The answer is: Yes, design can make you happy. At least according to Austrian designer Stefan Sagmeister in this lecture (approx. 18 min.).
Among other things, Stefan Sagmeister has designed album covers for Lou Reed, The Rolling Stones, Patti Smith and Talking Heads. Here he goes through a series of designs that made him happy – ranging from billboards in Hong Kong, street art in New York and to his own work.
Process, Design & Aesthetics is now officially accepted as a part of the Nordic Summer University (NSU) study programme 2008 – 2010. This is the fifth incarnation of the so-called “Aesthetics study circle” (Study circle 4) within the NSU since 1996.
The study circle organise two annual seminars: the Winter-symposium during a weekend in March, and the week long Summer Session in July. With this weblog we hope to extend the activities and discussions to the interval between the physical sessions. We invite everybody with an interest in the field of process, design and aesthetics to join in.
The operating principle of the study circle has always been “works in progress”. Papers presented to the study circle should be open to discussion. Study circle 4 is an interdisciplinary forum where ideas and drafts can be introduced to a broad assembly of students and scholars within the field of the humanities. This weblog is envisaged as a tool to support this forum. We encourage the participants to upload papers and invite colleagues to discussions of topics relevant to the study circle. Furthermore, we hope the weblog will help propagate the acquaintance of Process, Design & Aesthetics to a larger public.
The weblog functions like any other weblog. Everybody can submit a comment to the posts on the blog. Those who wish can be approved to write contributions directly to the blog. This requires registration as “user” of WordPress.com. This can be done at http://wordpress.com/signup/ – remember to ask for a username. After registration at WordPress, please notify the coordinators (see below) and report the e-mail address used for registration. Then the coordinators will assign contributor’s rights.
In the right hand column of the weblog you will find a number of Pages. Some contain general information about NSU and the study circle. Others are open for contributions. “History” will document the history of the study circle through its various incarnations. “Literature” will list a number of suggested readings. We welcome further suggestions. “Themes” lists a number of possible subjects for future seminars within the study circle. Additional suggestions will be appreciated. The “Blogroll” contains a number of links to websites considered relevant to the study circle. Please contribute with more links. The “Circle 4 Photos” is a Flickr archive containing photos from previous seminars. We would like to receive more photos.
Language
Although the majority of the participants in the NSU and the study circle are native Scandinavians, we have chosen to present this weblog in English. There are several reasons for this. Within the Nordic community the Scandinavian languages – Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish – actually excludes many Finns and Icelanders. We would like to attract more Finns and Icelanders to the study circle. Further, we hope to see contributions from people outside the Nordic countries. We are aware, though, that there are disadvantages to the choice of English as working language. Some may feel reluctant to submit a comment in a language they are not fully conversant with. Our position is: better to be understood by many in less than perfect English, than to be understood by but a few in perfect Danish/Norwegian/Swedish. We would, however, appreciate your opinion on this matter. Submit your comment in the language of your choice – and make your point.
We hope you will be a frequent reader of this weblog and that you will contribute to the discussions. Please bookmark and pass on the link to anybody who would be interested in the field of Process, Design & Aesthetics.
The coordinators are Kristine Samson and Claus Krogholm. We can be contacted at kristine [at] ready-made.dk and clauskrogholm [at] mail.dk
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