Earlier this year DREAM:IN, an international inititative was started by Carlos Teixeira and Sonia Manchanda in conjunction with idiom and support by Bruce Nussbaum.  See below for original details.
DREAM:IN is a platform for engaging local design expertise globally.

The DREAM:IN Project challenges one and all, to begin the creation process, not from people’s needs but from their dreams. To share dreams, to create big ideas that help realize dreams. And to bring ideas to reality, leveraging networks, with skill, speed and imagination. The DREAM:IN project is the creation of a set of design thinkers across borders. It is designed to challenge us to create not for people’s needs, but for their dreams. Its time to get greed and need out of the way and create common dreams. In India, is it the time to unlock dreams, the dream of every common man, woman and child.

We are inviting students, faculty, design experts, entrepreneurs, artists, venture capitalists, activists, business leaders, not-for-profit agents, government leaders, and who ever else would like to:
a. apply user-centered design to collect and interpreted the DREAMS of people in India
b. play the role of a knowledge broker to transform DREAMS into projects with economic, social, cultural, territorial, and environmental value
c. explore new ways of enterprising design knowledge through open innovation systems and global networks based on local expertise
d. imagine new ventures based on new types of organizations and business models
e. transform DREAMS into tangible realities

Connect with DREAM:IN
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/DREAMIN_Team

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/dreaminteam

Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/dreamin

Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreaminteam/

Youtube:
DREAM:IN Youtube Channel

idiom-8866797
idiom design consulting

Source: origional event email from Carlos Teixeira (Parsons The New School for Design profile) and NODES (http://spread-design.blogspot.com/ )

“On 11 March, 2011, people interested in service and customer experience will meet at locations all over the globe.
They will be designers, students, academics, business people, and customers.
In a spirit of experimentation, innovation, co-operation and friendly competition, teams will have less than 48 hours to develop and prototype completely new services inspired by a shared theme.  At the end of the weekend, their collection of brand new services will be published to the world.
Join us at the Global Service Jam 2010.”

Schedule:
“Multiple locations, worldwide, jamming to the same beat:

[Fri. 11 March by 5 pm local]

The Jam participants come together at worldwide locations prepared by local organisers.

[Fri. 11 March, 6.30 pm local]

The global themes and achievements (optional goals) for the Jam are presented. Discussion in informal groups.  Dinner is a good idea.

[Fri. 11 March, 9pm local]

The local Jam comes together for the pitching session.  Anyone can present their basic idea, groups form, and participants join the group that interests them.

[Fri. 11. March, 10pm local] until  [Sun. 13 March, 3pm local]

The groups work independently, supported by Mentors and Specialist Providers in some locations.  Research or observations are performed virtually, or through short excursions. The teams develop their service design and prototype it using whatever methods they choose. Sleep is optional, but recommended.

Local Jams are in contact globally through social media, wormholes, carrier pigeons or whatever else we set up. Share, exchange, inspire. But remember – it is deeply Cheesy and Uncool to communicate the themes to teams to the West of you. For a level playing field, themes are announced at LOCAL time…

[Sun. 13 March, 3pm local]

The teams deliver documentation of a working prototype.  This can be a film of human interaction, photos of a mock-up, a dummy website, or anything else that provides a permanent, publishable record of their idea and work. These are uploaded and published for the world under Creative Commons licensing.

After publishing, teams can sit back, kick back, enjoy a well-earned beverage and browse through the global results. Or they can get busy supporting teams further to the west…”

service_design_jam-9737983
via: http://www.globalservicejam.org/content/just-48-hours

How to Join:
USA, New York City
The contact for the New York City, USA location is Cameron Tonkinwise.
Are you local? Contact Cameron!
Cameron Tonkinwise – Parsons
tonkinwc@newschool.edu
Twitter: @camerontw

China, Shanghai
The contacts for the Shanghai, China Jam are Bruno Porto and David Fox.
Are you local? Contact Bruno & David!
Emails: design@brunoporto.com & mrsmithdesign@hotmail.com

