Category Archives: 16. CONVERSATION PIECES

Many designers are plagued by the simultaneous urges to both shake up traditional beliefs, and also to use design tools to address or cast light on societal issues. This category, Conversation Pieces, captures those efforts. These trends capture the kinds of things designers do in between actual paying projects, or at least when designers become devoted to a common cause or philanthropy. Designers, familiar with manipulating the visual language of the world around us, can use their skills to capture the essence of an issue and present it in a new, powerful light. As they say, a picture (especially of a rotund Michelangelo’s David) is worth a thousand words.

INFOGRAPHIC ARTIFACTS

Many have said that Design is communication. Typically designers are trying to express elements of a brand’s values, or communicate a device’s functionality or proper method of use, or weave a narrative about the relevance of the object in a person’s life. Sometimes, “because it looks cool” is as deep...

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DESIGN COMMENTARY

We designers have powerful tools at our disposal. We can quickly call upon 2D, 3D, physical, and virtual methods to re-envision the world around us in very convincing and compelling ways. Sometimes that energy is channeled not into developing design concepts, but rather to illustrate societal issues in new ways....

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