scott Crowe Jenkins Peer Architects PA Steve Davis John Sawyer Architects Marlys A. De Alba Rebecca T. Kalsbeek John DeMao, Jr. Matthew D. Kavanaugh William H. Dodge Karen Burditt and Steve Knight Sarah D. Drake Mei Ying Lai and Edward Lui Thomas P. Duffy Rebecca and William Mentz C. R. Duncan, Jr. Wendy Miller and James Barefoot Terry B. Eason

Kevin M. Ehlert Harry Ellenzweig Ronald R. Engleman, Jr. Sallie and John Everette Samantha A. Everette J. Doug Ezell Jerry D. Fink Christopher A. Flynn Fred S. Fonville Leslie J. Fowler Framed Attractions Inc Holly A. Fulton Mary Ellen George Katherine S. Gill Edmund J. Gontram III Susan and Raymond Goodmon III Jonathan B. Graham III Matt Hale Halvorson Design Partnership Inc Kenneth E. Harkins Sue Harrington Orrin R. Haywood, Jr. Patricia R. Healy Stephen M. Hepler Sheila A. Herron Molly Hester Andrew J. Heymann Matt Hisamoto G. Bonson Hobson, Jr. Karen L. Hobson Elizabeth Y. Holding Roger L. Holland Katherine E. Holloway Luanne P. Howard Steven A. Hurr Sarah B. Jenest Elizabeth S. Joyner Richard E. Kent Neal I. Kitt Gerald H. Knott Ellen Knudson Daryl Kosloske Michael E. Labonge Samuel F. Lebowitz Beth Lu B. Kenneth Martin Spyridoula Masouras Robert W. McDaniel Mark V. McDonald Albert M. McDonald Kim H. McDonough James W. McKay, Jr. Mimi M. McKinney Julie Anne McQuary Mertz Architects PC Joseph R. Michael, Jr.

Robert G. Miller Monty Montague Martin T. Moore T. Edwin Moore Courtney J. Moore Robert F. Mosher, Jr. Ruth H. Neely Thanh S. L. Nguyen Thomas W. O’Brien J. J. Peterson Stephen H. Pratt David N. Pritchard Nicholas J. Pyros Roula Qubain K. C. Ramsay Nicholas W. Romanos Mary S. Rose Marni V. Rushing Robert L. Sams, Jr. Mark A. Sangiolo Walter B. Sawyer Michael K. Schley Jeffrey H. Schoellkopf Daniel C. Schwab Mike Scully Richard F. Seggel Charles A. Sides Thomas G. Sineath Kimberly J. Siran G. Milton Small III G. Janeen Smith Eric B. Smith Gabriel D. Smith James W. M. Smith Carolyn and Daniel Solomon Kenneth D. Stafford James C. Stevens, Jr. A. Wayne Stogner George W. Stowe III Glenn M. Suttenfield Walton R. Teague Patricia and John Tector Donald O. Tise, Jr. Tony M. Tate Landscape Architecture Jerry M. Turner Chad M. Volk Constantine N. Vrettos Mary C. Wakeford Joseph Whitehouse, Jr. Judith Law Williams Matthew P. Williams Julia L. Wilson Amy C. Wise Barney Woodard Jr. Mike Woollen Nathanael J.Zellmer

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Design your gift

Every gift made to the College of Design has a direct impact on design students.

Whether you are providing an unrestricted gift to the Designlife Fund or to a department Fund for Excellence, your donation enhances design education experiences that are not covered by state funds. These gifts allow the college to recruit top students, to bring in guest lecturers, to go on field trips, and to provide scholarship support to students in need. The Designlife Fund also provides support to student initiatives such as the FishMarket Gallery, the Student Design Council, the Art2Wear program, and the annual Back-to-School BBQ. Financial support from alumni and friends has a significant impact on students’ design education experiences at the college.

In addition to the Designlife Fund and department funds for excellence, there are many endowed funds to which you

Please support Designlife online at:

design.ncsu.edu/give

can add your support. Or, you can create an endowment to support an area of interest to you. The following are a few

and consider making a gift at one of these levels:

of the funds in the college that are building to endowment and could use your support:

GOLD

• Claudia Gabaldón-Cotrim Landscape Architecture Endowment Fund for International Students – Established by the family and friends of Claudia Gabaldón-Cotrim. Claudia was a promising student pursuing her master’s degree

Graduates of the Last Decade $10/month or $120 annual gift

in landscape architecture when she was tragically killed in an accident in July 2006. The purpose of this endowment

PATRON

fund is to provide a scholarship for international students who have been accepted to study in the Masters Degree

$20/month or $240 annual gift

in Landscape Architecture program at NC State University.

COLLEAGUE

• Graphic Design Study Abroad Fund – Established by retired Graphic Design Professor, Martha Scotford. The

$40/month or $480 annual gift

purpose of this fund is to provide support to study abroad by a graphic design student.

CHANCELLOR’S CIRCLE

• Art2Wear Endowment Fund – This fund has been created to support the Art2Wear program and show, including

$84/month or $1,000 annual gift

support for the student directors and designers as well as the funds to produce the annual Art2Wear Show.

DEAN’S INSIDER

• K-12 Design Lab Fund – The Design Lab for K-12 Education provides pre-college programming, outreach and

$209/month or $2,500 annual gift

research, and educator development opportunities in keeping with the academic mission for the College of Design and NC State University. This fund will also provide scholarships for middle school and high school students who wish to attend Design Camp but have a financial hardship These are just a few of the funds to which you can add your support. For a complete list of College of Design funds, or for information on how to create your own endowment, please contact Carla Abramczyk, assistant dean for external relations and development. Named scholarship endowments can be created with a gift or pledge of $25,000 that can be spread over five years [@$5,000 a year] to establish a fund that will have a lasting impact on College of Design students for generations.

For more information contact Carla Abramczyk: 919.513.4310 carla_abramczyk@ncsu.edu

Colleague, Chancellor’s Circle and Dean’s Insider level gifts may designate a portion (up to $250) to a specific department or initiative within the College of Design.

With your gift to Designlife you will receive personal invitations to attend the annual Designlife Award Dinner where you can network with other top design professionals from around the country, attend guest lectures and join is at the annual Back-to-School BBQ as well as other campus events.

This is your opportunity to help shape the life of student, who like you, has a love of design and the drive to make a difference in the world.

design.ncsu.edu/give

“Alex” by Jillian Ohl [‘14 ADN] The piece was created as part of a series in Professor Charles Joyner’s photography studio through an independent study. The series depicts personal realities versus fabricated fantasies along with portraiture of French post-impressionism. Jillian is a mixed media artist/illustrator whose work is inspired by fashion, music, popular culture, nature, and personal experiences. The finished piece is 20” x 10” on canvas with acrylic paint, ink, and collage.

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Designlife™ is made possible by

NC State University College of Design

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NCStateDesign

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the generous donations to The Designlife Board, an engaged community of College of Design alumni, friends and design

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facebook.com/NCStateDesign

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@NCStateDesign

enthusiasts around the world.

Designlife is published bi-annually.

We welcome your contributions. www.design.ncsu.edu/giving