…. Until Black History Month 2011

Another February has come to an end far too quickly! It seems we have only just begun to share and celebrate the important contributions that black designers have made to enrich lives. However, the important thing to remember is that black history month is simply the one moment through the year when we pause to highlight the collective accomplishments of the community.  But, that does not mean the sharing and celebrating must cease.

D421 would to thank the featured designers — Chuck Harrison, Noel Mayo, David Adjaye, Rodney Leon, and Peter Cook — for allowing us to share their success stories.  We are also excited to have introduced you to our guest contributors, Gloria Williams, Nii Commey Botchway, Atim Oton and GA Gardner, who shared their unique voices on a variety of topics relevant to the entire D421 community.

As we begin the next annual cycle towards another black history month, it is important that we all continue to share with each other those black designers who were most influential in our lives, those we simply appreciate and those we just discovered and wanted to share. If we move in these ways next year this time we can look forward to a site that is a wealth of information and to a community that is engaged in a range of conversations that further enlighten many others. So let’s keep building!

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Eric Anderson

Reach One, Teach One: Mentoring in Design

During Black History Month, the call for community feels stronger than ever. So, it seems an appropriate time to think about community and things we can do to improve our collective growth.  This topic is timeless and must be something we continue to discuss across time, generations, locale, discipline, and cultural background.  So, this post is just the beginning of a deeper, longer discourse.  We welcome D421 friend, and strong advocate for mentoring Gloria Taylor Williams to share her thoughts on the matter.

Mentoring is an ancient art practiced by many civilizations.  Tribal elders have traditionally passed down their wisdom and experience, two or three generations into the future.

Acknowledging the critical role that mentorship plays, comes by way of my own experiences — returning to school to become an Interior Architect, learning as much as I could about design and the business of design, aspiring to the level of Project Manager — each of which fueled my desire to set an example for other women, designers and designers of color. My deep passion for this age-old (but still relevant) practice, comes from the many lives that have touched mine, and I was inspired to follow the example of the elders, making a contribution wherever mentoring takes me.

Through many years of observation and what seemed to be a disconnect across the design industry, an increasing need to become a conduit for preparing the next level of designers has become more and more evident.  Whether working for a firm, industry business or following an entrepreneurial path, designers must be prepared to do what it takes to be successful and learn the intricacies of the business whatever their genre. Mentoring can help open the path for opportunity, while at the same time fosters relationships throughout the industry, but it was clear that we are not taking advantage of this powerful tool. During industry events, presentations, conferences, my question has often been, “Where do we go from here?”  With so many available opportunities for mentorship, establishing Mentoring International — a Project Osmosis initiative devoted to expanding the use of this personal and career development tool across the global community — was a natural response.

Memorable stories about the power of mentoring include pulling off a straight 24-hour turnkey San Francisco facility renovation. Cheerleaders on the sidelines were waging whether or not we could meet the challenge. Thanks to the dedicated team, strong coaching and mentoring, and a good program plan, we were not only successful, but received a Director’s commendation, for efforts over and beyond the call. His mantra became, “Showing how it can be done!”

On the international front, a graduate student from the School of Architecture in West Africa, that I mentored, went on to secure a position with a design firm. In a recent update, he shared “At the moment i’m working on a project that takes me round Nigeria, its been a lot of fun. Discovering different cultures i never new existed right in my own back yard, meeting people…..its great”.[sic]  His name is Ajayi Wale and we remain in touch to this day.

Through mentoring relationships, many continue to touch my life. In the words of an African proverb, we are better people for having dared to “hold on to each other by the Robe.” Mentoring International has been embraced by the global community. “We are the fabric, which culture, talent, and human interest are combined.” It’s about broadening perspective and shaping the future. Those who are willing to step outside the box and make their contribution, will be forever changed.

My questions for you today are:

• Do you personally have a mentor?
• What impact has mentoring had on your career and your life?
• Are you a mentor to someone in the next generation?
• What can we do as the D421 community to raise the awareness about and increase the practice of mentoring?

Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

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(Chief) Gloria Taylor Williams

Ms Williams is a Senior Project Manager, specializing in Architecture, Construction, Engineering Management, across multiple industries from Aircraft to Government, Design, Architecture and Engineering firms. Her passion is designing for the 21^st Century; her mission is coaching & mentoring.  As an ambassador for diversity, she consistently builds bridges and forges business relationships through global networking. Gloria’s travels have taken her to Germany, France, Spain, Mexico, the Bahamas, Africa, and across the US. While in Africa, she was bestowed a chieftaincy title, Akabueze Palace, Anambra State, West Africa, during ‘Ofala’, an International Ceremony.  “However far the stream flows; it never forgets its source.” (Yoruba Proverb that Gloria Williams has adopted as her motto.)

Design Master: Chuck Harrison

Continuing with D421’s Black History Month 2010 celebration, today we’re recognizing Charles (Chuck) Harrison and his design contribution to the world.  Chuck who has mentored and taught many designers is well-loved. And you probably know more about him than you think. If you’ve ever played with a View-Master, owned a plastic garbage can, used a sewing machine, there’s a chance that you’ve benefited personally from Chuck’s ingenuity.

Charles Harrison is a designer and educator specializing in industrial design across multiple consumer products areas. The primary portion of his career was spent working for Sears Roebuck & Company, beginning as a freelancer, then as a staff designer and later as the head of the company’s design department. An accomplished designer, Harrison’s work touched almost every area of household products from cribs to tractors and everything in between.

During his career, he executed more than 700 designs, a significant number of which were highly successful in the marketplace. Perhaps most iconic were Harrison’s redesign of the View-Master in 1958 and the first-of-its-kind plastic garbage can designed in 1963.

The View-Master quickly became a worldwide success as a toy and his design sold with only minor color changes for over 40 years. It could be found in almost every U.S. household and throughout the world. Similarly, Harrison’s design of the polypropylene garbage can in 1963 remains resonant today. The cans were developed during a unique period within plastics manufacturing, affording Harrison the opportunity to adapt an old standard into a new execution. His subsequent reworking of the can to a rectangular form with wheels is the foundational design for contemporary refuse containers that line the alleys and streets of urban and suburban America.

Harrison is the 2008 National Design Award recipient for Lifetime Achievement. He also has received awards from the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), Executive Leadership Council and HistoryMakers, among many others, and in 2009, he received an honorary doctorate from the School of the Art Institute. Harrison received significant mention in the Encyclopedia of Chicago and has been profiled in by national news media including The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Ebony Magazine, WGN-TV, The Crisis Magazine and the Tavis Smiley Radio Show.

Throughout his prolific career, Charles focused on developing relevant, useful products to solve, rather than create problems for consumers. He continues to build his legacy as a speaker on the topics of design inclusion and education and as an educator at Columbia College Chicago and The School of the Art Institute where, leveraging his extensive industry contacts, he helps prepare young designers for entry into the profession.

Chuck’s work is chronicled in his memoir A Life’s Design: The Life and Work of Industrial Designer.

Now, let’s talk . . . In the comments below, tell us:

• What personal experiences you have with Chuck’s products?
• Have you read his book? If so, were you as inspired as we were?
  
• What other design masters would you like to see profiled here this month and in the future?

Reflecting on Black History Month 2010

When February arrives, there’s a special buzz in the air and an excitement in my step.  It’s not just the cold days traipsing through snow, the anticipation of spring around the corner, or the heart-shaped candies, red roses and professions of love floating about.  I get stoked just thinking about the collective history and praiseworthy accomplishments of the descendants of Africa.

First founded in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson as “Negro History Week,” this institution has grown into a month-long observance in the US and Canada (and UK in October), celebrating the accomplishments and sacrifices of our forefathers.

To me, an American child of the 70’s and 80’s, Black History Month was the time that my mother, an inner-city science teacher, encouraged me to look beyond historic American figures like George Washington to discover African-American inventors like George Washington Carver and Jan Matzeliger. She introduced me to creative heroes who looked like me, providing a deep respect and pride for those who came before us.

