Swiss Universities of Design and Art
"Since its foundation in 2003, the Swiss Design Network has been active in the field of design research by networking researchers from the Swiss Universities of Design and Art, by organising internationally renowned symposiums and by publishing their proceedings, by offering direct support to research projects and by participating in the research debate on national and international level. ...
it is also clear that research is a paradoxical activity that needs to be free and framed at the same time. Designerly ways of knowing rely on rigour and creativity and most of the debates about social relevance, scientific or cultural value carried by design research are rooted into this paradox. To some extent, this is true of every research activity - and this is the very reason why a focused discussion of design projects and methods is always precious; because digging into the details of different thought processes is what will ultimately allow fresh visions of design goals and strengths.
The Swiss Design Network is therefore a platform to challenge ideas and share intellectual friendship."
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Welcome to the Era of Design
"All businesses, no matter what they make or sell, should recognize the power and financial value of good design.
Obviously, there are many different types of design: graphic, brand, packaging, product, process, interior, interaction/user experience, Web and service design, to name but a few. ...
You see, expecting great design is no longer the preserve of a picky design-obsessed urban elite - that aesthetically sensitive clique who'd never dare leave the house without their Philippe Starck eyewear and turtleneck sweaters and buy only the right kind of Scandinavian furniture. Instead, there's a new, mass expectation of good design: that products and services will be better thought through, simplified, made more intuitive, elegant and more enjoyable to use.
Design has finally become democratized, and we marketers find ourselves with new standards to meet in this new 'era of design.' To illustrate, Apple, the epitome of a design-led organization, now has a market capitalization of $570 billion, larger than the GDP of Switzerland. Its revenue is double Microsoft's, a similar type of technology organization but one not truly led by design (just compare Microsoft Windows with Apple's Lion operating system)."
(Adam Swann, 5/03/2012, Forbes)
Fig.1 "Mille Miglia" bicycle by VIVA [http://www.vivabikes.com/].
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Helvetica: feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture
"Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.
Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day. The film was shot in high-definition on location in the United States, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium."
(Gary Hustwit, 2007 Swiss Dots Ltd.)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Re.ViCa project: systematic review of Virtual Campus initiatives
"The Re.ViCa project [Reviewing (traces of) European Virtual Campuses] ran from October 2007 until October 2009. Re.ViCa has been making an inventory and carrying out a systematic review of cross-institutional Virtual Campus initiatives of the past decade within higher education at European, national and regional levels. The main objective of the Re.ViCa project was to identify relevant parameters and success factors for evaluating and comparing Virtual Campuses, based on thorough research and expert input. The Re.ViCa Consortium organises in-depth discussions with experts in order to incorporate the input of different interest groups."
(Re.ViCa project)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
The Virtual Library: the oldest catalogue of the Web
"The WWW Virtual Library (VL) is the oldest catalogue of the Web, started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of HTML and of the Web itself, in 1991 at CERN in Geneva. Unlike commercial catalogues, it is run by a loose confederation of volunteers, who compile pages of key links for particular areas in which they are expert; even though it isn't the biggest index of the Web, the VL pages are widely recognised as being amongst the highest-quality guides to particular sections of the Web."
(The WWW Virtual Library)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
