Washington D.C., – InformeDesign® (www.informedesign.umn.edu) recently released a new issue of Implications, a monthly newsletter on design and human behavior, that examines the many ways that today's designers are using digital tools and networks to innovate not only their designs but their design and business processes as well. It also discusses the digital media skills and competencies that designers need to be productive and competitive in today's industry.
Architect Frank Gehry's flowing and undulating creations have become icons of how computerized design has opened up a world of new possibilities for designers. The same technologies, notes author Janice Stevenor Dale, president of J S D A Inc. in Los Angeles, have made possible the digital design studio that may include employees from throughout the world working on projects together in a virtual work environment. "This approach accommodates asynchronous work schedules and allows designers to retain multiple interests and balance complex time needs," says Dale.
Digital tools allow designers greater self-expression with less risk, states Dale. They also make possible innovative manufacturing methods that can be integrated with highly intellectual, sustainable materials. It is critical, therefore, that designers collaborate closely with manufacturers and contractors to ensure that their designs are produced and installed properly.
All these changes and innovations mean that schools of design must embrace the importance of technology and prepare new designers accordingly. "As the competition for talent remains fierce, expect to work online collaboratively," Dale advises students. "Design, as we know it, is new."
InformeDesign is the first searchable database of design and human behavior research on the Web. The site currently contains more than 1,600 "practitioner-friendly" Research Summaries of findings from research literature transformed from more than 165 scholarly journals related to design and human behavior. All services on the InformeDesign Web site are currently available at no cost to visitors. In addition to the searchable database of Research Summaries, the site features a calendar of research-related events and a glossary of terms. The Web site is interactive, allowing visitors to provide comments about specific Research Summaries or other site issues. Visitors may register with InformeDesign and receive automated e-mail notifications about Research Summaries pertaining to their areas of interest or practice. Once registered, users have access to MyInformeDesign, a tool to catalogue and store Research Summaries of interest in a personal cache, available anywhere there is access to the Internet. Registered users also will be notified by e-mail when a new issue of Implications is published.
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ASID is a community of people—designers, industry representatives, educators and students—committed to interior design. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people's lives. Its more than 38,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 48 chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more about ASID, visit www.asid.org .
The University of Minnesota is one of the most comprehensive public universities in the United States and has been ranked among the top three public universities. It is a state land-grant university with a strong tradition
