AIGA Rhode Island Sunrise Sessions Professional Development Series Presents: “Building Business through Strategic Partnerships & Creative Collaborations”
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 from 7:30-9am.
North Star Marketing
1130 Ten Rod Rd. Suite D208
North Kingstown, RI 02852 $5 for members
$10 for non-members
Breakfast and light refreshments provided

to RSVP please send an email to rsvp@ri.aiga.org

Come out to meet, chat and have a few drinks and snacks at our usual monthly get-together; this time hosted during our own super-special private hours at Craftland! Get some early holiday shopping out of the way, see amazing work by local artists and Craftspeople, and meet some of the skilled geniuses behind this great show and store.

If you’ve not been… the Craftland Show is an annual holiday sale in downtown Providence that celebrates all kinds of handmade objects and the people who make them. A smaller version of the show is now accessible all the time, in the permanent year-round Craftland store.

Craftland’s local, maker-centered spirit is a great encapsulation of Rhode Island’s creative energy. Come check it out, and get to know your local AIGA members a little better while you’re at it.

RSVP on Facebook!

Saturday, November 7, 2009
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
@ MASS MoCA
87 Marshall St
North Adams, MA 01247

Since opening its doors in 1999, MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, MA) has become one of the world’s premier centers for the making and showing of the most significant art of our time, and the largest arts center in the United States. With annual attendance of 120,000+, it ranks among the most visited art centers in the United States dedicated to new art; both visual and performance-based.

Take a walking design tour of the MASS MoCA campus with Doug Bartow, AIGA Upstate NY Member and former MASS MoCA Director of Design from 1995-2003. Doug was hired as MASS MoCA employee #4 back in 1995, 4 years before the public opening of the museum. He will discuss what it takes to brand such an institution, from identity and publication design to exhibition and wayfinding signage. Doug not only designed almost every piece of MASS MoCA visual communication (without any design staff), he also helped fabricate and install much of the signage and exhibition graphics while the museum was being built-out.

Schedule:

* 11 AM meet at MASS MoCA
(B-10 theater, 3rd floor, above MASS MoCA lobby)
* 11:15 AM walking design tour of the MASS MoCA campus with Doug Bartow
* 12:15PM lunch at MASS MoCA cafe (self-funded) or bring your own
* 1 PM guided gallery tour with MASS MoCA tour guides
* 2:30 PM depart

RSVP by Monday, November 2nd, 2009 | 12 Noon

Ricardo Rebelo
Cinematographer & Film Editor

October 28, 2009
6pm – 7pm
FREE for AIGA members

Johnson & Wales University
WTCC Conference Room (1st floor – behind front desk)
138 Matthewson Street (downtown)
Providence, Rhode Island

Ricardo Rebelo has won several national awards for film and video production. He is currently working on documentaries of Lizzie Borden and Azorean Immigration. Ricardo also teaches Film & Communications at Bristol Community College. He’s shot several films including Spatter Disco and Beyond the Duncwich Horror.

Ricardo has been a Director at the Rhode Island International Film Festival & News Director for the Portugese Channel, as well as Executive Director of Old Rochester Community Television.

Download the Get Real Events .pdf

@ Machines With Magnets
400 Main Street, Pawtucket
7-9PM

Design by Night (DxN) is AIGA RI’s informal, monthly get-together. Each month we feature local artists, advocates and ideas in the industry. DxN is an opportunity to chat with fellow designers and non-designers over food and drinks. Everyone is welcome to attend, and encouraged to participate.

This year DxN is expanding to include studio tours, workshops and gallery nights. The first of these will take place on Thursday, October 22nd, from 7-9pm at Machines With Magnets (www.machineswithmagnets.com), 400 Main Street, Pawtucket. Machines With Magnets is an amazing multi-media space, featuring a recording studio and performance and gallery spaces.