For information on more locations:
http://www.globalservicejam.org/locations
For information on how to start your own: http://www.globalservicejam.org/content/participate

Elaine Scarry of
Parsons Event Description:

NEW YORK, December 14, 2010—A new theory of design has recently emerged that moves design toward more interdisciplinary, humanitarian ends. In the spirit of the holiday season, Parsons The New School for Design and the Köln International School of Design (KISD) will explore what design is capable of giving to the world with The Critical Gift of Design, a conference and exhibition featuring leading international designers and scholars, taking place at The New School December 16-17.

“We understand that design is not a neutral act,” said Joel Towers, executive dean of Parsons. “With the Critical Gift, we are taking a step back to assess how we have used this power throughout history—for better and worse—and how we might apply it in the future to benefit an increasingly complex and global society.”

Bringing together design and the social sciences, participants will discuss what makes design attractive or repulsive, humane or inhumane, social or antisocial. The conference will feature a keynote address, “Beauty and the Design of Aliveness,” by Elaine Scarry, the Walter M. Cabot Professor of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University. The conference will also be driven by breakout discussion sessions led by participants, includingPaola Antonelli, senior curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art; Ruedi Baur, graphic designer and cofounder of the interdisciplinary network Intégral Concept; Marco Piva, founder of the architecture, interior, and industrial design firm Studiodada Associates; Uta Brandes, professor of gender and design and of design research at KISD; and Jamer Hunt, director of the MFA program in Transdisciplinary Design at Parsons.

“Design has gained an importance and a self-consciousness that requires it to be much more critical—against its own stupidities and against inhumane social and political activities,” said Michael Erlhoff, founding professor of KISD, who co-organized the conference with Clive Dilnot, professor of Design Studies at Parsons, and Cameron Tonkinwise, associate dean of Sustainability at Parsons.

Extending the ideas of the conference is the corresponding exhibition The Present, featuring work by Parsons and KISD students, which will be on display in the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons December 16-19. Through critical product design, subversive videos, satirical stories and controversial projects, The Present will challenge visitors to consider whether design is a gift or a curse. The exhibition will highlight work produced by the first class of students in the MFA Transdisciplinary Design program at Parsons, a collaborative, studio-based program that applies design solutions to complex global problems.

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Notes from the Opening Conference Presentation given by Elaine Scarry:
“We have a lot of beautiful objects in the world.  Do we need more? Yes.  The answer is obviously yes” as more and more continue to pour into this world.

Three Sights of Beauty, one of which is symmetry.
-Symmetry in objects is beautiful well known.
-Symmetric in justice. -reaction of the perceive to the object of the beauty.

Justice:
Justice is alway artefactual, never natural. (or artificial?)
beauty contributes to justice with the desire to create more and more in the world.
If you bring an object into the room, its beauty effects those in the room.
Justice is more expansive (like Apia’s concept of cosmopolitan) – it effects people in different locations.

Asymmetry
Discrepancy of poor: – widening asymmetries of wealth and increased stratification. She also brought up the increased power of weaponry.
I’d like to extend that to other concepts that I have heard about the asymmetry of power.
It’s not just asymmetry between nation-state and nation-state where one nation-state can destroy many others or the world.
That asymmetry also exists on the scope of the individual  – one individual can unleash massive damage to a city.

