Social Design

Social21 is a social design network, whose mission is to inspire social activism through design. We connect people who want to explore ways design can positively impact our many worlds, and who want to create change here, now.

We heard of them through a piece on Treehugger which discussed one of the products to come out of a competition they held in 2008 called Power to the Pedal, which asked for designs that could enhance the biking experience. The brief reads:

Promoting bicycle use also means enabling it; local governments are being
tasked to improve infrastructure to create more convenient and safer routes as
well as incentives for biking... This competition calls for a biking accessory or add-on for existing bikes that would improve the bicycling experience and encourage more people to make biking their primary means of transport – more convenient, more enjoyable, safer and more integrated into daily lifestyles – whether it's for commuting, working, shopping, transporting, leisure or all of the above.

They received TONS of submissions over the duration of the competition, which closed last May. Finalists & winners were chosen through public voting through the Social21 website and a jury process, and three awards were given. The top prize went to a power cell that runs from riding a bicycle, but submissions ranged from handmade helmet covers to trailers to folding handlebars to a concept that blows bubbles through your rotating wheel, which in turn scatters seeds throughout the city, like Johnny Appleseed. Or this, which turns your bike into a wind instrument:


I still can't believe that this whole business eluded the FH radar screen...obviously we might have had something to say about it. But I'd say go check out what designers dreamed up for those of us on two wheels, there's some crazy stuff. I mean...we like crazy.

Chalk Bicycles

You know how I have a soft spot for quick drawings of bicycles and for that matter, slow drawings of bicycles. I ran across these today at the blog of photographer Sharon Montrose. She is a pet photographer, by the way, which is mind blowingly adorable. And her apparently charming husband drew the following illustrations on a chalkboard in their house. Those white, dusty lines are so satisfying; I can't believe they're only temporary.







Those white, dusty lines are so satisfying; I can't believe they're only temporary. Makes me need a chalkboard, I think.

Intense

Let me take a deep breath here. WHEW. Remember recently how I was talking about inventions? The gist was that when someone designs something really well, she should get to call herself an inventor. Well, kids, I'm just not sure this is one of those special times. Behold:

What's hilarious is that I KNEW this was destined for a Don't as soon as I read about it. I could almost read the Snob copy before it was written. It's just, I'm also a sympathetic sort of a person. And I don't like to be snotty, much.

But like I said, let me take a deep breath. For starters, pretty much anyone could make these with their bare hands, though this is only one of the reasons why I don't count this as any sort of invention. Take a dime-store house key, heat it over a flame, force it through one of those ugly plastic bar ends and you will have these ridiculous accessories, christened Biker's Revenge. The original pitch:

These modified handlebar plugs speak to the disgruntled urban cyclist. By retro-fitting stock parts with up-cycled keys, bikers can now find satisfaction with close encounters. This concept puts an new twist on the timeless tradition of car-keying revenge. by Matt Braun and Jared Delorenzo

Upcycling?! In mere moments, you are now able to turn once lovely handlebars into scary, hideous weapons which could just as easily catch you in the thigh (or worse, the groin) in an otherwise gentle tumble over. The proof left out of this pudding is that bar plugs are meant mostly for drop bars...Which means you'd have keys pointed toward you on your bike. They'd still prevent core-sampling, but may take out both your knees instead.

The real problem comes when you consider their alleged use. Have you ever tried to exert force out the end of your handlebars? From the standpoint of common sense physics, you may as well throw yourself under a bus. Only people particularly learned in the art of counterbalancing will emerge from such an encounter unscathed. A beloved friend of mine once kicked the mirror of a parked SUV only to F his bicycle so terribly he had to replace his wheelset. Yes, Oscar's was involved, but this friend was no freshman to the brew and no rookie on two wheels. I'm just glad that said friend had not employed the use of these death hooks. SCARY.

In sum, this is the most terrible thing I've ever heard of. I'm not even against it from a "destruction of property is no way to get cyclists an equal share of the road" perspective. And I'm not going to touch the dopey mountain bike featured in their relaxed-fit action shot. It's just the most ill-advised solution to any possibly scary situation. It demonstrates little to no comprehension of an urban cyclist's true experience riding in the city and perhaps most embarrassingly, they lack any aesthetic considerations. I know many fine products of Philly's UArts, but I'm sorry Jared and Matt, I'm afraid you should head back to the drawing board. Not just that, but sell that Giant and buy a bus pass. Your Wallabees would be a lot comfier and we'd all feel quite a bit safer.