Right now the main MWM gallery is showing “Homesteady”, a show of new artwork by Brad Fesmire and Sam Duket. These two local artists work in a variety of media—primarily wood, resin and oils—to create a large scale installation of sculpture and paintings. Please come out, discuss the art, and learn more about MWM, a prime example of the spaces available to us all for projects, shows and events in Rhode Island!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
5:00pm – 8:00pm
Showing at Trinity Rep, CONCENTRIC after-party at Bravo
201 Washington Street
Providence, RI

PURCHASE TICKETS AT http://good.ly/tejf8

View the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9E2D2PaIcI

“Hustwit’s cinematic style is as crisp and modern as a Design Within Reach catalog. An exuberant trip through Ikea promotes feel-good consumerism like a Swedish indie rock video (we hear it was actually filmed by strapping a camera down to one of Ikea’s carts and wheeling it through the showroom). Target and MUJI also get nods for their focus on design with shop-n-rock sections. The opening montage quirkily highlights how many things are “designed” with all the playfulness of a film by Charles and Ray Eames.”

- Fast Company
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Overview

The Rhode Island IDSA Chapter announced today the screening of the film Objectified by Gary Hustwit. The IDSA Rhode Island Chapter is the leading group in the state, representing product designers of all types.

Objectified is a film about Industrial Design. This documentary is about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the designers who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. The film documents the creative processes of some of the world’s most influential product designers, and looks at how the things they make impact our lives. What can we learn about who we are, and who we want to be, from the objects with which we surround ourselves?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Screening Information

The Screening is free for IDSA members. $10 for students/recent graduates, + AIGA (the professional association for graphic design), CNU (Congress for the New Urbanism), and AIA (The American Institute of Architects) Members. To obtain tickets by calling Trinity Rep at (401) 351-4242 or visiting the box office to reserve a seat as space is limited. Tickets can also be purchased for $20 at http://good.ly/tejf8

Reception starts at 5pm, showing at 6pm.

Trinity Repertory Company
www.trinityrep.com
201 Washington St
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 351-4242.
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After Party Information

CONCENTRIC is a night of fun and mingling with people you haven’t met yet (or maybe don’t even know exist). Rhode Island has a unique ecosystem of creative, tech-related, and political organizations. We have decided to connect these groups over a party. The name CONCENTRIC is a reference to our goal of aligning the unique social circles which exist here in the Ocean State.

The after party starts at 8pm and will be held at Bravo Brasserie on the 2nd floor. There will be live music, appetizers, and a cash bar.

Bravo Brasserie
www.bravobrasserie.com
123 Empire St
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 490-5112
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Sponsor Information

This screening is Sponsored by Hasbro, also a Sponsor for the Chapter.

www.hasbro.com

The sponsors of IDSA Rhode Island help sustain the chapter’s year-round programs to support designers, inspire new ventures, and encourage diversity in the field of design. The Industrial Designers Society of America advances the positive impact of design on business and society. Locally, we connect professionals, bridge gaps among sectors, and make Rhode Island a great place for Design and Architecture.

For more information on this event or to learn about becoming a sponsor, contact:

###

Andy Cutler
andy@cutlerandcompany.com
(401) 743-7842

Start: Friday, October 2, 2009 at 8:00am

End: Sunday, October 4, 2009 at 5:00pm

Location: Brown & RISD

A Better World by Design brings together the world’s preeminent thinkers and do-ers in the fields of design, engineering, economics, entrepreneurship, environmentalism, and social activism for three days of collaboration in Providence, RI.

This year’s events 18 speakers including Jan Chipchase, head engineer at the Nokia Research Center.

Register today at:
http://www.abetterworldbydesign.com/register.php

visit http://abetterworldbydesign.com for more details on speakers, panels, workshops, and events!

Brown/RISD students – Volunteer to make a better world and come for free! Email Andrea_Krukowski@brown.edu for more information

Media & Press – contact willem@abetterworldbydesign.com for inquiries and media passes

See you in October!

