The 2010 UnSummit is an alternative, “unconference” for those in the interactive profession. It is being held on June 26th with the stated goals of “full participation, full dissemination and free admission — all the things that traditional conferences are not.” You can register here. The event will be held at the CoCo – Coworking and Collaborative Space in Saint Paul’s Lowertown district. This is perfect because CoCo is sort of an UnOffice.
I’m still a little unsure about what is going to happen at the UnSummit but things should get interesting as the group gathers to apply some brain pressure against the community’s collective hemorrhaging. The official theme is “Solve for X. Where X = your problem.” So, unless your problem is fear of open-ended conference themes you should come and participate in the unintended consequences. Hope to see you there.
The Webby Awards are here again and so is your chance to voice your opinion about the best interactive work of the year. In stark contrast to the convoluted quagmire in Washington D.C. this is an opportunity to see direct democracy in action. Of course, that doesn’t mean there is no room for lobbying. Colle+McVoy’s Yearbook Yourself is in the running for the people’s voice award in the social media category. Check out the scene and cast your vote here.
Minneapolis is the Top Bike City... Where's St. Paul?
Bicycling magazine recently released its rating of America’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities and Minneapolis came out on top displacing a number of other epic bike cultures for which I at least have nothing but respect. So rather than take this opportunity to gloat I’ve got two questions. First, how did this happen? Second, where is the other Twin City? After all many of us regularly cycle from one city to the other. For that matter many of us cycle further afield to Eagan, Minnetonka and other cities. Wouldn’t it be cool if both of the Twin Cities registered on the bike-ability scale. As a transplant to Minnesota I don’t get too bent out of shape that Saint Paul and the surrounding cities gets lumped under the title “Minneapolis” but in this case Saint Paul is woefully behind.
It turns out the answer to both questions is bike advocacy. And the moral of the story is that if you enjoy the bike scene in Minneapolis you owe a pretty huge debt to all the advocates who gave so generously of their time to help make that possible. Pay that forward by getting involved. By helping Saint Paul catch up. The movement is already happening but you can help. There are a few upcoming meetings to push forward efforts for bike-ways in Saint Paul. For instance, Jefferson Ave. from downtown to the river. There is a public hearing coming up on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at 15 Kellogg blvd (in the City Council chambers) Email me for more info if you are interested in more info. Or just show up so the powers that be can see that the human powered set is passionate about the ride-ability of both cities.
More on other projects coming soon but you can also download the Central Corridor Bike Walk plan and see if you want to get involved with this effort. Coincidentally, the latest issue of Momentum magazine (free at One On One) has an article on bicycle advocacy.
The University of Minnesota provides quite a few great resources that are both excellent and free. Promotion however is often not excellent so events are easy to miss and are not as well attended as they should be. The Upcoming Disruptive Effects symposium is breaking that mold. The bad news is that it isn’t free – though it is still a bargain relative to the cost of many creative industry events. The good news is that Larsen is a sponsor so there are posters and a website and I know about it far enough in advance to blog about it. This symposium is worth considering since it looks like it will break another mold as well. Namely those stale presentations of the presenter’s past work in favor of a multi-disciplinary dialogue about what could be. Take a look, take a chance and take the opportunity to challenge the participants. This may be one time they’ll appreciate the disruption.
If you love elegantly restrained interface design AND believe that to describe Minnesota as “fly-over country” is to seriously overlook the first rate creative work forged in the heartland then do I have a site for you! Mnimal.com is an impressive and growing gallery of websites that attain that elusive minimalistic clarity. Thanks to curator Joshua Serbus and coordinator Andrew Hafferman for including BrainstormOverload in the collection of such impressive company.
Bill Mauldin’s cartooning career took him through World War II, the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam, winning him two Pulitzer Prizes and a Purple Heart along the way.
A selection of his work has been screen printed onto t-shirts to raise money for The Soldiers Project, which focuses on giving free psychological treatment to soldiers going to and coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Oh, and if you want to know what I imagine my dad to have looked like around 1940, I refer you to the cowlick and smirk above.
One of the hardest things about a long career in design is thinking about all the of interesting people I’ve encountered and enjoyed working with who then for one reason or another have disappeared over the horizon. I’ve moved around a fair bit so despite the best efforts of a cadre of social media that list is getting pretty long.
What fun it is then to suddenly rediscover someone and find that they are thriving and as interesting as ever. So it is with Rachel (Dunagan) Wiles who after briefly sharing a little Colle+McVoy with me has hung her own shingle intriguingly entitled Benign Objects. Rachel has been creating stationary and invitations like the two above “birdies” and “squirrels” and chronicling interesting design discoveries on her blog. Check ‘em out and drop her a line of encouragement or better yet give her a call and hire her for an assignment. That way you’ll get to enjoy her southern accent.