Go Go Gadget Lane

Since it's not like any of us have money to burn right now, here is a thing that is not really available for purchase but is so ingenious that its lighting up the blogosphere, literally. It's a little funny to be singing the praises of a thing that doesn't actually seem to yet exist, much like lauding the concept of a teleporter. But I'm not the only one. It's such a good idea that it seems to elevate the designers who came up with it to the more esteemed distinction of Inventor.

So what is it? Drumroll please...a bike light that creates a Bike Lane all around you as you ride. So say you're living under the iron curtain of a certain injunction? Take matters into your own hands! Have trouble with pesky vehicles crowding your god-given right to the road? Show them, with lights, who's boss. And since the lane travels with you, no more bike lanes that mysteriously merge into automobile traffic or disappear altogether.



Dubbed the Light Lane, the laser-lane guarantee hints at very great possibilities in advocating cycle commuting. It's a little guerrilla, a little techie and a little imagination. Magnifique!

Design Philadelphia

Yesterday kicked off DesignPhiladelphia, Philly's contribution to an accompanying National Design Week, an annual homage to the role of design in our culture. It hosts a staggering number of lectures, exhibits, demonstrations, screenings, discussions and recreational activities for the aesthetically minded. Sound pretty broad? Well, it is. In the best possible way.

DesignPhiladelphia boasts events in many many types of venues addressing issues of sustainability, including the technology of green materials, context and innovation across an expanse of medium. And the hosts include people from both traditional fields, like architecture, craft and textiles and not so traditional fields only now factoring into design, like food and ahem, cycling.

Daily Program maps, originally designed by Brian Kelly, available for download on the DesignPhiladelphia website

Here is the link if you'd rather head straight over to the event's calendar. But these are some of my picks for things I wouldn't miss if, alas, I were in the vicinity of Center City this weekend:

Hard Hat and Finished Tour of Green Affordable Philadelphia for a tour of Philadelphia's first affordable LEED certified homes by Habitat Philadelphia
Date: October 18, 2008
Time: 10:00am – 5:00pm
Location: 4200 block of Stiles Street
West Philadelphia

Craftadelphia! hosted by Philly Etsy at Mew Gallery
Date: October 18, 2008
Time: 11:00am - 4:00pm
Location: Mew Gallery
906 Christian Street

Bikes and Bricks, a slide show and demonstrative talk at Trophy bikes on the history of urban cycles from the 1930's to the present, including test riding.
Date: October 18, 2008
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: 3131 Walnut Street
University City

Lecture, Sustainable Strategies for the Urban Infrastructure hosted by Minima & UArts, discusses components associated with sustainable urban life: food production & bicycle culture. Contributors include Spencer Finch – Director of Sustainable Development Programs, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Alex Doty – Executive Director, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Mary Seton Corboy – Founder and President, Greensgrow Farm & Nursery. This is presented along with A Clean Break, "an exhibition of modern, pre-fab architecture and high-design, low waste innovations for the urban environment" up at Minima Gallery. The exhibit allows visitors to wander through an urban green development and showcases the role of prefab components in urban design.
Date: October 18, 2008
Time: 3:45pm - 5:00pm
Location: The University of the Arts
CBS Auditorium in Hamilton Hall
320 South Broad Street (across from the exhibition lot)

Art Buggy Derby 3.0 presented by MAKE:Philly, a competition of buggies built from recycled materials judged on speed and ingenuity.
Date: October 19, 2008
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Washington Square Park
(south side of park)

DIRT - clean design on 4th Street: Bicycle Revolutions, showcasing custom built bicycles for urban riders and especially hand built wheels in custom colors and unusual spoke lacings.
Date: October 19, 2008
Time: 12:00pm – 5:00pm
Location: Bicycle Revolutions
712 South 4th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147

This expo seems much more inclusive than I would have expected before reading the schedule. It brings together designers in Philadelphia that I associate on a theoretical level, but that rarely seem to be collaborating the rest of the time. Hopefully the event will bring together the disparate parts of Philly's very talented creative community and make design in Philadelphia a more cohesive force.

picture stitcher

With all the sewing buzz lately, it's no wonder that more mixed medium artists are starting to use stitching in their illustrative and visual work. I love the way stitches read in 2 dimensions. The addition of some zig-zag, embroidery or straight meanderings can change the character of a perfectly beautiful picture into something more careful, with all the emotional depth that frequently accompanies the hand sewn object. Tactility should never be under rated.