Concepts
-concepts we speak on “fairness”
-speaking in the realm of “justice”
-infinity, distribution – all terms for plentitude.
-radical un-selfing.
-Timelag

Crowd questions:
“Aren’t machine guns and bombs beautiful?  As they are symmetrical.” How real is symmetry as “our eyes cannot see parallels” so what happens is that “we construct symmetry.” (see Crafting Hybrid Design with note on how lines are only abstractions)

Designers + Theorists mentioned:
-Charles Rennie Mackintosh
-Plato’s Phaedrus

end notes
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Parsons The New School for Design is one of the most prestigious and comprehensive schools of art and design in the world. It is an integral part of The New School, a research university with a strong legacy in the social sciences. Based in New York, but active around the world, Parsons is committed to creatively and critically addressing the complexities of life in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.newschool.edu/parsons. (Parsons Press Release)

The Köln International School of Design (as part of the University of Applied Sciences Cologne) was founded in 1991 as the first completely transdisciplinary design university. Through projects and seminars, students study all of the teaching and research areas offered by KISD, such as Service Design, Design and Economy, Gender Design, Interface Design, Design and Identity, Design for Manufacturing, and Design Theory. KISD offers a 4-year BA Integrated, a 5-year BA/MA in European Design, and a 2-year research-based MA Integrated. As about 35% of KISD students do not speak German, almost all of the projects, seminars, lectures, and courses are held in English. For more information, visit www.KISD.de. (Parsons Press Release)

Parsons Press Release – http://www.newschool.edu/pressroom/pressreleases/2010/criticalgift.htm
Info in German –
http://www.koeln-nachrichten.de/bildung/hochschule/koeln_kisd_new_york_ausstellung_design_2010_dezember.html

URBAN@PARSONS PRESENTS:

URBANISMS OF INCLUSION: ATLANTIS TRANSATLANTIC EDUCATION PROGRAM
Pecha-kucha presentations followed by a panel discussion with:
Teddy Cruz, Bruno De Meulder, Kelly Shannon, Glenn Smith, Brian McGrath, Miodrag Mitrasinovic
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CITIES, NATURE & URBAN DESIGN: CASES IN BELGIUM AND VIETNAM
Lecture by Bruno De Meulder & Kelly Shannon, KU Leuven University, Belgium
Kellen Auditorium 66 5th Avenue, Sheila Johnson Design Center
Friday December 17, 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 2010
Find more information about the Atlantis Program here.
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My Chunked Notes:
Image of stakeholders diagram showing relationships and influence
mobilepic 1 patchworks
mobilepic 2 social ecological structure

Miodrag Mitrasinovic
“These schools got together because we share two things in common.
One of which is social inclusion the other of which is design.”

3 lenses of design
1. Human centered approach-  not top down, not formal
But from middle out
2. Process orieted approclav not driven by form or driven by interaction.
But driven by socio enivonrmental and political action
3. Nexus of teaching, researh, knowledge and action

“How we can uneaeth new bodies of knowledge and codefiy them across the differnt types of action in the spectrum?”

Threads that went through all of the presentations:
-Social inclusion
-Designs’ capacity to bring about change
-Promiscuous areas

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Teddy Cruz
“The right circle concept of cities is a sociological concept organizing data.  Cities are based on permiscuois systems. Like la la didn’t have a grand plan.”
“Designers are schizo by nature.”
“We can create new social relationships.”
“Without alterting the very rigid economic policies and political framework.”
“Design can become a service to rethink the economic policies and political frameworks”

“The science of the city and interieing in the city.
The designer can be the one to intervene with the problems in the city.
Design can come to a resolution of the conflict that words could no longer don. The power of negotiation through design can create a spatial solution” (But I think that it also provides solutions that are not just spatial). “Design can “do more than talk but [actually] create agency.”

Not just “spatial relations and visual representations. But also the ability to is not led by buildings or systems but by the reorganized social systems. Corporations and co-managers of resources. My own cirticq of my own process…we lack the tools. Drawings are limited. What other devices allow us to translate those new roles of entrepreneurship.”

Kelly Shannon
Relationships of people to their own environment.
Space and interactions with space.
Translate it so those actions can redefine the tip down legislation.
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_________________________________________________________________
addy thoughts: I really appreciate the way architects organize their work.

LUXURY DESIGN + STRATEGYFor the past 16 years Parsons students have collaborated with MBA students from Columbia University to develop brand-strengthening design solutions for luxury companies.

