designersunite

DESIGNERS UNITE - moving to Facebook

Hey there folks, Alistair here. 

We set up Designers Unite as a place to bring the alumni from the various RDI Summer Schools together in one place, partly for social stuff, partly in the hope that it might encourage creative collaborations.

I've not really given it the time it needed, so it's been more than a tad under-used.

So rather than having it sitting around like a rather neglected piece of furniture, I'm going to retire it to the great internet graveyard in the sky. In the meantime, if you're on Facebook, we still have a page there, which I'll leave running just in case it's useful. 

Thanks for reading, and hopefully see you soon.

RDI SUMMER SCHOOL PICNIC 2011

We had a lovely afternoon last year, so the RDI Summer School catch-up / picnic / get together will take place again this year (hurray!) same place, same time. Come along for some food and drinks, have a chat, or a ride in the lake in the paddle boats.

Meet on Saturday 3 September, 1pm in Regent's Park London. On the grass amongst the trees near the Boating Lake, between Hanover Bridges and Longbridge (marked with the orange cross on the map).

If you have any of these, feel free to bring them along: picnic blanket (hope to join together even more picnic blankets than last year and make a giant appliqué on the grass!), a picnic lunch/food to share, drinks, reusable cups/plates/cutlery, any team games we can play together on the lawn (no ball games), friends, kids, etc.

Plan B: if it rains on the day, or if the ground is too damp to sit on, we will meet in The Boathouse Café nearby (marked with the blue cross on the map).

Contact on the day if you can’t find us: Viviane 07941 929 834

RDI SUMMER SCHOOL 2010

Well... actually, the Summer School is not taking place this year, but this free time slot creates the perfect opportunity for alumni to catch up! 

Viviane Li got her thinking cap on, and has proposed Saturday 4 September 2010, the first weekend of September, the time when the Summer School would normally have taken place:

'Come to Regents Park for an afternoon picnic and chat, or a ride on the paddle boats in the lake. Bring a picnic lunch/food to share, drinks, a picnic blanket (if you have one) and any team games we can play together on the lawn (no ball games though). If you have kids, feel free bring them along too.'

Meet at 1pm in Regent's Park London, on the lawn by the Boating Lake, between Hanover Bridges and Longbridge (area marked 'X' in orange on the map above) - here's a Google Map. 

For a detailed map of the park, information on how to get there, parking facilities, etc. see: http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/regents_park/

This is an outdoor event; it may be postponed to the following week if heavy rain is forecasted. Check this webpage for an update/confirmation a few days beforehand.

Be good to know who's thinking of coming along - drop us a comment below if you think you can make it.

INSPIRED BY 826

Hey there folks - I'm working on a really interesting project at the moment, and wondered if any of the RDISS alumni might be interested in joining in?

A while back I posted on my blog about the 826 after-school writing workshops set up by author Dave Eggers in the USA. Eggers is the guy behind the literary journal McSweeney's, and recently wrote the screenplay for Where the Wild Things Are. 

A few years back he was moving McSweeney's to new premises, and wanted to include an after-school workshop in the new space, where kids could work with professional writers, and then have their work published. The conditions of the building they were moving into demanded that it was fronted by a retail space, so they created the fantastic Pirate Supplies Store - a shop where pirates could pick up all they needed for daily life. The writing workshop was then accessed through a secret door. Check out Eggers' TED talk for a full (and hugely entertaining) explanation.

The workshop and shop were both a wild success, and a whole series of them have been set up across the US, each with a different type of shop. Brooklyn has the Superhero Supply Co., selling everything from capes to anti-matter, LA has the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, whose tag line is 'Whenever you are, we're already then'.

We're trying to set up something similar in the UK - you can read more about it on this post from our blog (there's also a Facebook Group, and Lucy and Ben who are running things have set up a blog). We've secured some funding, and are currently looking at potential spaces around London, with a view to opening a 6 month pilot later this summer.

Currently we're particularly looking for anyone who can help with designing and constructing the retail space and workshop area; but any help of any kind would be fantastic. Also, if you could spread the word, that'd be fantastic too! 

Drop me an email, or contact Lucy and Ben through the blog.

Designers Re-Unite

Crikey. Sorry, we've been a bit quiet haven't we? Fortunately we've been kicked into action by one of the RDI Alumni (thanks Riccardo!) So it's time for the next RDI Alumni get together. It'd be great to see you, no matter what year you attended the Summer School.

We're meeting up at the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre from 7pm on Thursday 29 October. Everyone's invited - so stick it in your diary and come along. Provisionally we'll meet by the bar on the ground floor, but stay tuned for more information.

Be seeing you.

INFINITE WISDOM

Expedition, the engineering firm run by Summer School directors Chris Wise and Ed McCann, have recently completed the award-winning Infinity Bridge at Stockton on Tees, and the bridge is the subject of a new exhibition at The Building Centre:

"Designed by 23 companies led by Expedition Engineering, the 180m long footbridge forms part of the major Tees Valley Regeneration project. It was born out of Maggie Thatcher's 1987 confrontation with unemployed Eric Fletcher, a Walk in the Wilderness; on the very same site. 

The exceptionally slender double bow form of the bridge is a unique response to the local culture, the site and the natural forces there. It was largely built by local people. Free of fancy thrills the bridge is carefully and rationally detailed and was opened in a blaze of fireworks and beer in the presence of 10,000 Stocktonites last month."

Chris will be discussing the project at the opening of the exhibition on Monday 29 June, at 6.30pm. It's free to attend, book tickets here. 

The exhibition is designed by Thomas.Matthews, run by Sophie Thomas (RDISS 2006).

POST FUTURIST MANIFESTO

Brit Leissler (RDISS 2008) recently got busy out at Milan Design Week, seeking to create a Post Futurist Manifesto by engaging in "dialogues with some of the leading thinkers in the world of design ... centered around the new values that designers (and the design industry) should address, and the new approaches they ought to take in order to confront the paradigm-shifts that we are currently facing".

The interviews have been posted together on the Core77 industrial design blog. Go check them out.

NICK TALKS TO MIKE

As part of the RDInsights podcast series, Mike Dempsey recently chatted to RDI Nick Butler, looking back at his career as an industrial designer. 

Nick was founding partner of BIB Design Consultants in 1967, uniting industrial design, engineering and technology with broader social concerns. Some examples of his wide ranging work include: medical devices, JCB Sitemaster Diggers, Minolta cameras, Durabeam torches, Dunhill watches and Mont Blanc pens, as well as Connect 4, one of the best ever children’s games.

Take a listen, and find out how one of Hitchcock's leading ladies inspired his choice of career.

CROWNING GLORY

Rightyho - time for the first get together!

We're gathering tomorrow evening (Thursday 12 March) at The Crown, which is at 116 Cloudesley Road in Islington (Google Map), from 7pm. We have a table reserved. 

It'd be grand to see you if you can make it - this is our first chance to really work out where Designers Unite can go, and what we want it to do. Also, if you've got anything you'd like to propose for the Designers Unite Projects, it'd be great to hear from you.

See you there.

CHOOLIPS AND ITS ETHICAL RELATIVES

Annegret Affolderbach (RDISS 2003) is launching an ethical think tank next Thursday (25 February), in the form of Choolips and Its Ethical Relatives.

The launch sees Annegret hosting a series of conversations with people working in the arena of ethical fashion in India; and the event is launched in tandem with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion's Shared Talent India Competition.