It’s already February?
We had a great kick-off to 2024 this January. We toured Design B&B to explore why many of us chose design as our path. Our event consisted of hands-on group activities, presentations, and great conversation. Thanks to everybody who joined us, and special thanks to Design B&B and the team for hosting us.
COMING UP
Thursday, February 1
5 pm – 9 pm
Panel Discussion
DePaul University
Join us for a panel discussion at DePaul University led by Alison Place, author of Feminist Designer about the realities of doing feminist design. Through a conversation with panelists whose backgrounds span education, public service, and industry, we’ll explore what it looks like to bring feminist values to our work and the challenges of operating design in a feminist way.
Thursday, February 8
6 pm – 7 pm
Book Discussion
Virtual
What is feminist design?
Following up on our in-person panel, we will dive deeper into the book: Feminist Designer, published in 2023 by MIT Press. The book brings together a constellation of voices and perspectives to examine the intersection of design and feminist theory, some of whom spoke at our panel discussion. It is sure to be a compelling and insightful conversation.
Introducing Faculty
We are putting the finishing touches of our new publication, Faculty, which centers around our mission of building a positive culture within graphic design theory, craft, and practice and exists as a catalyst for uplifting ideas and voices. A list of featured writers and contributors is coming soon. Thanks to everybody who has pre-ordered a copy.
Thank you for supporting us
Our merch is making it around the States! Each purchase made through our store helps fund our programming and offerings. Thanks for all the support thus far. Make sure to tag us on social media to be featured.
Underscore
We have had two excellent episodes of Underscore to start the year. The first is a conversation with Sharlene King, a Chicago-based designer and innovation executive at Salesforce. She walks us through her introduction to design by way of working security at a museum and the path toward her career as a designer championing accessibility and authenticity within the creative process. Sharlene shares valuable lessons from her adolescence and explains her enthusiasm for new technologies that will evolve creativity, the commonalities between design and taxidermy, and life as neurodivergent.
That was followed by episode by a conversation with Chicago-based designer and Object Company founder Benjamin Edgar. He talks through a product's lifecycle and how, through purposeful collaboration and particular attention to the mundane, he can take an idea from the notes app to a prototype in a matter of weeks. He shares valuable lessons on a meditative presence and explains why he uses Internet Blue, Helvetica Neue 57 condensed bold, and value to communicate an idea.
Mu Radio
Music can be such an important part of the creative process. So we launched a program called Mu Radio, built for and with our community. The program will exist as weekly music slots where designers share curated playlists of the music they enjoy. Want to join?
You can listen to the latest mixes here.
First Fridays on Discord
We are going to start something new in February. On the first Friday of every month, around 12:15, we will have lunch or a drink together in our Discord Lounge—an informal chat where we can hang out and have fun. (And use our video channels more 😉). Look for the 🥗-First-Friday Video Channel in our Discord.