Designers Accord Philadelphia Town Hall Meeting
by Rita Cavicchia
On Thursday, April 23rd the Designers Accord held their first Philadelphia Town Hall meeting. The event hosted upward of 50 attendees, and 8 presenters, in the Bresslergroup panoramic studios, 2400 Market street.
After light fare, and networking Mike Flanagan (Director of Marketing, Bresslergroup) opened the event with a clip from The Story of Stuff, a straight-forward delivery on the design of consumer-culture in the United States. The short film set the tone, and segued into the first of 8 five minute presentations, designed to engage the audience with thought-provoking questions around sustainability in all mediums of design.
After light fare, and networking Mike Flanagan (Director of Marketing, Bresslergroup) opened the event with a clip from The Story of Stuff, a straight-forward delivery on the design of consumer-culture in the United States. The short film set the tone, and segued into the first of 8 five minute presentations, designed to engage the audience with thought-provoking questions around sustainability in all mediums of design.
Rock, Paper, Textiles!
Leo Gonzales of SCA Tissue North America opened with bragging rights, as a part of an organization that has endured its long-term position as a stakeholder in sustainable practices. As a Steward of the worlds largest privately maintained forest, (for every 1 tree that is cut, 3 are planted) SCA tissue is no new-jack to the less-is-more ideology in the paper industry.
Next, Susan Firestone, President of SiwThaiSilk in Yardley PA., brought forth her silk and passion for textiles. Her fair-trade practices with partner cooperatives in Thailand have been in play since the inception of her business. Fair-trade is also not always cost effective, and she spent some time talking about the trade-off in the struggling economy. Her fare was gorgeous, and it lingered in the audience, long after Susan had stopped talking, and terms like LEED and Green-collared workforces were still buzzing in the air.
Alina Wheeler, author of Designing Brand Identity added color around the weight of symbols, by showing off her taxonomy of certification marks chart. And, Alex Zahradnik, Co-Chair of Ethics of AIGA Phillyoffers the room a solution by declaring that a designer is needed in every single boardroom of every single organization, from the very impetuous of a project to the delivery.
A few more presenters articulate their works and findings, such as Monique Curry, president of Association for the Advancement and Integration of Design (AAID). Her thoughts on the generational divide of Designers were interesting, and she expressed a great need for the collaboration of design in all mediums, from the university level, to top designers.
As the evening closed, a passionate thought echoed forward from the audience. “Thank you to our gracious hosts, and please, next time, please tell me to bring my own cup, - I hate drinking from #7 plastic.”
Read more about this event on Core77.com.
For more photos on this event please see our Flickr gallery