In recent years, journalists and public figures in the African-American community have questioned the relevancy and validity of Black History Month in today’s times.  Has it “degenerated into a shallow ritual” as actor Morgan Freeman claims?  Is it useful to the community?  Is it fair to other communities to celebrate one specific culture during a given month?  These are the criticisms. While such questions are interesting to ponder, Designers421 is choosing to take a celebratory stance this month.

To us, Black History Month is necessary and very much relevant! The generations since Carver and Matzeliger have continued to make deep and lasting impacts on the world through design and innovation.  And, until we all know the accomplishments of modern designers like Chuck Harrison and Noel Mayo, there is still much work to be done to capture, share and celebrate the stories of this era.

Is it fair to other cultural communities for us to focus on the history of the African diaspora this month? Of course! Why not?  But, as a globally-connected community of creatives, the D421 family must also participate in the celebration of Latino, continental African and Asian heritage as well as other multicultural design communities.

In 2010, we will!  As the months progress, join us in sharing and connecting, as we work with designers and design organizations from a variety of cultural backgrounds to start documenting our collective creative contribution!

And, for the rest of this month, stay tuned for some great designer profiles and interesting blog posts. As African-American designers (and those with different cultural backgrounds joining in the celebration), please jump in on the thought-provoking dialogue about our collective contribution to the design field.

So, to get things started . . . . Tell us (in the comments section below) . . . . . What does Black History Month mean to you? And, what are you doing to celebrate the creative contribution?  How can we celebrate with you?

Happy Black History Month 2010!
Joi L. Roberts

Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts 10th Anniversary

The Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts is seeking donations to continue with their work during the celebration of its 10th Anniversary. The college is the only one in Zimbabwe that trains students in Graphic Design, Multimedia, Video Photography/Editing, and prepares them for careers in TV, Film production and InDesign and Advertising. The institute is currently facing an enormous financial challenge. The profits from the fees paid by the students are not enough and fundraising efforts have been unsuccessful due to adverse economical and political situations within the country. Founder, Saki Mafundikwa, is now asking for donations to help raise enough funds for the 10th anniversary celebration on December 8, 2009. If anyone is interested in contributing to the occasion all monetary donations can be sent via money gram or western union:

Attn. Nueman Mafundikwa
Harare, Zimbabwe

Gifts will also be accepted for the celebration and for all of those whom contribute, names will be posted on the school’s site http://www.ziva.org/.
Click here for more information.

Where have all the African American web designers gone?

When one takes a little time to peruse the ‘Net and look around at all the usual trendy sites on ground-breaking design [Zeldman, AListApart, Eric Meyer, Dan Benjamin just to name a few], I see no black faces. No faces of color. And let me state, before continuing, I do not believe that any of these individuals or web sites linked to here in this article are out to purposely make this a reality or in anyway have had a direct hand in creating this absence. Rather, we wish to illustrate that when we look around for bright faces of web design, they’re white, not black.

Most of what is studied is looking at constructs and how they’re nested in social contexts. Asking how did this come to be? Why? How? Where is it going? When applying these same questions to Blackamericans and web design, I am left feeling puzzled and bewildered at the absence of one prominent black web designer. It could very well be that the talented black web designers are all too busy making beautiful web sites and not taking public credit for their work or maybe it’s something else.

When we look around at other sectors of society as to why there is a woeful absence of black folks in participation, that conditions are usually fairly clear. And let me say here that the follow is a hypothesis, a best guest, a starting point of looking at this issue.

It is not believed that black folks are absent from web design due to a conscious effort to disengage from it. Most likely it may have to do with socio-economic issues. For blacks who are hailing from deprived urban centers, web design may simply not be on their radar. Not having the money to invest in computers, Internet access [preferably high-speed], and an education that would point them in the direction of design [web or otherwise], all lead me to think that this may be part of the problem. So, when philanthropic organizations are looking to invest money in these depressed areas, are they thinking to encourage blacks to take part of the digital revolution and get involved in the web or is this too off the radar.

With that being sad, I did come across a posting on a website regarding a web summit/conference, where on the advertising poster, it featured a caricature of a black man along with the words, “Pimp’d“.

