I’m very excited to introduce UPPERCASE’s brand-new website, blog and shop. Please go to our new online home and update your links, bookmarks and feeds. Thank you! See you over there…
www.uppercasemagazine.com/blog
(This site will remain for a while as an archive, but all activity is happening on the new site.)
As of Wednesday, our own Dave Seliger will have been on the road for exactly three weeks, during which time he will have passed through about a third of these 50 states in his round-trip circuit from his hometown of Boston… and it so happens that he’ll be in Portland, OR, on the eve of Independence Day, where he’ll be sharing his experiences in a special edition of the Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club.
Dave Seliger
“Discovering the Future of Design on the Great American Road Trip”
Hand-Eye Supply
23 NW 4th Ave
Portland, OR, 97209
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
6–7:30PM
From the grand monuments of DC to the grassroots movements of NOLA, from Southern hospitality to the new-look Wild West, Dave has traveled from sea to shining sea in search of the best of American design. While we’re looking forward to his chronicle of the remaining two weeks of Route 77, we’re glad that he’s taking the opportunity to organize and present his thoughts thus far at our Portland outpost, Hand-Eye Supply.
Route77: Dave Seliger Embarks on the Great American Roadtrip
» Introduction
» Digital Storytellers (Philadelphia, PA; Washington DC; Richmond, VA)
» Defining the Future of Design in Charlotte, NC & Atlanta, GA
» Shaping Communities through Design (New Orleans, LA; Austin, TX)
» The Future of Cars (Phoenix, AZ & Los Angeles, CA)
Keep up-to-date with all of the adventures on Route 77 by following @DaveSeliger on Twitter!
A “food futurologist” forcasted Day 2 of the International Conference on Designing Food and Designing For Food at at London Metropolitan University. Dr. Morgaine Gaye, a trend forecaster-strategist-foodie-academic-and-sometimes-television-personality, offered a stellar keynote lecture that explained her process of looking at food and eating from a social, cultural, economic, trend, branding and geo-political perspective. She discussed the roles of taste and texture in food design, posing questions about the difference between the function and the pleasure of food as it relates to preference, mouthfeel and perception.
This kicked off a day of lectures and project presentations that included reflections on everything from shopping mall food courts to “Nasal Nostalgia”. Fabio Scotto Di Clemente spoke on the power of synesthesia in consumer experiences. Synesthesia, he argued, is a kind of full body storytelling in which all the elements of the narrative connect through the human senses, thereby rendering it more powerful than most story-telling devices. He hypothesized that in response to an ever-more demanding consumer, the relationship of food to synesthesia could offer clues in creating the kind full-sensory stimulation that contemporary buyers crave.
Image courtesy Food+Design Lab
The inaugural International Conference on Designing Food and Designing For Food kicked off yesterday at London Metropolitan University. Presenting research, discourse, case studies and wacky boxed lunches (!), the 2-day event is the first of its kind to reflect on the multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary nature of food design. The conference presents 29 papers and 7 posters from academics, researchers and students alongside a “Projects” session that includes an exhibition and discussion of 12 selected food design projects. Each day ends with roundtable discussions that tackle subjects like the role of co-creation, product development and dining as Gesamtkunstwerk.
More of an academic colloquium than food-fun-fair, the conference kicked off with keynote presentations that focused on the role of “thrill” in food experience by Brendan Walker. Described as the world’s only “Thrill Engineer,” Walker was originally trained in aeronautical engineering before researching and teaching Interaction Design at the Royal College of Art. His work offered a lens on the most fundamental consequence of food experience: emotional stimulation.
