Monthly Archives: August 2010

Something Made Up This Way Comes

Ah, summer, that time of year when research-led design turns to rocket scientists, parking lots, quantum physics and the formation of cults.

Daniel Salomon, Ingrid Hora and MDP students at a desert shoot for their "Suspension of Disbelief" project

These summer days have been far from lazy for Art Center’s Graduate Media Design Program (MDP), whose students, faculty and researchers-in-residence have been knee-deep in off-kilter research projects for the past 13 weeks. Their findings will be unveiled at “In/Conclusions: Results from the MDP Research Residencies,” tomorrow, Wednesday, August 18 at 1:30 pm in the Wind Tunnel Gallery (RSVP here).

“In/Conclusions” is just one of several events surrounding a newly-launched bi-annual program designed to identify and explore ideas that emerge from recent MDP faculty and student work. A related exhibition, Made Up, and panels, screenings and readings are also scheduled for the fall and spring, and all the activities will be captured in a publication released in Summer 2011.

For its inaugural year, MDP chose the theme Made Up, which it describes as a consideration of “the relevance of speculation, role playing, idealism, skepticism, and simple lying as instruments or objects of the design process.” This year’s researchers-in-residence—Sascha Pohflepp and duo Ingrid Hora and Daniel Salomon—were chosen by a jury made up of MDP faculty Sean Donahue and Ben Hooker; Fiona Raby, principal of design practice Dunne & Raby; and science-fiction author, WIRED columnist and former Art Center Visionary-in-Residence Bruce Sterling.

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Schureman Posthumously Awarded Honorary Degree

Beloved Art Center alumnus and faculty member Norman Schureman will be posthumously awarded an honorary degree at Saturday’s Graduation ceremony.

Schureman earned his degree in Industrial Design from Art Center in 1985, going on to teach at the College for more than 20 years until his tragic death in March. He was a beloved instructor, colleague, mentor and friend to hundreds of Art Center students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends.

“The presentation of an honorary doctorate is a fitting tribute to Norm for his immeasurable contributions to the College,” said College President Lorne Buchman. Giving the address in Schureman’s honor will be alumnus Joshua Nakaya PROD ’09 and C. Martin Smith, industrial design chair and professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and former Chair of product design at Art Center.

Schureman’s relationship with Art Center began almost 40 years ago when his father, Bob, taught Industrial Design classes and a young Norm would tag along to campus. Years later, Norm returned to Art Center as a student, graduating in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in Product Design. Schureman began teaching at Art Center in 1992, first at the College’s European campus and then in Pasadena.

Following his death, the College established the Norman Schureman Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will be available to incoming Product Design students.

Karen Hofmann, Chair of Product Design at Art Center College of Design, said, “Norm was a friend and mentor and a source of inspiration both inside and outside of the classroom. He made students feel that they could change the world and this scholarship is a way to ensure his legacy continues.”

Individuals interested in making donations to the Scholarship can donate online or contact Senior Development Officer Palencia Turner at 626.396.2366.

The Art Center Summit 2010: Projects and Partnerships in Sustainable Design

The theme of this year’s Summit, Projects and Partnerships in Sustainable Design, will highlight Art Center’s association with the Opportunity Green Business Conference, taking place September 22—24 at L.A. Center Studios. The conference, developed alongside Art Center’s Sustainability Summits, seeks to innovate, collaborate and inspire industry leaders and the next generation of thought leaders, and to develop and implement sustainable business solutions.

In 2007, Art Center successfully launched and hosted a series of annual Summits bringing international leaders and experts in topics related to sustainability and mobility to the College.

Envisioned as a five-year program, three Summits have taken a critical look at environmental, social and economic issues surrounding sustainability, and supported the College’s desire to integrate sustainability into the curriculum.

We’ll bring you more information about the Summit soon; for more on Opportunity Green, including the schedule of events and speaker line-up, visit opportunitygreen.com. For more information about the Art Center Summit series, email artcentersummit@artcenter.edu.

Get Ready: It’s Week 14

Art Center, it’s Week 14, and you know what that means—a busy week culminating in Graduation on Saturday. Rest up and prepare for:

  • Wednesday, August 18, 7 pm: Art Center at Night Open House (South Campus)
  • Thursday, August 19, 5 pm: Graduation Show Preview (invitation only)
  • Saturday, August 21, 2:30 pm: Faculty Reception (faculty, special guests and College leadership)
  • Saturday, August 21, 4 pm: Spring Term Graduation (Hillside Campus, and webcast live)
  • Saturday, August 21, 6 pm: Graduation Show (Hillside Campus)

It’s going to be a jam-packed week. Don’t worry—there’s still time to sneak in a nap before the fun begins!

Shaping China’s Auto Industry at Art Center

The Wall Street Journal asks, “Is the day when you might drive a Chevy Camaro or an Audi A6 styled by a Chinese designer almost here?”

Transportation Design student Chen Di

The answer is that this scenario is not too far away, especially when you consider China’s rapidly growing automotive industry, which in 2009 surpassed the U.S. as the world’s biggest auto market.

The Wall Street Journal writes: “Judging from a growing number of students from mainland China, such as Chen Di and Feng Chao, at Art Center College of Design, a premier transportation design school in Pasadena, Calif., the auto industry is poised to see an uptick in the influence of Chinese-born designers – just as Japanese and Korean designers’ influence grew over the past three or four decades coinciding with the rise of Japanese and Korean auto makers over the same period.”

The article also speaks to Transportation Design professor Bumsuk Lim on this “initial wave” of Chinese Transportation Design students who began arriving at the College in the early 2000s.

Read more: Budding Chinese Car Designers

On Your Mark, Get Set…

Don’t miss one of our favorite events tomorrow, Super Thursday—the GradID Formula E Race! The race is the culmination of a GradID class in which students team up to develop high-performance scale racing vehicle prototypes, and then put them to the test on the track.

The vehicles will be on display from 11 am until 2 pm, during which time faculty, corporate sponsors and guests will judge the projects. Don’t miss the main event—three races will take place at 1, 2 and 3 pm. More than just a race, this fun event showcases design ingenuity and continues a new tradition at the College. Everyone is invited to take part in cheering on their favorite Formula E racers!

Get a sneak peek into tomorrow’s event from these student-made videos from last year’s class:

Can Good Design Truly Change a Community?

Last year, Emily Pilloton of Project H packed up and left San Francisco for Bertie Country, N.C., with a single mission: to improve life in one of the poorest places in the U.S. through better design.

With her partner Matthew Miller, Pilloton has already established a design-oriented vocational high school program, crafted graphics for an ad campaign promoting free broadband, and built a computer lab and four playgrounds that teach kids math, based on a version done in Uganda. Not bad for just one year.

Find out how what her next plans in Bertie County are in this new Forbes interview: Emily Pilloton on How Design Can Change The World

In Case You Missed It

As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty. Some of the latest:

Chip Foose, left, with castmates Lou Santiago and ACP

Documentary Highlights High School Musical Theater

Most Valuable Players is a documentary that follows three high school theater troupes and their creative journeys to the “Freddy Awards”—the Tony Awards of high school musical theater.

Matthew Kallis is director and co-producer and Christopher Lockhart is writer and co-producer of this documentary, which aims to demonstrate the importance of the arts education in our high schools.

It runs next week at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood–click on the image to the right to see the dates and visit the website for more information.