When Savannah College of Art and Design gave us an open invitation to conduct a series of workshops on a topic of our choosing for a mix of graduate and undergraduate Industrial Design, Systems Design, and Furniture Design students, we began our planning by asking ourselves a few simple questions:

“What kind of experience would be valuable to such a broad range of design students?”
“What sort of experience is our studio uniquely equipped to give to design students?”

Solution

These questions fueled a productive dialogue in our studio, providing opportunities for us to reexamine our own processes and assumptions. Our area of focus emerged as we identified a frequent gap in design education between instruction of technical skills and instruction of critical thinking.

It occurred to us that this relationship between craft and visual thinking is a common point of friction for students, design educators, and professionals alike. Despite the perceived difficulty of balancing these elements, our own attempts yielded the best results when technical skills and critical thinking were practiced together as an interrelated set of techniques.

We began referring to this practice as “thinking through making” and it became the foundation of our workshop pedagogy. We wished to convey to the students that design was both intellectual and physical; fetishizing either element would only result in thin blood.

To communicate this concept, we planned a series of exercises in designing and prototyping elemental objects (paper products and, eventually, simple lighting devices) as an armature for uptake of our “thinking through making” lesson.

The first part of the workshop was conducted over three days on campus in Savannah, culminating in a design competition with the prize being admission to the second workshop. That heralded second workshop took place two weeks later in our own studio in Atlanta.

Results

We sought feedback from the students (through video interviews) and many of them viewed our workshops as a welcome opportunity to step out of their ordinary routine and explore fundamental boundaries of their philosophies and processes.

We were also pleased to see the students emerge with new practical skills (book-making and prototyping) and, in some cases, portfolio-worthy product outcomes.

How did such an opportunity come about? Well, dear cartographically inclined reader, it all started when we received a rather flattering invitation from Atlanta art blog, Burnaway, to contribute work to an upcoming exhibition of theirs. The exhibit is called Lot & Parcel and it’s all about maps and Atlanta neighborhoods.

If it pleases you, do come peep it. The opening party will take place in conjunction with Burnaway’s first annual fundraiser and is scheduled for this Saturday, June 19, from 7 to 11 pm at The Goat Farm (aka the E. Van Winkle Gin and Machine Works, aka Murray’s Mill, aka 1200 Foster Street).

Our map is of our home turf: Poncey-Highland. Our description is below:

“Poncey-Highland is an unusually unknown place given its central location. Moreover, even most of those who are aware of it would find it difficult to describe its boundaries.

With that in mind, we decided to investigate the various definitions of Poncey-Highland that exist amongst those who call it home. To do this, we asked Poncey-Highlanders to make maps, from their respective memories, of the neighborhood. We culled our representative from two neighborhood institutions, one new, one old: Manuel’s Tavern and King of Pops popsicle stand.

Their responses are depicted in tinted transparent paper on our map. The actual neighborhood boundaries are indicated as black hairlines: Ponce de Leon to the North, Moreland to the East, Freedom Parkway Eastbound to the South, and the proposed Beltline to the West.”

Melissa and People of Resource have a brief but vivid history together. When we’ve needed extra hands and brains on deck, Melissa has enthusiastically pitched in. Her talent and intelligence have been a boon to us and we were honored that she would trust us with the fabrication of her lamp prototype, a project many months in the making.

The video above details some of the work that went into bringing this piece to life. For more on the concept, see Melissa’s description below:

“I started out trying to create a lamp that would also function as a calendar. Wanting to get something that dealt more with form than numbers, I thought for a long time about the ways that we’ve marked time throughout history, and how we experience time in seasons. I also didn’t want to limit the accuracy of the lamp by location, and in the end what sifted out was the concept of the solstice. It’s just so wonderfully ancient, and the length of the day marks our lives in an innate way that transgresses barriers of culture and location.

From a form standpoint, it breaks the year into two segments of continuous movement as we move closer and further from the sun. The diameter of the nested hemispheres reflects the eclipsis, (the arc of the sun through the sky) which becomes measurably longer and longer, as the length of the day increases.”

We were impressed by the students’ enthusiasm, ideas, and skills. On top of that, they are stellar people conducting their studies in some incredible facilities.

The first part of the workshop was conducted over three days on campus in Savannah, culminating in a design competition with the prize being admission to the second workshop. That heralded second workshop took place in our own studio in Atlanta.

We have to confess – we had a blast and the workshop was revelatory in terms of providing opportunities for us to reexamine our own processes and assumptions. We’ve gotten a lot of traction out of the conversations that have emerged before, during, and after.

