Recently I posted a letter to the Phoenix design community. Without giving away the ending, I’ll just say that it is part of my desire to find a way to start a design revolution in Phoenix.
I’m a huge design nerd. I love Eames’ loungers, Carson’s magazines, and Micheal Beirut’s…well, I just love Michael Beirut. Tanner Woodford, Myself and Adria Robles-Morua (of Kitchen Sink Studios) even started our own magazine Fill/Stroke (which is in perpetual final edit status before issue 1)
The transition out of school was crazy enough as it was, but one of the biggest/weirdest things for me was the realization that no one was talking about design anymore. I don’t have the 4 or 5 kids from class who were as pumped out of our minds about new designobserver posts, or who would understand the need to talk about how that new Payless logo is kind of creepy. Conversations like that helped me through the day. School always had at least one or two events a month, even if it was just going and looking at the lower grades work, reminiscing about what we’d learned since then, talking about re-doing old projects, laughing at the kids who thought Bank Gothic still meant “techy”, but always talking and thinking about design.
Trying to find anything outside of school always seemed impossible. There were the occasional AIGA portfolio reviews and studio tours. I even remember Changing Hands had Chip Kidd in for a presentation. But even that was way back in 2005.
We’d be stuck asking ourselves “Isn’t Phoenix one of the biggest cities in the country? What’s so great about LA that everything seems to happen there? Where are our trade-celebrities like New York’s Glaser and Sagmeister? Where are all the designers?”
But then I started finding more and more people who felt the same. People in Phoenix DO care about design, they want to tell LA and New York to sit down and listen to something better. The old line “This is Phoenix, what do you expect” that everyone says is just a way to not get too excited. But here is the thing: Phoenix is AMAZING. It really is. Not only because of the insane amounts of potential here, but because of the insane amounts of talent waiting anxiously to prove themselves.
Phoenix Design Week is just an idea I’ve had for awhile that I wanted to kick start and see who’d want to be a part of it. Its already obvious I’m not alone. People in Phoenix are ready for this. New York and LA better get ready too.
An open letter to the Phoenix design community
i’m very excited to hear about this! let me know if you need help with anything. can’t wait to see what comes of this.
Canyon Communications would love to help!
Great positive news. We would like to hear more and help. Keep us posted.
Sandy Bruce
Detail Design and Fabrication, Inc.
Raising the bar will be light work with many hands, there is talent across the valley that goes under the radar.
If we can try to avoid the “scarcity mentality” and make collaborating the norm not competition, we’re on the right track.
Then we’ll want to work together locally (AIGA, SW Graphics, Creative Connect, Ignite, Refresh, Ad2, etc…) before we can work effectively to gain national attention (Print, CA, I.D., Eye, etc…)
It’s absolutely doable!
Count SW!TCH studio in.
+j
I agree with Jim,
There are seething fountains of awesome waiting to srping.
The Ape is in Shape and can lend you another hand.
Very exciting stuff! As a student, this is what I want to see and what many other students need in order to get fired up and excited about the design world.
Count the Art Institute of Phoenix in.
I’ll spread the word at the design club meetings and classes!