Download the Poster (.pdf)

October 1, 2009
6pm reception
7pm presentation
The Providence Black Repertory Company
276 Westminster Street, Providence, RI
401 351 0353
$3 for AIGA members and students with ID
$3 for A Better World by Design Conference attendees
$20 for non-members and general attendees

RSVP on Facebook

What makes a brand stand out? Is there some magic that turns a simple script logo for a soda into the international graphic icon that is Coca-Cola, or makes us salivate over the latest product from Apple? Presented by Debbie Millman, partner at Sterling Brands and President of the AIGA, this presentation takes a deep dive into the influence branding has on our everyday lives, from branding ourselves and the world around us to the role branding plays in the products we buy and the way we live. Topics covered:

• The five historical periods of modern branding, highlighting brands that define each period
• How human evolution and population trends are linked with branding
• How psychology and behavioral rituals are linked with branding
• How technology has changed the way we interact with each other and with brands
• What it takes for modern brands to stand out in a crowded marketplace
• How branding connects with our most hard-wired, basic instincts

Join us for an evening of engrossing discussion and participate in our open forum after the presentation. You may never look at the world the same way again.

Download the poster (.pdf)

Where: Tazza

Time: 6pm – 8pm

Event is free, cash bar

We are celebrating 5 years anniversary of the start of our local Rhode Island Chapter and kicking off our 09/10 season in a festive style. We will be sharing highlights of recent activities on a national and local level as well as announcing our 09/10 calendar. Our goal for the new year is to connect with our community creating lively and relevant programming. Meet your board members, grab your 5 Yea-ahs t-shirt (special discount offer for members), sign up to host an upcoming DxN, discover volunteer opportunities, and meet friends old and new. Since we are looking for participants for an upcoming panel event and to be featured on our new website – this is the time to shine, so find a board member to express your interest.

All associated organizations in the area are also invited so it will be a true meet and greet! Board members will be wearing our anniversary t-shirts. Find one of us and we’ll be sure to introduce you around and give you an AIGA Rhode Island collector button (1st in a series for the season – collect them all or trade them throughout the year). Tazza’s night of Jazz starts at 9pm if you’d like to continue the lively festivities in style.

I started with a tour of the studio and an introduction to what I was going to be doing during my internship. I was expecting the usual tasks such as organizing books. Josh told me to explore their website, to learn more about the studio he started almost 12 years ago. While exploring, I found out what a schwa is, and where their logo came from. A schwa, represented by the upside-down ‘e’, is a “neutral middle vowel…subtle, yet necessary.” A schwa makes communication clear, courteous, and creative. And throughout my internship, I have witnessed the people at Schwa work enthusiastically and diligently to communicate their clients needs and uniqueness.

But on my very first day, I knew things were going to be different when Josh, my boss, turned to me and asked, “Do you like to cook?” — we discussed the parallels between design and cooking. Type, color, form, function, and content are critical to design just as timing, presentation, and ingredients are to design and cooking. Segueing into my project, I got really excited because I didn’t think that I would be able to design something that would actually benefit an organization that I care about. Eventually I decided to design a poster and logo for an environmental organization at my school named Eco. This was very important to me because Eco is the only opportunity at my school for the students to be involved with environmental awareness. Students work side by side with the teachers to make sustainable choices as the school develops. I wanted to inform the students that they could make a change for the school and in their own environmental footprint. Making a poster that was informative and attractive was a way to encourage awareness and involvement in the meetings, and in the organization. After some research and writing a project proposal, I learned to approach projects as being given an opportunity, not given a problem that needs help.

The studio wall is decorated with a compilation of photographs, posters, illustrations, and labels. On top of the refrigerator there is a very large sculpture of two bananas, and hidden in the high Pawtucket mill ceilings there is a large disco ball suspended. This strangely reminds me of my room because I too have my assemblage embellishing my walls, as well as a disco ball. (Sadly, I do not have the bananas.) Being in a real work environment is awesome; at Schwa there is normally around five people in the studio, a lot of the team, called Ministers, work outside the studio.

I have always wanted to pursue a artistic career path, and after this experience I am even more eager to explore the world of graphic design.

Maya Chin
Wheeler School ’10
Providence, RI

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Youth Design provides internships that expose high-school students with creative interest to the world of design, to a variety of work environments and career opportunities in design, and to what it means to work as a professional designer.

Interns are mentored in leading design firms, agencies and design departments and participate in a wide range of tasks and activities integral to the functioning of a design office. Bringing enthusiasm, intelligence, and fresh ideas, YD interns make valuable contributions to their creative workplaces while undergoing an enriching, hands-on learning experience that raises their awareness of design and its potential to play a key role in their future.

Find out more at: youthdesign.org