We’re busy combing through the mountain of documentation we created, but as soon as we have a handle on it, we’ll be posting a more comprehensive study of this endeavor.

People of Resource’s first collaboration with SEEDR revolved around a project initiated by SEEDR in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Georgia Tech’s Tennenbaum Institute: a cold-chain Polio Vaccine container. People of Resource contributed design consultation, a functional white model, and on-site rapid visualization for the project’s most recent collaborative workshop.

For Yellawood’s Spring 2010 marketing campaign, Armchair developed a contest wherein Yellawood fans could win various prize packages. Our contributions were toward a Backyard Games Prize Package: thirty-two custom-painted croquet mallets and the eight Yellawood-clad crates that contains all the games.

Our good friend Jason Travis made the photograph you see above. You can find more images of the project in links to Flickr in the sidebar of this post.

Obscura is an exhibition of new works that are created to be self-illuminated and thereby only fully revealed and understood in an environment of total darkness. Stephen will be showing his series of lighting designs called “Origin of Species.” We don’t want to give anything away, but it involves concrete, suspension, and taxonomies of lighting devices. It is, in short, very SK.

Obscura will open this Saturday from 6 to 9 pm. We hope to see you there!

The Jones Group, one of Atlanta’s leading advertising agencies, brought together a team of professionals to completely overhaul their offices. Led by interior designer Caryn Grossman, the team consisted of lighting designer Christopher Moulder, artist Michi, contractor Shane Benefield, and People of Resource. Our contribution was the design and fabrication of all the workstations, along with breakout and conference tables.

Solution

The primary material used is Kirei board, a compressed ply board material created from reclaimed sorghum straw. We utilized Kirei along with 3-Form Chroma, powder coated steel, and formaldehyde-free MDF.

Features of the designs include integrated power routing in the table tops, under-table computer mounts, and magnetic whiteboard partitions.

Results

Upon delivery and installation, the space immediately appeared more cohesive and efficient, with the interaction of Kirei board and antique brick taking on a romantic undertone. This project won People of Resource a 2009 Atlanta Downtown Design Excellence Award.

Malcolm Fontier’s eponymous modern travel accessory line was an instant darling upon its debut. Well-deserved nods from noteworthy publications like Wired, Dwell, and Lucky are a regular thing for MF’s clean, stylish, and vegan-friendly carryall line.

Nevertheless, the designer’s success begged a question: what next? How could his brand’s solid reputation translate into new products? How could the audience for MF products increase? What would those moves look like?

Solution

To answer these questions, Malcolm Fontier again turned to People of Resource. Our relationship began several years ago when Malcolm tapped People of Resource to fabricate his trade show displays. We count it as an honor that he continues to trust us as a collaborative partner.

To gain increased control over interaction with his customer base, we initiated a two-pronged video campaign that would demonstrate the products’ usefulness and also convey Malcolm’s modern explorer brand message.

To reward loyal retailers and, again, tighten control over direct communication with customers, we developed retail displays that use high-quality materials in creative ways to keep production costs low.

Through a series of creative workshops, we worked alongside Malcolm’s team to research, understand, and expand upon the opportunities that laid in front of the company.

Results

As a result of our video and retail display work, we were able to deliver more meaningful connections between the Malcolm Fontier brand and its fanbase.

As a result of our product design workshops, we were able to expand Malcolm’s audience by creating new bag designs that increase his product offering variety. Further, our design for a new, lower-priced bag, delivers a broader audience while maintaining his reputation for top notch quality.

Roots Atlanta provides an encouraging and challenging support system to enable young people to flourish from the inside out. The heart of this organization and its desire to serve in a meaningful way attracted the People of Resource to run alongside its pursuits and actions.

After creating an identity and web site for Roots Atlanta, we approached them with a program of fun and interactive custom furnishings. When the unexpected difficulties that come with every start-up effort appeared, the time and budget demands tightened significantly.

Solution

We responded to the situation by calling on local organizations for donated materials, and using some clever design details to deliver an exciting, modern, and functional space.

With the help of the local school system surplus and Mohawk carpets, we were able to obtain old art tables, work tables, chairs, and carpet tiles.

We fabricated a shelving system out of a single piece of reclaimed walnut to showcase the best children’s books. By retrofitting affordable Ikea shelving with a mason jar storage system, craft supplies became easy to find and organize. We also utilized extra legs from school desks to make a maple reading table and a twelve-foot, solid, heart-pine bench.

Results

The space is now brimming with fun and excitement. Just from walking in, kids can feel the energy and intent of Roots’ energetic founder, Nicki Keys.