This is a curiosity as it featured a stereotypical portrayal of an African-American, playing as a pimp, with a fedora hat and a drink in his hand. My immediate thought was not that it was inherently racist, but that how many black web designers would be attending this event? My best guess would be not many, and yet they have chosen a sort of “black mascot” to represent the coolness factor of the event. My second thought was that it was inherently racist.

Asian Design meets American Architecture

At first glance, Los Angeles might seem like the last place anyone would visit for architectural inspiration: Patchwork quilts of parking lots and strip malls alternate with vast carpets of matching faux-Mediterranean subdivisions, all knit together by a web of eight-lane freeways. But look closely and you’ll see daring architecture dotting the scrubby hillsides. There are Frank Lloyd Wright homes that resemble Mayan temples, John Lautner’s UFO-inspired residences from the space-obsessed 1960s, and turn-of-the-millennium deconstructions, such as Frank Gehry’s luminous Walt Disney Concert Hall. “In Los Angeles, there is always a chance,” says Richard Weinstein, a transplanted New Yorker who serves as the vice chair of architecture and urban design at UCLA. “The place is so full of holes and so badly governed,” he adds dryly, “that you can occasionally drive a great building into the gaps.”

That drive is, more and more, coming from the other side of the Pacific. Last year, both UCLA and its crosstown rival, the University of Southern California, named new directors to their architecture programs — and both come from Asia. Hitoshi Abe, UCLA’s new chair, hails from Sendai, Japan, while USC’s dean, Qingyun Ma, keeps offices in his native Xi’an, China, and in Shanghai. The appointments represent an intriguing turn at a time when dynamic new architecture, wrestling with questions of history and urbanization, sprouts all over Asia — and as U.S. architectural programs come under fire from figures such as Rem Koolhaas, who told the Los Angeles Times that they were “shamefully focused on the West.” Says Abe: “Urban design has been Western-centric. Asia has a lot of energy right now, so we have to look there.”

One of Ma’s core ideas — the impermanence of architecture — has particular appeal for anyone who would be happy to see Los Angeles’ relentless sprawl bulldozed. Ma, 43, views today’s Western architecture as a descendant of the Greco-Roman tradition, which is all about building in stone and erecting things that are intended to last forever. (Which makes it all the more amusing that he’s an occasional collaborator of Koolhaas, creating mind-bending buildings, such as Beijing’s CCTV headquarters, that look as if they might fall down.) Clearly a son of modern China, he questions the West’s preservationist reflex. “Everything has a life cycle, as should buildings,” he says. “Preservation is an action in sacrifice of future possibilities. The future needs its own space.”

The wisdom of razing and rebuilding depends largely on context and execution, of course. Urban renewal failed in some U.S. cities, for instance, and won’t Beijing suffer by replacing its centuries-old hutongs with generic apartment buildings? Yet Ma doesn’t argue that we should jettison the past. His Thumb Island project near Shanghai modernizes the ancient Chinese reverence for landscape. Grass-carpeted knolls created by the undulating roof over a community center pair with a nearby lake, paying homage to the traditional coupling of mountain and water. Japanese architects have long had to figure out how to build attractive, functional living spaces on the most microscopic slices of land; it’s not uncommon for family homes to occupy just 300 square feet of earth.

“The elites from other cultures have been educated in the United Sates, but American leaders are never educated in other places,” Ma says. “If America wants to maintain its position, it has to shift. It can’t just be about muscle, but about leadership in the arts and the humanities.”

Barry Bergdoll, curator of architecture and design at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, adds that L.A. “takes much greater risks than most East Coast cities. There’s a less conservative business climate.” That makes L.A. perfect for the kind of cross-cultural dialogue that Abe and Ma believe can help transform American architectural thinking. “Los Angeles is constantly making community. [People] are constantly cross-pollinating,” Ma says. Abe’s motivations are similar: “This city allows people to test ideas,” he says. “You can see so many different experiences.” And after a century of experimental architectural perspectives, L.A. now has two more.

African American Car Designers Add New Flair

Earl Lucas is one of a handful of black car designers in the industry, but his role in the design of Ford Motor Co.’s 2010 Taurus illustrates that something major is happening.

 

Call it change sans the blue donkey or red elephant.

