Social change is the adoption of new behavior on a large enough scale that it can be seen and sustained.
Design. It influences our daily lives: our work, our habits, our outlook.
Practivism. It leverages design to catalyze the change our world requires. Designers are investigating the complex challenges facing the world, and our problem-solving abilities are being put to the test. We’re asking each other and ourselves: can design ignite change? Can we design with people, not for people?
Or, is design the problem?
We don't have all the answers, but we are pausing to ask the questions. Join GDC/BC for a dialogue about design’s role in creating social change.
We’re proud to bring you an incredible group of presenters who will talk about design and social change. Bring your questions to the moderated Q&A session. Enjoy food that is locally sourced and sustainably produced. Explore the beautiful MOV space that provides an unparalleled view of the city. Discover the MOV exhibits, “Ravishing Beasts” and “Working Wood.” Have a beverage with others in the local design community, students, vendors and associates. Learn useful tips to enact social change in your role as a designer. Open your mind and be inspired by those around you.
Guests Speakers
Andréa Pellegrino
Worldstudio
Andréa Pellegrino is a partner at Worldstudio, a NYC-based marketing and design firm that believes corporations hold the power to make lasting social and environmental change. As the business development lead at Worldstudio, Andréa speaks frequently about models for making social design efforts economically sustainable. She helps designers become more entrepreneurial when approaching non-client based projects for the common good.
Andrea joined Worldstudio in 2008, bringing a breadth of experience in forging strategic partnerships around socially responsible initiatives. Her experience allowed the firm to become more active in creating and implementing programs for corporate and non-profit clients. These programs help clients to demonstrate and communicate organizational values through actions that benefit their communities.
At AIGA, the professional association for design in the U.S., Andréa worked with corporate, media and non-profit clients on sponsorship programs and affiliations. As director, strategic alliances, she helped to communicate the value of design to the business community, related organizations and the general public.
Previously, Andréa worked for 15 years in the media field, leading advertising and marketing teams for Jonas Publishing, Nature Publishing Group and, most recently, for Print, HOW and I.D. magazines. Earlier in her career she worked in advertising and marketing for American Express Publishing and The New Yorker.
Nathan Shedroff
Design is the Problem
Nathan Shedroff is the chair of the ground-breaking MBA in Design at California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco, CA. This program melds the unique principles that design offers to business strategy, providing a vision of the future of business as sustainable, meaningful, and truly innovative—as well as profitable.
Nathan is one of the pioneers in experience design, an approach to design that encompasses multiple senses and requirements. Experience design explores common characteristics in all media that make experiences successful, as well as the related fields of interaction design and information design. He speaks and teaches internationally and has written extensively on design and business issues. He’s a serial entrepreneur, works in several media, and consults strategically for companies to build better, more meaningful experiences for their customers. He lives in San Francisco where the climate, culture, and industry make it easy to have an esoteric and amorphous title like experience strategist and actually make a living.
He recently co-wrote a book called Making Meaning, which explores how companies can specifically create products and services to evoke meaning in their audiences and customers. He is also the author of three other books, including Design is the Problem, which focuses on sustainable design.
In 2006, Nathan earned a Masters in Business Administration at Presidio School of Management in San Francisco, CA, the only accredited MBA program in the USA specializing in sustainable business.
Kara Pecknold
IDEO Human Centered Design Toolkit
Kara Pecknold didn't expect to become a designer. After graduating with a degree in English literature, she taught business communications in Eastern Europe and led educational teams in Thailand. A return to her home base of Vancouver found her wanting to further her education. Her ongoing fascination with language, design and the global impacts of each led her to pursue an MAA in design at Emily Carr University, where she focused her research on cross-cultural design process. Most recently, this work has been featured in IDEO's Human-Centered Design Toolkit and Fast Company. She now works as a design researcher where she is investigating the role of design in health care. A graduate member of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, Kara is inspired by sustainable design for global impact and looks forward to future projects where she can explore appropriate and accessible solutions for "the other 90%."
Schedule:
5:30–6:50 Reception and Networking
7:05–7:30 Welcome Address
7:30–9:00 Speaker Presentations
9:00–9:30 Moderated Q/A Session
9:30–10:30 Networking
MOV EXHIBITS
About Ravishing Beasts*
Displaying the Museum of Vancouver’s extensive collection of taxidermy for the first time in decades, Ravishing Beasts investigates the provocative and strangely alluring world of taxidermy.
Whether a hoarding of exotic curiosities, a scientific archive, a hunting trophy, or a stuffed pet, taxidermy always exposes longings to capture animals and tell stories about their significance within human lives.
The exhibition confronts viewers with the visual power of taxidermy. It invites us to examine taxidermy’s cultural aesthetic, scientific history, and revival in art and design, and to question the legacy, current value, and future relevance of the practice.
Exhibit in English and French
Guest curator Rachel Poliquin, exhibit design Kevin McAllister, exhibit graphics Burnkit
*No animals were harmed for this exhibition. Most of the taxidermy that will be on exhibit is from the Museum’s own collection and was acquired primarily between 1894 and 1950 from Vancouver residents.
About Working Wood
In Vancouver, wood is where history, landscape, and economy intersect. It is the central feature of our material culture, bridging the divide between the province’s resource and design sectors.
Vancouver’s wood furniture-building tradition has centered primarily on “studio furniture.” The movement emerged in the U.S. in the 1940s and refers to artistically rendered, handmade, one-off pieces. In recent years, the work of Arnt Arntzen, Brent Comber, and Peter Pierobon, among others, has raised the profile of the Vancouver scene internationally. Local woodworking has also diversified, ranging from furniture for commercial clients to heirloom-quality objects to art.
WORKING WOOD presents the work of an emerging group of woodworkers. Though each piece offers a distinct viewpoint, there is a common emphasis on sustainable materials and wood products, and simple forms that highlight the qualities of the wood itself.
WORKING WOOD originated as a pilot project with Business Innovation Partnership, a collaboration between BC Wood and FP Innovations funded by the Government of British Columbia’s Forestry Innovation Investment agency. In the spring of 2009, each of the firms attended a series of seminars developed to provide tools for the management, growth, and marketing of their business.
Presented by IDSwest and the Museum of Vancouver.
