Hasta La Ideas

Sakamaki is a Japanese photographer based in New York, who graduated from Columbia and has been producing incredible work since the late 80s.His work deals with social and political issues for the most part. His shots from Detroit after its huge economic downfall are incredibly bleak and totally stunning. He also recently covered the situation in Haiti, and was one of the few photographers in my opinion that managed to simultaneously capture the huge amount of grief amongst victims, while also portraying them with dignity and strength. Check out more of his work on his site.

Design 21 and IDEO have joined forces to host the Living Climate Change Video Challenge.

For details see below:

From Press Release:
Looking to inspire new choices through positive, design-centered thinking, IDEO – a global design and innovation firm – launched the Living Climate Change initiative last fall. Its goal is to extend the dialogue beyond policy and politics and toward inspiring, human-centered scenarios that create new possibilities for business and society. Now IDEO is partnering with DESIGN 21 – a popular online platform topromote design for the greater good – to create the Living Climate Change Video Challenge. People of all ages are asked to craft videos that envision a sustainable future as society moves along the path toward reduced carbon emissions.

“Living Climate Change is an open invitation to designers and non-designers alike to think creatively about an issue that impacts us all,” says Jennifer Leonard, IDEO designer and co-editor of Livingclimatechange.com. “Our hope is that it will stimulate the kind of dialogue that creates community, supports optimism and inspires new choices.”

According to DESIGN 21 Founder, Haruko Smith, “We are thrilled to partner with IDEO on this social design project because we both believe that smart design can solve real-world problems on a global scale.” Smith adds, “As a joint venture between Felissimo and UNESCO, DESIGN 21 is guided by the premise that education, science, technology, and culture are critical tools to disseminate knowledge, create awareness and foster dialogue. Hopefully, this discussion will motivate designers
to rethink the future.”

Thanks Christine for the heads up.

Shepard Fairey, in collaboration with Studio One’s Cleon Peterson Casey Ryder, have designed this print for Artists For Peace and Justice. Sales start February 6th at Obey Giant with all proceeds of the sale of the print going to Haiti.

GOOD magazine, has teamed up with PRE and Studio X to launch a design competition that seeks to rebuild Haiti. The call for entries asks creatives to come up with strategic, organizational, institutional, and/or architectural solutions to assist Haiti in their recovery efforts.

The winner of this month’s competition will receive half of the pooled entry fees, while the remaining half of the entry fees will be donated to the Haitian relief effort. Submit your ideas here.

In light of the earthquake in Haiti and the emergent need for short-term emergency shelters, Core77 is inviting designers to create innovative pop-up shelter solutions in their latest 1 Hour Design Challenge. Core77 will donate $500 to Architecture For Humanity’s Haiti Earthquake Support Program in the name of the winner. For more details go here.