The authors, John Jennings and Damian Duffy (J2D2), will be speaking at Parkland College this Friday about the craft of graphic novels and their use as political engagement.

Friday, April 23
11 – 11:50 a.m.
Parkland College
Library International Lounge

The event is free and open to the public; no registration is necessary.

John Jennings, illustrator and designer, is an associate professor of graphic design at UIUC. Damian Duffy, writer and letterer, is a PhD
student at UIUC. Their new book, Black Comix: African American Independent Comics, Art and Culture, will be coming out in June.

Learn more about J2D2 and their visit at http://www.parklandreads.org/?p=1061.

Vote once a day through February: http://www.refresheverything.com/renourish

A bit about Re-nourish.com
Re-nourish.com, founded by Eric Benson, a UIUC design professor, helps to facilitate the adoption of sustainable graphic design practices by providing the industry with practical and reliable tools and resources. The site is the graphic design industry’s only comprehensive resource on sustainable graphic design theory and practice. Re-nourish.com features searchable greener printer and paper databases, informational guides to greener print design, packaging design, and digital design, a Sustainable Graphic Design Roadmap of best practices, case studies, an interactive Project Calculator to help designers realize cost and materials savings during the course of any given project, and a benchmark system for certifying greener designers and their work. Re-nourish.com intends to help make sustainable design what design is, not merely what it “could be.”

The Pepsi grant would allow the team to completely overhaul and expand the site, making it way more user-friendly, adding more tools, improving the current ones. It’ll also allow them to launch an industry-wide, consensus-based sustainable design standards initiative, and to expand their reach throughout the field, helping to get sustainable design resources into the hands of working designers everywhere.

Pepsi is giving away millions in grants each month to fund ideas that will have a positive impact. Re-nourish is eligible under the Planet category for a $50,000 grant if they finish in the top ten at the end of the month. Visitors can vote once a day everyday during the month of February to help Re-nourish empower the next generation of sustainable designers around the globe! You can vote for Re-nourish here: http://www.refresheverything.com/renourish

Lupton’s talk is part of UIUC’s DesignMatters Lecture Series.

Thursday, Feb 18, 2010
5:15pm
Plym Auditorium 134 Temple Hoyne Buell,
611 Lorado Taft Dr., Champaign, IL

Ellen Lupton is a designer, writer, and curator. She will talk about different models of authorship and what they mean for designers working today. What does it mean to be an author? Do authors originate content, or do they create distinctive formal languages? Lupton will talk about different paradigms of authorship in relation to her own work. Along the way, you’ll learn about crimes against typography, the D.I.Y. revolution, how to publish your own book, how to make your bed, and whether your bra fits properly.

Ellen Lupton is curator of contemporary design at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City and director of the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (MICA). She has produced numerous books and exhibitions, including  Mechanical Brides: Women and Machines from Home to Office (1993), Graphic Design: The New Basics, and Skin: Surface, Substance + Design (2002). Her book Thinking with Type (2004) is a basic guide to typography directed at everyone who works with words.

A frequent lecturer around the U.S. and the world, Lupton will speak about design to anyone who will listen.

Ever since Re-nourish launched our site anew, offering practical tools and comprehensive learning around sustainable graphic design, we’ve been consistently humbled by the positive responses we’ve received. It’s clear that designers at all levels, and those who work with them, are hungry for straight talk and real information. But to do this legitimately – without green-washing and without catering to special interests – we have to answer some seriously complex questions. What impacts should be considered? How should those impacts be measured? Where should the bar be set? Who should get a say? How do we integrate the efforts of others without reinventing the wheel?

Recently we’ve been honored with a nomination for a 2009 Cooper-Hewitt People’s Choice Award. We’d truly appreciate your vote as it would send a clear signal to the Design Community making sustainable design what design is, not merely what it “could be.”

Vote here: http://peoplesdesignaward.cooperhewitt.org/2009/nominee/2128 by October 20, 2009!
Thanks!

This is the highlight of the year for book designers, and book lovers – university press design at its best. 50 books and 30 covers on view.

Reception Wednesday, Sept 23, 4–5:30
University of Illinois Press
1325 South Oak St, Champaign

We’d like to give a shout-out to CUDO Advisory Board member Eric Benson (also professor in the design department of UIUC) who has been one of the key developers of this initiative. Congrats on the launch!

The site offers graphic designers access to practical, reliable sustainable design tools, including thoroughly researched yet accessible guides to greener print, packaging, and digital design; searchable nationwide databases of greener paper and printer options; an interactive project calculator that allows users to design a more sustainable, cost-effective print project from beginning to end; and a third-party certification system that sets the bar for graphic design studios and the work they produce. Developed by a tight-knit team of design professors and working professionals, Re-nourish.com is the result of several years of research into environmental science, sustainable design best practices, and hands-on experience. With the relaunch, Re-nourish.com leads the graphic design industry into a new era of sustainability by providing designers and their clients a practical way to go green without the greenwash.

About Re-nourish.com
Re-nourish.com‘s mission is to facilitate the adoption of sustainable graphic design practices by providing the industry with practical and reliable tools and resources. The site is the graphic design industry’s only comprehensive resource on sustainable graphic design theory and practice. Re-nourish.com features searchable greener printer and paper databases, informational guides to greener print design, packaging design, and digital design, a Sustainable Graphic Design Roadmap of best practices, case studies, an interactive Project Calculator to help designers realize cost and materials savings during the course of any given project, and a benchmark system for certifying greener designers and their work. Re-nourish.com intends to help make sustainable design what design is, not merely what it “could be.”

Lucky for us, they’re going to be on sale at the Boneyard Arts Festival this weekend. Proceed and Be Bold! is the title of a documentary on Kennedy that we plan on screening here in the fall, along with a letterpress workshop with Kennedy himself. So check out his work this weekend, and stay tuned for more news.

Posters will be for sale in the library room of the IMC building in Urbana, from 12pm-5pm on Saturday, April 18th.

We couldn’t be happier. Friday’s event confirmed what we had suspected and hoped for when we started CUDO: that a LOT of designers in Champaign-Urbana and the surrounding areas have a strong desire for community. And that they’re excited about what we’re doing, and are willing to step up and be involved in whatever capacity they can.

We had a turnout of over 115 people (!), and many emails from people who wanted to make it but weren’t able to. We initially expected about 50, so I think it’s safe to say the event was a huge success!  We also raised $450 in memberships and merchandise sales, which will help us substantially as we start with our programming endeavors.

Thank you to everyone who came out! We had a fantastic time and were overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and support that you all showed (even though we had a few technical glitches. . .).

Over the next few days we hope to get in touch with everyone who expressed an interest in getting more involved. We’re also going to post more details about upcoming events, specifically the board game social and Chicago Pecha Kucha trip. There’s lots to do and we’re ready to start planning more events and put together a rockin website.

It’s wonderful to see this organization finally come to life.

As we meet with more designers around town our energy and excitement keep on growing. Each person we talk to has given us real insight into the Champaign-Urbana designer community and has shared their ideas and enthusiasm and support. Ever heard of Pecha-Kucha? Neither had we, but be assured that it will show up high on CUDO’s programming list. The documentary “American Artifact“, about the rise of the American rock poster? Ya, another fantastic suggestion which we’ll definitely work on getting screened here.

As a matter of fact, our event ‘to do’ list has grown so long that it’s time to really get things moving. Over the next few weeks we’ll be having a CUDO open house where we’ll share our vision with you and hopefully get lots of feedback on what you want CUDO to be. Please join our Facebook page or mailing list so we can send you details once they’re all finalized.

See you soon!