This year, teams were chosen to research and design for Hermès, Bulgari, Maclaren, Loro Piana, Haviland. Each company had a unique case, requirements and goals. It is good to see more professionals and people from different backgrounds change their view of design from something of decoration to a force of actual function and meaning. Increasingly I notice more business schools getting involved in design. Like Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Stanford and Columbia.

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SITE
Students meet at Parsons, Columbia University, and the offices of the companies’ chief executives for discussion and working sessions.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Barbra Cirkva, Chair
Ketty Maisonrouge, President

ADVISORY BOARD:
Assouline: Prosper Assouline, President & Founder
Bulgari: Veronica Trenk, Managing Director
Cartier: Emmanuel Perrin, President & CEO
Chanel: Barbra Cirkva, Division President, Fashion, Watches and Fine Jewelry
Christian Dior: Pamela Baxter, President & CEO
Graff: Henri Barguirdjian, President & CEO
Gucci: Laura Lendrum, President & CEO
Hermès: Rober Chavez, President & CEO
Lalique, Haviland, Daum: Maz Zouhairi, President & CEO
Loro Piana: Fabio Leoncini, Managing Director, Luxury Goods
Louis Vuitton: Geoffroy van Raemdonk, Acting President
Luxottica: Andrea Dorgio, EVP of Wholesale North America
LVHM Perfumes and Cosmetics: Pamela Baxter, President and CEO
Maclaren: Farzad Rastegar, President

Special Thanks to Heico Wesselius and Andrew Cornell Robinson of the Design+ Management department of Parsons The New School for Design

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links + sources:

http://www.newschool.edu/parsons/luxury-education-foundation/
http://www.luxuryeducationfoundation.org/
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David Kozatch, founder of D.I.G spoke, at IxDA about Designing Meaningful Experiences.
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Topics:
How we can make experiences emotional.
Information overload, how we can make information useful.
Adaptive UIs
Helpful – non-intrusive
-Interested
-Simple and Clear
-Respectful
-Forgiving
Related:
3 Levels of Experience
Don Norman Talk on Design of the Future Things
Front Stage Back Stage – Service Design
Don Norman’s Ted Talk on  Design and Emotion
Denis Dutton’s Ted Talk on Beauty on A Darwinian theory of beauty

Svcs/Software Mentioned or Used:
Jing, Blekko – new search engine,

See IxDA for a universe of information.
Follow IxDA NYC on Eventbrite to get notified about future events.
The next one is a Winter Social/Holiday Party details TBA.

official event info:
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER
David Kozatch founded D.I.G. in 1989, after almost ten years serving in the trenches at major packaged goods companies and advertising agencies in New York. David has conducted literally thousands of focus groups and in-depth interviews in the areas of financial services, software, hardware, Web/interactive services and telecommunications. With a deep understanding of business decision makers and end users, he has consistently worked to translate client objectives into actionable solutions. For more information about D.I.G, please visit Digsmarter.com.

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slides from David’s slidsahre: http://www.slideshare.net/dkozatch/designing-for-meaningfulexperiencesixda-slideshare

ABOUT OUR HOST
J.P. Morgan is a leader in financial services, offering solutions to clients in more than 100 countries with one of the most comprehensive global product platforms available. We have been helping our clients to do business and manage their wealth for more than 200 years. Our business has been built upon our core principle of putting our clients’ interests first. To learn more about JP Morgan, visit the website.