This reminder came in the form of some pretty sweet art up currently at Rare Device in San Francisco. The show Let's Get Lost features pieces, both textiled and not, by artist Sarajo Frieden. This lady hails (originally) from my new home, Oakland, CA, and her work aims to explore the destinations one finds when surrendering to unpredictability. She says,"I may start out with intentions, thoughts, sketches or preconceived ideas about where I want to go. But at some point, I usually surrender any expectations to follow the roadless map that is creating. It is not a linear journey, and it's easy to get lost. But isn't that the point? How else would Pina Bausch's dancers find their way to the house in Mon Oncle?"




It's like finally understanding that everything is a big crazy mess, that everyone is actually a little insane and despite all of this, we're still okay. For me, it was a well-timed reminder of a lesson I thought I'd learned a long time ago. And much as I'm not sure I can say I glean all of that from these playful little sewn drawings, I've found that such issues of gigantic proportion are often best tackled with small gestures, especially playful ones.




Show's up til November 8, if you're in the neighborhood.

Nice Rack

And I'm not talking ta-ta's, silly! Bike Racks seem to sprout in new places every day around here, however slowly and long in the coming they may be about it. I noticed recently on the Philly Bike Coalition blog a permanent link with FAQs on how to get a bike rack in place for anywhere in Philadelphia. So say you're a business with a bike loving clientele and say you can't claim ample bike parking in front of said business and say you're not sure how to make it easier for people to patronize your establishment? Well, now they've told you.

Airago, Combination Bike Pump & Rack

Swiss Designed Bike Rack

Functional in Philadelphia

The BCGP blog is really a great resource for all sorts of things, they are always up to date with the latest bicycle related media hubbub, accident reports, local cyclist know-how and what-have-you. Just now I read a brand new post about a call for metalworkers to design a functional bike rack for the Philadelphia Center for Architecture at 12th and Arch. Strap on those thinking caps welders!

Designing Women

Naturally, FH has a bit of a soft spot for companies that go after a niche market. People who go crazy just to make things specifically designed for a very narrow task or object or moment. Sometimes this manifests as genuine garbage: the Clapper, for instance or Tater Mitts. But when the idea is good and the motives are sound you get well executed, targeted design that really helps people out. And sometimes things exit the realm of mere function and aesthetics and become something altogether greater. That's when truly brilliant design becomes so important to society that it changes the character of our collective life.

Pretty lofty aspirations for a design. And when it comes to niche markets, sometimes even when a good design achieves such greatness, the people it is designed for don't know it exists. Or where to find it. And that's where Shop Well with You comes in. This is an organization based in New York that helps to connect a specific group of people--women who have experienced physical consequences as a result of cancer treatment--with clothing and accessories that tailor to their specific needs. The nonprofit believes in helping women cancer survivors to have a positive body image and sense of self. They identify as a body image resource center. They offer lists of places to find clothing tailored to women who are living after a mastectomy or chemotherapy, and also a forum for other women to share experiences and stories about their own battles with cancer and any tips for dealing with the aftermath they find useful. It is a collaboration between the organization, the companies designing items specific to cancer survivors, and the women themselves: a threefold project to benefit a sadly growing niche market of women.

More often than not, I think that significant design that aims to solve problems like these requires the aid of a not for profit organization. Is this just the way it has to be? I feel like design and profit are stuck in this constant tango between huge profitability for design that aims low and low profitability for things we really need. My mom was visiting last weekend and two of her friends have been diagnosed with cancer in the last month. So when Carrie expressed the same experience of her mom's friends increasingly being diagnosed, we felt strongly that we wanted to tell you guys about this successful organization that deals with an incredibly important issue. They are doing admirable work.