The Good Design Book

Good Friday: Good Thursday

Thursday night’s Cause/Affect event (conceived and sponsored by AIGA San Francisco) drew do-gooders from all corners for a celebration of good design. Cause/Affect is a biannual design competition that celebrates design undertaken for the greater good. Two years ago we made a strong showing with winning entries in three categories, and contributed to the winning collaborative project Oprah has one. This year we took home an award for our Everything is OK poster in the politics category, while MINE™ designer Tim Belonax received judge’s recognition for his shirt for Rosa Loves (the Rosa Loves organization will be featured in the book). Friends of MINE™ Volume, MOD and Hybrid Design also took home honors, and Academy of Art University made an extraordinary showing, sweeping the student awards category.

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Big Mail Day

It’s only been about five days since we sent out our official request for submissions and already the interest is high. We’ve had a number of emails and twitter messages from designers, students and even some writers, looking for ways to contribute to the book. Today the first official submission arrived in the mail. Actually, it arrived over the weekend while we weren’t here, so all we have is this little pink slip from the post office. Something to look forward to tomorrow I guess.

The advance check arrived from F&W today as well — not nearly as exciting since I already know what’s inside — but still very much appreciated.

The rest of our book-related mail was all of the e-variety, including one from Emily Pilloton about her Learning Landscapes project. While this is primarily a graphic design book, we’re also including examples of product and experience design, of which this is a prime example. I first met Emily earlier this year at AIGA San Francisco’s do-gooder design conference, Compostmodern. It’s nice to find our paths crossing again so soon.

John Bielenberg to Write Foreword

Celebrated designer, lecturer and former AIGA National Board Member, John Bielenberg, will write the foreword to The Good Design Book. John is the mastermind behind Project M and one of the founding partners of C2. John’s work touches on all six categories featured in the book, particularly the notion of problem seeking (a term coined by Brian Collins while on a trip to Project M in rural Alabama). We’re very excited to have John on board. It will be some time before actually has to write anything, so stay tuned for future updates.

John Bielenberg | Photo: Michael Weymouth