Consultancies:Peer Insight
Engine
Continuum
Frontier
IDEO
frog design
Liquidnet
lvl*studio
Universities:
Köln International School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Carnegie Mellon University
Savannah College of Art and

Individuals:
Kip Lee www.kipthinks.com
Jeff Howard – Design for Service www.designforservice.wordpress.com

Taste of Asia at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs
New York brings a lot of driven, smart and international people together. This is a good example. I met people from places like Hangzhou, Seoul, and Tianjin whom are pursing masters degrees in majors like biotechnology or international finance.
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“A night of food, music, and fun in celebrating this unique part of the world.”
Where: 6th Floor of the International Affairs Building
When: Wednesday, November 10th from 7:00pm to 11:00pm
source: http://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/get.php?brand=sipa_sa&id=44914&vt=detail&context=standalone
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The first Service Design Network Conference in America took place in Cambridge on October 29th, 2010.  Held at the Microsoft R&D Center at MIT, topics included institutional healthcare, personal healthcare, personal finance, and mobile interaction.  The presentations and conversation also covered inhouse service design, service design as a discipline, and more theoretical models.
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more photos at the end of the post

Speakers
Oliver King – Engine
“As a co-founder and director of Engine, Oliver leads the private sector practice helping organizations to identify where, when and how they can provide better, more meaningful and valuable services.  In practical terms he works with organizations to help them formulate strategy and deliver service innovation by improving or interconnecting the things that their customers experience – from product to process and people.”

Chris McCarthy – Kaiser Permanente
“Chris McCarthy is the Director of the Innovation Learning Network (ILN) and Innovation Specialist with KP’s Innovation Consultancy (IC).  In 2003 Chris partnered with IDEO to learn and import methods of ‘design thinking’ into Kaiser Permanente, and has co-led several multi-regional innovation projects which have since been implemented in dozens of KP and non-KP hospitals.”

Lorna Ross – Mayo Clinic
“Ross has 16 years’ experience working in design and design research, with the past nine years focused on design for health and health care.  She is a graduate of The R0yal College of Art, London.  Prior to joining the Center for Innovation at Mayo Clinic last year as a manager of the design group, Ross ran the Design for Human Wellbeing Group at the MIT Media Lab Europe.”

Lew McCreary – Harvard Business Review
“McCreary is a writer and editor specializing in innovation-related subjects.  He is a contributing editor at Harvard BUsiness Review (HBR), where he previously worked as a senior editor.  Prior to HBR, he spent nearly two decades covering information technology – from a leadership perspective – for audiences of senior executives.”

Robert Fabricant – frog design
“Robert Fabricant leads multidisciplinary design teams fro frog design, a global innovation firm.  Frog’s multidisciplinary process reveals valuable consumer and market insights, and inspires lasting humanizing solutions.  Robert is a leader of frog’s health care  expert group, a cross-disciplinary global team that works collectively to share best practices to share best practices and build frog’s health care capabilities.”

Shelley Evenson – Microsoft
“Shelley Evenson is a principal, user experience designer at Microsoft.  Shelley has been an Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon School of Design, where she was also the director of graduate studies.  She teaches in the area of interaction and service design, including Designing for Service, Introduction to Interaction & Visual Interface, and Graduate Design Studio courses.”

Monica Bueno – Continuum
“A Senior Design Strategist with Continuum, Monica Bueno excels at developing innovative and socially meaningful solutions for clients.  An industrial and interaction designer by training, Monica is deeply committed to translating customer, business and technology research into innovative solutions that are desirable and relevant to clients and their stakeholders.”

Peter Corbett – iStrategyLabs
“Peter Corbett is the founder and CEO of iStrategyLabs – an interactive agency that develops creative solutions to clients’ challenges and brings them to life in the digital and physical world.”

Mark Jones – IDEO
“As the leader for Service Innovation for Chicago, Mark works closely with service companies seeking to reinvent how they serve their customers.  Mark’s extensive design background and his broad experience in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies allow him to uncover user issues and convert them into actionable design requirements.”

For photos and details on their presentations and previous work, please see individual posts in my notebook.
Source: http://www.service-design-network.org/content/about-speakers

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Photos I took during Day 1 – Registration
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Photos I took during Day 2 – Conference

Check back at the SDN site soon for videos of the presentations.

Sponsored by Microsoft, Core77, AIGA