Design Matters Season 5 Returns

So Design Matters with Debbie Millman returns with the second half of season five. I honestly don’t know how these “seasons” work, but shouldn’t it be season six? Anywho, there’s talk of a television version. I wonder how that’s going to turn out.

Source: http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/people/season_five_of_design_matters_begins_with_allstar_lineup_big_developments_104873.asp

Flush.

Design: e²

Sometime last week, while surfing hulu.com for new shows I can watch, I stumbled upon a television series by PBS called Design: e²: The Economies of Being Environmentally Conscious. I thought it was a show about graphic design, but it turned out to be about architecture. It only had six episodes; I don’t know if it’s supposed to be a mini-series or if it was cancelled because topics like this could bore people (not me).

I noticed that every time I watch an episode, I get completely inspired, lifted, and motivated to do something green with my back-burnered design career. I imagine working for an environmentally conscious company as my first design job right off the bat, and continue to pursue a career of socially responsible design and to help solve this global climate crisis that seems to be very apparent lately.

It amazes me how the PBS program was released in 2006, because a lot of the projects and ideas mentioned on the program were unheard of (at least by me); it seems that the projects that were completed since then certainly would have been mentioned on some newspaper or blog, but they weren’t. Shows how much (little) awareness this has with the general public.

I feel that with all the “natural” disasters that have been happening lately, the issues of global warming, environmental consciousness, sustainability, etc. will not go away any time soon, and a career devoted to these issues certainly will not only be profitable, but will also have room for exciting discoveries and growth.

I don’t know why, how, or when I started becoming so passionate (though passively) about sustainability, but I like it. I gradually noticed within the last few years that, compared to my friends and family, I’ve become more and more concerned about the environment. It’s probably because of my gullible nature, having watched those TV shows and movies about global warming, convinced that we must act now to save ourselves.

In any case, I now drive a Prius, even though I would much rather not drive at all since it still uses gas, unless it’s one of those new concept hydrogen cars or whatever, which supposedly only farts out water and heat. I also bought those grocery-store-branded fabric bags so I could use them every time I buy groceries and get those three measly cents off my purchase.

But in the end, I wanted to do more, more than what I can do alone. I want to see sustainability principles applied beyond my circle and make a real, lasting impact on others and the community. That said, I believe a career in sustainable design may achieve just that.

A Graphic Design Reality Competition?

Seeing bits of shows like Top Design (fashion) [Edit: I meant Project Runway. Notice how I don't know which show is which, because I don't watch any of them.] and The Shot (photography) I wonder if there will ever be a reality competition for graphic design. I guess the existing shows are really about the consumerism version of “high art” or something, where the visual aesthetics is so emphasized and the criteria to judge the pieces against are so abstract, whereas in graphic design, communication is more important than the visual, so there's less of that subjective abstraction to twist around and dramatize for the viewers at home. And no one really wants to see people hover over the computer for most of the show anyway. Plus, the audience probably doesn’t really want to think about typography and Pantone colors anyway.

And of course, pretty much “anyone” can do graphic design, so it’s not that big of a deal. It would still be nice to have a show like that, though, so that graphic design will be somewhat de-mythed and drive away some of the people who only wanted to get into graphic design to design “pretty” and “cute” pieces. (I’m not completely against cute and pretty; there's just too much of that out there today.)

I knew better to stay away from shows like Top Design Project Runway and The Shot, but like Helvetica, the first widespread movie made about graphic design, I can’t help but see what it’s all about.

Flush.