2020 Spring
Thursday, January 30, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department Duncan Anderson Gallery
Wolfgang Joensson
VIEWSDESIGN
The Concept of Beauty
Designers have to create products that work, sell and look good. The latter is subjective, which is why many designers and clients treat it with less importance than it deserves. It just feels risky to deal with it, talk about it and to approach it professionally. That is undeserved, since making our world more beautiful is a noble task, and a rewarding one. In his lecture, Wolfgang Joensson is going to talk about beauty in cultural and social contexts and possible paths to create it.
Wolfgang Joensson is a South African born German industrial designer and educator. He lives in Paris, France and Corona del Mar, CA. Throughout his career he has worked with international clients ranging from small startup companies to industrial giants, creating award-winning product, graphic, interface and package design which can be found in shops and museums worldwide. He is also the co-founder of a start-up company for sleep technology out of San Diego, CA, and a book author. He likes cocktails, cooking, culture and conversation with clever people.
Thursday, February 6, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department Duncan Anderson Gallery
Ken Mori
Belkin International
Remix
Sometimes, no, most times, design problems do not start with blue sky thinking on a clean sheet of paper. We usually reference, recycle or reappropriate existing solutions. The broader term ‘Remix’ describes a creative approach based in resourcefulness and cross-fertilization. In this talk, Ken will describe what emerges when passions for nerd culture, innovation and subversiveness collide.
Ken Mori is a Los Angeles-based Industrial Designer and a CSULB alumnus. His design work ranges from consumer electronics to community-based interventions to artistically inclined experiments. Ken has over 25 years of experience developing products from conception to mass production. Over this time, he has been granted dozens of patents and worked on over a hundred products sent to market. His work as a DIY urban designer has been included in Spontaneous Interventions, a project which was exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
Thursday, February 13, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department Duncan Anderson Gallery
Bob Gurr
Imagineer & Disney Legend
Iconic Imagineer and Disney Legend Bob Gurr is the only remaining original imagineer among those assigned by Walt Disney to design Disneyland in 1954. Bob is currently featured on “The Imagineering Story” for Disney +, the new ultimate streaming destination for all things Disney. His most famous work was for Walt Disney’s Disneyland Park, and its subsequent sister parks. Bob is said to have designed most, if not all, of the ride vehicles of the Disneyland attractions, including the Autopia cars, Haunted Mansion doom buggies, the Disneyland Monorail, the Submarine Voyage, and the Matterhorn Bobsleds and many more. Bob also developed the first realistic humanoid animatronic Mr. Lincoln for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Bob received the prestigious Disney Legend Award in 2004 and his handprints adorn the Court of Legends at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. He has the distinct honor of having a window on Main Street USA in both Disneyland and The Magic Kingdom.
Apart from Disney he designed the King Kong Encounter animatronic for Universal Studios Hollywood, designed the flying UFO for the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, assisted Steven Spielberg in pre-production for the Jurassic Park T-Rex animatronic dinosaur, designed effects for Michael Jackson’s Victory tour as well as countless other projects and attractions.
Thursday, February 20, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department Duncan Anderson Gallery
Dan Harden
Whipsaw Inc.
Dan is president, CEO, principal designer and founder of Whipsaw Inc., a highly acclaimed design firm in San Francisco and San Jose, California. Whipsaw designs diverse products for companies around the world including Brita, Cisco, Ford, GE, Google, Haier, Intel, Leitz, Merck, Motorola, Nike, Olympus, Samsung, Sony, TP-Link, Uber, and many exciting startups including Blumio, Ekso Bionics, Harry’s, Highfive, Peloton, Tonal and Tile.
Dan is the highly active creative force of Whipsaw, where he directs the strategic and conceptual direction of most client accounts. His passion and experience combined with his personal philosophies about art, culture, psychology and technology permeate the work and the brand.
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Thursday, February 27, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department Duncan Anderson Gallery
Cindy Shi
Aplat
Lecture Title to come
Copy to come.
Thursday, March 5, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department, Lecture Hall 112
Monica Tournoux
Design Central
Taboos In Design
Design is much more than a striking render. By truly understanding the problem, we as designers, can identity and creatively solve for the real need. These can include products that have otherwise been left behind due to stigmas and taboos. However, design has the ability to change the conversation, break down social stigmas, and create better solutions for all
Monica, a Senior Product Designer at Design Central, has over 10 years of design experience. Her design background is highly diversified, with experience in the toy, medical, consumer and soft goods and manufacturing industries. In her work she utilizes international consumer research through co-creation workshops and collaborative design, and analyzes this research to unpack the underlying consumer needs and trends. She serves as a leader and mentor to junior designers and interns, and is a consumer and brand strategy specialist. Monica received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Thursday, March 12, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department, Lecture Hall 112
Billy Almon Price
Biomimicry: Designing the Future (of Everything)
Emulating nature’s adaptive strategies is not a new philosophy but it is a growing trend in many fields. In his lecture, Biology-Inspired designer and TV host Billy Almon shares his adventures around the world and highlights examples of innovative and sustainable solutions that illustrate why turning to nature for inspiration is the future of design.
Billy Almon is a designer and immersive-storyteller who highlights the connection between nature, technology, and design. Over the last 3 years Billy has been traveling around the world exploring how biological strategies are being used to inspire solutions to human challenges through the process called Biomimicry. Billy is also the co-host of Little Giants, a new tv series on Animal Planet, that features some of his explorations. He has a Bachelor’s of Architecture degree from Howard University and a Master’s of Science in Biomimicry from Arizona State University.
Thursday, April 9, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department Lecture Hall Room 112
Christian Schluender
HARMAN International
Lecture Title to come
Copy to come.
Thursday, April 16, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department Duncan Anderson Gallery
Katharine Hargreaves
ARKO
Design for Change: ARKO and the Impossible Story of Civilization
Fear is the hidden genius at the center of impossible stories. This lecture will explore how change emerges from cultural storylines and how we can use the power of design to shift the collective narrative. Together we will explore how you can use impossible stories to expand your possibility space through exponential play.
Katharine Hargreaves is a culture alchemist, writer, and transformational facilitator living and playing in California. She designs transformational interfaces, storytelling games, and social rituals that teach people how to embrace change, tell impossible stories, evolve through adventure, and design for the next 100 years.
Thursday, April 23, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department Duncan Anderson Gallery
Christian Robert and Brooks Atwood
OFFICEUNTITLED
Lecture Title to come
Copy to come.
Thursday, May 7, 7:00-9:45pm
In The CSULB Design Department Duncan Anderson Gallery
Joel Bell
JBID
Product designer and entrepreneur Joel Bell is known for his clean, innovative work. A graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Bell's design roster includes Callaway, Diamondback Fitness and Disney among others. Bell has a passion for conceptualizing and developing cutting edge products with an aesthetic graphic sensibility. With products ranging from sports equipment, to children’s products and home furnishings, he is an expert at taking an idea from conception to completion, while creating or improving a product through its design, form and function. His work solves everyday problems with a modern and sophisticated feel. Along with his consultancy Joel is also a co-owner of a fashion accessories line, Onna Ehrlich LLC. Bell has designed many of the line’s most popular fashion accessories and co runs the day to day business operations with his business partner and wife Onna Ehrlich-Bell. In recognition of the inherent value afforded by his education, Bell loves the opportunity to help the next generation of designers as an Instructor of Design at Pasadena City College, Otis College of Art and Design and Art Center College of Design. He has had the privileges of being an instructor for over fifteen years.
