Juanma over at TenThousandThings recently posted an open letter to all you design divas out there. Here’s a quick excerpt:

” Quick, grab a mirror or turn over a CD (if you don’t have one close) and look at yourself while asking, “WHAT AM I?” (Not to be confused with “WHO AM I”). You are a communicator. That’s what you are and at the end of the day, you communicate through design with other people. It should be a lot more important to remember WHAT you are, instead of repeating all day WHO you are.”

If you think you’re the shit or aspire to be the shit please, please, please read this letter.

via Core77

I ran across a poster competition (after it was done) that asked the participants to submit a poster design that answers the question, “What is Graphic Design”. Looking over these submissions I noticed a very superficial explanation of graphic design. Is this the truth of graphic design? Is it really just about colors, type, and pixels or is it about something more? Please comment.

Click here to check out the competition entries.

Hello Kitty: The Global Brand with Nine Lives

Thursday, March 27 / 6:30 pm
Indianapolis Museum of Art
DeBoest Lecture Hall
Free

The Asian Art Society and the Japan-America Society of Indiana invite you to attend “Hello Kitty: The Global Brand with Nine Lives,” a lecture and book-signing with author and The New York Times Business Reporter Ken Belson. Hello Kitty was Japan’s brilliant answer to Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse. As author of “Hello Kitty; The Remarkable Story of Sanrio and the Billion Dollar Feline Phenomenon,” Belson will discuss how Japan’s most famous cartoon kitten and other Sanrio characters have become a global cultural phenomenon, beginning in the 1970s with the Japanese concept of kawaii or “cute.” Belson will also talk about the inner workings of Sanrio, the company that created Hello Kitty, and how it succeeded in positioning products to appeal to consumers of all ages. Sanrio characters are now found not only on toys, notebooks and backpacks, but also on mobile phones, toasters and even cars!

6:30 – 7:30 pm Lecture
7:30 – 8:30 pm Book-signing and raffle of Sanrio character items

Eric Karjaluoto ideasonideas recently posted an article provocatively titled Fuck Style where he pleas for designers to defend design as a problem solving practice rather than design solely as style. Short read. Check it out and leave your comments.

This last October the Indianapolis Museum of Art gained a new Design curator. For the past 17 years R. Craig Miller was the curator of design at the Denver Art Museum which was responsible for housing the AIGA National Archives. Below is a link to and Indy.com interview with Miller as well as the Unbeige’s announcement of Miller’s move to the IMA.

Q&A with IMA Curator R. Craig Miller

Denver Curator R. Craig Miller Heads to Indy, Might Take Design With Him

Pentagram partner Paula Sher recently gave her two cents about her post 9/11 observations regarding advertising.

Wednesday, February 27th, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM, IMAX Theater and Indiana State Museum

Cost: $65
Register Here

The Brass Ring Awards is an Addy Award competition and the largest local advertising award show. The Brass Ring Awards are presented annually by the Ad Club of Indianapolis. This will be an awesome opportunity to see the great work that has won awards locally and to mingle with those in the business.

Tuesday, February 26th at 12 noon in the Campus Center, room 264

Now that Super Tuesday is over what is IUPUI doing about the elections?

Come join a campus-wide meeting to discuss what IUPUI can do to support and educate the campus about voting and the elections now and in the fall semester. If you have programming in mind, want to collaborate, or want to see what others are doing, please attend. Here is an opportunity to show how designers can make a difference in our communities.

Snacks will be served!

Contact Lorrie Brown at 274-5198 or lorrbrow [at] iupui.edu for more information.
The meeting will be facilitated by Johnny Goldfinger, Assistant Professor of Political Science and campus coordinator of the IUPUI Political Engagement Project.

This year’s Independent Music + Art Festival will be held the 2nd Saturday in June. They are looking for people who can commit early to volunteering at this year’s festival. This go around, it is June 14th from 11:00am to 10:00pm. If you haven’t been before, this is a really fun day of continuous music on (17 bands on two stages) and visual art – all in the courtyard of the Harrison Center. Please contact Pam Allee if you can help and let her know if morning, afternoon or evening are better for you.

Contact:
Pam Allee
Arts Coordinator
Harrison Center for the Arts
317.396.3886
fax: 317.238.5489
email: pam [at] harrisoncenter.org

April 3-5, Richardson, TX

Please check this out! There are 5 great judges for this year’s show and the entry deadline is quickly approaching. I encourage students to enter as well as attend the conference. It is well worth the time and money!

Scheduled for the conference are:
- 4 nationally renownedspeakers
- 15 breakout sessions
- Job Fair
- Portfolio Review
- Roundtable discussions
- Parties
- Prizes
- Studio Tours

All that, and the inspiration, networking, and creative high from being with 700 or more people that are as passionate about type, color, design, and paper as you are. It really is amazing.

Conference Website
Registration Deadline: February 21st
Cost: $110 – $175