Actually, strike that. Call it change on wheels.

No, better yet, call it style noir on wheels.

Black car designers are being tapped to handle critical auto products, and in the famous words of Martha Stewart, that’s a good thing. Lucas designed the exterior body of the reborn Taurus. Judging from accolades received at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, the vehicle is off to a promising start.

“When you look at the Taurus, it’s gorgeous,” one analyst said. “It’s the complete package.”

The marquee was once the best-selling car, eventually nixed, then brought back from the dead after Ford decided killing it in the first place was probably not such a hot idea. Ford hopes the Taurus, an American staple, and Ford Fusion cars will help lift sales.

“It’s one thing to do a good-looking car,” Lucas said. “It’s another to do a car that’s iconic.”

No. Arguments. Here.

I asked Lucas to explain why auto makers appear to be putting more black designers at the forefront of major design projects. It’s about talent and hardwork, he said.

And of course, there’s that other factor. “African Americans really have a sense of style,” he said, pointing to a shiny red Taurus rotating on display at the auto show.

Among those in this exclusive club are Ed Wellburn, General Motors Corp.’s vice president of global design; Crystal Windham, responsible for the interior design of the acclaimed Chevrolet Malibu mid-size sedan and director of North American passenger car design for GM; Michael Burton, GM director of exterior design for front-wheel-drive trucks and luxury crossovers, which are sport utility-esque vehicles that ride like cars.

Burton was lead interior designer for the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia. Ralph Gilles, Chrysler L.L.C.’s chief designer, gained notoriety for designing the bejeweled Chrysler 300C large sedan, a hit that was nicknamed the “Hip Hop Car” and caused automakers to ornate vehicles with chrome accent galore.

And so the story goes, blacks continue to redefine the arts, including car and truck sketches.
Designers, like other artsy folks, tend to pour their experiences into their work. The black factor, being an experience within itself, is no different.

“We’re an embellished people,” Burton said.

The auto industry is certainly paying greater attention. And quite frankly, on the backdrop of a global and, ahem, diverse economy, it can’t afford not to tap into all its resources. It’s about finding out what sticks.

And Ford is attempting to do that for a vehicle crucial to its comeback.

Who is Tribal Boy?

A colorful personal look at a graphic designer named “Tribal Boy”.

Boozhoo (Hello)
My name is Aabita Giizhig (Indian name-Half of a Sky) also known as Michael Bridgeforth. I’m an Anishinabe from the Lac du Flambeau Indian reservation in northern Wisconsin. Currently, I reside in Stevens Point, Wisconsin with my wife, Haley and daughter, Emma.

My love for art and design came at an early age when I won my first coloring contest at 7 years old. In high school I took every art class I could which continued to college (Gateway Tech) where I learned how to apply my creativity to not only paper but the digital medium.

With my degree in Graphic Technology, I headed back home to Lac du Flambeau where I worked as the Editor-Designer for a monthly newspaper called the “Youth News”.

http://www.tribalboy.com/Services/services-rates.html

French Vogue “blacked up” model backlash

French Vogue has found itself in hot water after publishing a 14-page spread featuring a white supermodel in blackface. The model, Lara Stone, is featured on all 14 pages in blackface, which is historically known as a form of racism. It began in the United States in 1830 and would be an acceptable form of entertainment for white people for the next 100 years. It also became popular in other countries in Europe.

According to an article in the New York Daily News, the reason French Vogue did the spread was to celebrate the fact that Stone did not fit the typical, frail image that supermodels possess. However, Stone is a size 4, much smaller than the average women in the United States.

A similar incident occurred last week on a variety show in Australia when a group performed a song by Jackson Five in blackface.
Harry Connick Jr., a judge for the show, spoke out against the performance and gave the group a score of zero for the act.
The show later apologized. The popular sitcom, “Mad Men”, also used blackface in one of their recent episodes.
The show, which is set in the 1960s, featured on e of the actors of the sitcom entertaining guests in blackface.

Many people have taken to the Web to discuss the latest controversy. Some news sources, such as ABC News, have opened up a blog about it while others have published opinion articles on French Vogue’s use of blackface.

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