On Valentine’s Day, Architecture for Humanity co-founder Cameron Sinclair kicked off the organization’s latest fundraising initiative with an appropriately amorous declaration: “My name is Cameron and I love architecture.” The campaign’s big finish is the “I Love Architecture” auction, an eBay-hosted bonanza of one-of-a kind sketches, renderings, prints, paintings, and more by fifty top architects and designers. Here’s your chance to be charitable and acquire a Frank Gehry sketch (an ink on napkin original). Among the 73 other works up for bid through Friday are a stunning photo of Biloxi, Mississippi by Robert Leslie, Richard Rogers’ no-nonsense diagram of the Pompidou Center, a whimsical self-portrait of an “emerging” Daniel Libeskind, and a Pac-Man-esque print by Kevin Roche. If you’re looking for something three-dimensional, we suggest putting your money on the “giant origami tiger” whipped up by Chris Bosse of LAVA. Or pop for the auction’s lone pigskin: an “I Love Architecture” football autographed by Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who graduated from Stanford last week with a degree in architectural design. Every last cent of proceeds from the auction will support Architecture for Humanity’s humanitarian projects in more than 20 countries, so bid your heart out.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
It’s that time again: next weekend, June 28 – July 1, 2012, will see the perennial celebration of human-powered transportation known as the Bicycle Film Festival. Entering its second decade, the three-day extravaganza is the first of over two dozen festivals worldwide, and founder Brendt Barbur notes that this year’s program might just be the most mainstream one yet… in a good way.
Brendt recently invited me to have a sneak peek at some of this year’s films, and while I must admit that I’ve only seen a fraction of the programming that they’ve premiered over the 11 years, I can say, once again, that this year’s BFF is not to be missed.
As always, the Anthology Film Archive is host to BFF New York, which predates the Red Hook Crit and New Amsterdam Bike Show as one of New York’s original bike culture instutions. Yet the annual event remains relatively underground in New York—Barbur’s forgone the parade in recent years because he’s “sick of dealing with cops”—but it’s gained traction in both world-class metropolises such as London and Tokyo and cycling-friendly cities like Minneapolis and Milan. (Barbur often works with city-level administrators, ministries of culture, etc., in international markets: he’s looking forward to a warm reception at the next stop in Helsinki, the 2012 World Design Capital, and Estonia, where Sister Session was shot and produced.)
The irony, of course, is that the BFF was a catalyst in the rise of urban cycling culture the world over, and Brendt acknowledges the festival’s roots in what was once considered to be a lifestyle choice: “Even in 2001, you’d wave at fellow cyclists [because we were so few and far between].” And while he hesitates to take credit for highlighting messenger (read: fixed gear) culture, it’s safe to say that the Film Festival has been a vehicle, so to speak, for cycling enthusiasts and amateur filmmakers alike.
Even as the alternative is subsumed in the mainstream—NYC’s forthcoming bike share is all but guaranteed to be a major turning point—it’s worth hearing from someone who has not only witnessed cycling’s growth in popularity but has presciently championed the cause.
Guzzle some creativity with your coffee by starting the day with CreativeMornings, a free breakfast lecture series for creative types. Founded in 2009 by New York-based designer and blogger Tina Roth Eisenberg, this “TED for the rest of us” takes place monthly in 29 cities around the globe, from Atlanta to Zurich. Throughout June, all CreativeMornings chapters are partnering with the Rhode Island School of Design to host events under a common theme: the intersection of arts and technology. “We’re honored to partner with RISD on this new effort to recognize the vital importance of art and design in the global economy,” says Eisenberg. “I am interested in the magic that happens when arts and technology come together.” Jessica Hische was a crowd-pleaser in Vancouver, and Rick Valicenti recently wowed ‘em in Chicago. Many chapters will convene tomorrow: San Francisco has nabbed Nathan Shedroff, who describes himself as an “Earth-based designer, educator, entrepreneur, author, and air-breather,” while Portland will hear from Nelson Lowry, winner of the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Production Design for his work on Fantastic Mr. Fox. Get the latest information on CreativeMorning around the globe and watch past talks at any time of day here.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
An installation view of “graphic Modern: USA, Italy, and Switzerland 1934–66,” on view through July 26 at the Fordham University at Lincoln Center gallery in New York.
