Notes Design

Last day at Gravity Free. Our morning started off with a collection of heavy-hitting experience-gurus.

Tom Hennes, the museum-maker-master, asked us to ponder "How Dangerous an Exhibit Designer can Be?" (chuckles from the audience). He turned philosophical by then discussing the role of a museum in society, citing his work in South Africa: a "museum of storytelling, using the objects and narratives in the [space] as resources where visiting groups [can] use these tools to create new narratives." He envisions this to be a "place to try out dreams," reaching beyond its walls to bring different tribes and cultures together.

Hennes warned designers to be wary of "unexamined assumptions", "fixed meaning" and the "chaos of democracy" when creating work. He emphasized the need to evolve meaning and view work from the broadest possible perspective. Never one to mince words, Hennes stated,

We too easily drink the Kool-Aid of our clients...Choose your work wisely. I think [we] can actually change the world.

With equally heroic aspirations, Auturo Vittori took the stage. Trained in aerospace design, Vittori's ideals are steeped in innovation and exploration (tinged with the sweetest italian accent!). Recently, his work has taken on a humanitarian focus. Projects like the Air Tree (above) use moss filters to bring fresh air to urban environments while simultaneously creating oasis of communal interaction. Vittori emphasized the need to take action and re-invent our environment:

"The world planet is our space ship...we are no longer passengers, we are the crew...we are responsible. As designers everyone can do something...we can use our creativity, our ideas. We have to do it for our childrend, for us, but most especially for our spaceship...which is our planet."

more after the jump...