Wedge is working with our good friends over at the Untitled Bottega on a big project that we’ll be premiering soon. Think arts, performance, community. Needless to say we need to clear up the area in anticipation. There’s a lot of cleanup to accomplish, so we’ll need all of you to make it happen. Read More
Where did all of the hardware stores go?
There’s a lot of exciting news in the world of business and retail here in Detroit this summer. We have two new grocery stores in midtown. We’ve got a slice of the new American manufacturing right over on Canfield. And even three exciting popup programs (notably, two of which are outside of the 7.2 sq mile downtown zone). It’s definitely a summer of progress.
Teaching the Design Process
This past Friday, Wedge headed over to the Madison-Carver Academy to teach a session on Design Thinking to the some of the students. Earlier this year, the class had already gone through a design thinking exercise, working through possibilities for a vacant lot near the school, but expressed some interest in doing some work with Read More
Campus Cleanup Roundup
Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who came out and helped clean up the Untitled Campus. With your help, we made a huge dent in cleaning up the buildings; it couldn’t have been done without you.
Hopscotch in Seattle!
Who says chalk is temporary? A group of changemakers in Seattle, Washington are embarking on their very own Hopscotch adventure, inspired by Hopscotch Detroit.
Big Ideas: You’re not an expert.
During college I was a big believer in the place of social entrepreneurship and impact investing. I took a number of classes on the subject, where we spent our time working with groups like the Bryant Community Center to design solutions to problems like drainage, transportation, and after-school activities. I watched TED talks, read case studies, and generally soaked up as much of the culture as possible. I was the best example of a young, college-educated white male with a savior complex. I was arrogant and probably annoyed a lot of people in the process. But, it took a summer internship in India to really set my mind straight on my place as a designer who wanted to do social good.
The Ten Things I Learned About Freelancing
It’s been almost a year since I started doing client work, and I figured it would be appropriate to share some lessons that I’ve learned so people can avoid or mitigate some of the big pitfalls that happened to me. This is really intended for anyone who is self-employed and doing freelance work, not just designers.
Big Idea Saturdays: Design is a Process
I think the most common question I get asked is “What do you do?” A rather good question, in fact. Often design is defined by its outputs: things like products, furniture, logos, or websites. There are certainly designers who specialize in particular outputs, so it becomes easy to think of design as a field that Read More
Detroit Future City Read: Part 2
This is part of an ongoing series examining the Detroit Strategic Framework Plan. View the other entries in this series here. On this entry we’re going to dive into the 12 imperative actions set out by the framework plan. If improving Detroit is the “why” of the document, these actions represent a very abstract version Read More
Detroit Future City Read: Part 1
The Detroit Strategic Framework Plan. You might also know it as Detroit Future City: a massive, 368-page outline for improvements, revitalization, and development here in Detroit. While it’s parent organization, the Detroit Works Project, has received some negative press due to some mistaken words and late schedules, the framework plan is exactly what it needs to be. It’s the Read More