• PepsiCo has named Mauro Porcini to the newly created role of chief design officer, a title he previously held at 3M. Porcini will be responsible for “infusing design thinking into PepsiCo’s organization and culture by globally managing design with a creative, innovative, and consumer-centered approach for PepsiCo’s brands.” In addition to beverages (Pepsi, Gatorade, Tropicana), he’ll be focusing on snack brands including Lay’s and Doritos. Before joining 3M in 2002, Porcini founded and owned (with Claudio Cecchetto) the design firm Wisemad SrL.
• John Gall is heading to Abrams. He’ll start his new role as creative director for the Abrams adult list on Monday, June 25. Gall was previously with Alfred A. Knopf, where he was vice president and art director for Vintage/Anchor Books for 15 years. He is also currently adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and has his own eponymous studio, where he does freelance work for clients such as Nonesuch Records, FSG, New York, and Wired.
• The High Line effect is the new Bilbao effect! As cities around the world search their own backyards for abandoned railways, Charles Birnbaum of the Cultural Landscape Foundation takes a closer look at the High Line’s transformational triumph of preservation and design, “a big win for design ingenuity over the more commonplace tabula rasa approach that results in bulldozed sites and the eradication of cultural narratives.”
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Last month, I started writing articles for the financial advice website Women and Co. I’m not one of their regular bloggers (they have a full-time staff), but someone who will have featured articles from time-to-time on their site’s homepage. The focus of my writing is to provide tips on how being organized and uncluttered may help to improve your money management.
Once the technical aspects are settled, we’ll put a widget in the middle column of our homepage linking to my articles as they appear on the Women and Co. site. In the meantime, these are the articles I’ve written so far:
“How to Create Emergency Binders”
In this piece, I provide directions for making two binders — a Basic Emergency Binder and a Worst-Case Scenario Emergency Binder. There are checklists for what to include so your loved ones can find all the important documents and information needed to help you and your family in all types of emergency situations.
“Make Some Extra Spending Money: De-Clutter Your Home”
Without much effort, you can likely find some cash in your clutter — and not just an unexpected $5 in the pocket of your old coat. In this article, I provide detailed steps for how and where to sell your clutter.
“How to Pack a Cooler (and Save Money) for Your Next Road Trip”
If wanderlust has set in and you’re looking to hit the open road, this post may help you save some money when you head out of your driveway. Even though gas prices are high, it doesn’t mean you have to skip out on some of the treats that make road trips fun.
Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.
Brooklyn’s new 3D photo booth brings the party to life
Riding the wave of photo booth fun, Brooklyn-based company, The Bosco, takes the frenzy a step further with the first 3-D and automatic GIF picture-takers. The Bosco is the brainchild of co-founders Nick Fehr and Aaron Fisher-Cohen, who met through a mutual friend.
“We want to capture stories and bring self-made art to events and installations,” says Fisher-Cohen. The filmmaker and New York native first started developing the idea of a video booth post-college. “I always thought about ways one could capture honesty on film, and I kept going back to eliminating the camera person,” he says.
A backend developer hailing from the Bay Area, Fehr became interested in photo booths at UCLA where he and a friend used to run a DIY photo booth company. He joined forces with Fisher-Cohen in the summer of 2011, and in February 2012, they set up shop in their Bushwick, Brooklyn space.
In rethinking the photo booth in the context of the digital age, The Bosco’s exclusive line of rentable photo booths and video confessionals embraces the intersection of emerging technology and art. Equipped with an iPad-based interface, the maching allows users to print their photos as they are simultaneously uploaded to the Internet, enabling instant social media sharing. The capabilities of the Bosco’s booths include GIFs, 3D and HD images, and videos—all of which can be tailored to the user’s specifications. “The idea is to create a self-portrait experience that looks and feels high-end,” says Fehr.
To learn more about the social photo booth or to book The Bosco and for pricing, go to their website.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
