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Our Year in Pictures: 2011

By on December 20, 2011 in Events, Studio Life with No Comments

 

Thank you for another inspiring year. Your work and passion fuel our creativity.

January
The perfect dozen cupcakes from Charles.


Carly and her sewing machine, prepping for our winning display at the “Project Runway” themed Social Change breakfast

 

 

February
Designers LOVE here. As a collective valentine to the beleaguered company we love, our team decided to make handmade greetings with found materials. No templates, no plans. Just pure improv with whatever was in front of us. It was great working with our hands again—paper, thread, glue. Check out the wild assortment of cards here:

 

March
A field trip to the Goethe Institut to view German for Beginners exhibit. Recap by Stefanie O’Brien, Design Lab’s resident secret design spy of German origin.

Day trip to NYC for kick-off meeting at the UNDP.

Pondering the um, suggestive painting in Anne’s office.

 

April
On April 15, 2011, a beautiful cloudless morning in Washington, DC, the AED sign goes down. Design Lab rescues the “A” which now hangs on our wall.

 

May
The beautiful and delightful Anna Frances Ledet Saab is born. Stef in the secret furniture storage on the 3rd floor.

Our Shared History Timeline project: Crowd sourcing AED’s history with staff milestones.

Five room installations for the Legacy celebration in two days. Egads. Stef feeling the ’80s.

Golden moment: Jeff Koons typography via Party City.

 

June
Anne’s dad visits the studio and takes in DC views from the rooftop. Anna at 1 month channeling Maggie Simpson.

Mid-day rebus challenge answer: STEFANIE + O+BRIAN

 

July
Meliha and the Legacy Awards. More than 300 awards, lovingly assembled and framed.

 

August

Brian in Botswana: Filming the BORNUS video with Duane and the Golden Teens group in Gaborone.

Break in case of emergency: 240 calories x 50 servings. Thank you Tom and Memo.

 

September
Change of scenery at the FHI 360 Asia Pacific Innovation Summit, Hua Hin, Thailand. In love with our new FHI 360 APRO family already — Tony and Jackie (with Allegra Jordan of Innovation Abbey).

Mayo Center Innovation Conference, Rochester, MN

Brilliant minds and the loveliest assortment of hipsters and dandies at the Barcelona AGI.

Melanie gets hitched!

October
The best unproductive Skype meeting ever.

Spotted: Carpet snag man outside Shannon’s office

 

November
Anne at TEDxPhoenix talking about the Double Ds for Change.

Celebrating Meliha’s birthday with spongey sweet cakes from the local bakery.

 

December
Flurry of activity for TEDxDupontCircle viewing party of TEDxWomen.  The amazing women of Batala DC getting ready to go on stage.

Carly heads west to San Francisco for the HOW Interactive Design Conference and wins the HOWIDC Challenge!

Packed and ready to move to our temporary space as we wait for our new studio.

Pausing for a moody group picture by Holly Ladd.

Where’s Design Lab these days? Across the bridge, North Building, 11th floor, turn towards the double glass doors but don’t enter (that’s SMCC), then trek down the corridor…or just call us.

Temporary space. Permanent sandwich maker. #newnormal #familykitchen

And nothing less than an epic awe-inspiring double rainbow caps the year. So intense! (12/27/2011, 4:45pm, FHI 360 rooftop)

FHI 360’s Hope for 2012

By on December 1, 2011 in Studio Life with Comments Off on FHI 360’s Hope for 2012

Sending warm wishes to FHI 360’s partners and clients with a snappy animated greeting:

Design Ignites Change Posters

By on November 7, 2010 in Candy, Classics with Comments Off on Design Ignites Change Posters

Luba Lukova

Luba Lukova

 

Marian Bantjes

Marian Bantjes

Marian Bantjes

Marian Bantjes

 

Peter Arkle

Peter Arkle

Peter Arkle

Peter Arkle

 

Milton Glaser

Know Your Source Videos

By on December 13, 2009 in Studio Life with No Comments

Ever wonder what it took to prepare that tender, buttery poached lobster on your plate? Working with the Global Fish Alliance, we developed these videos to highlight the importance of understanding where and how your food is sourced. Definitely things to consider the next time you dine out. Kudos to Michael Selby, our talented intern, for devoting his summer to this!

Why Design Matters: A Social Marketing Perspective

By on March 5, 2009 in Classics with Comments Off on Why Design Matters: A Social Marketing Perspective

Design is the ordering of elements (color, form, space and words) to make ideas compelling to people. The fundamental premise of social marketing is that people—even poor people—have the right to what they want, as much as society has the right to expect them to care for themselves. Design is at the center of this exchange. It is the designer’s responsibility to understand and address people’s desires—even if those people are poor, uneducated, and powerless. Design does more than attract. It guides us. It makes us laugh and it makes us cry. It scares us and makes us feel we can conquer the world.

Good design simplifies without condescending to banal stereotypes. It organizes and arranges so we know where to look first. It creates contrasts so we can compare and judge for ourselves. Design is central to social marketing because social marketing is about helping people make choices.

Design is too often overlooked, or relegated to the domain of “prettiness,” as in, “make this look pretty.”  But as John Maeda says in his book on simplicity, design “subtracts the obvious and adds the meaningful.”  If we make any mistake in working with great designers, it is calling on their talents far too late in the social marketing process. They are our eyes and often our heart, and we need for them to be with us from the beginning.

-William A. Smith, Ed.D.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————Dr. William Smith has worked for more than 30 years trying to figure out how to help masses of people make positive change in their lives.  He designed and managed programs around the world focused on combating infant diarrhea, immunizing children, saving the environment, and reducing obesity. Bill is also a co-founder of the Social Marketing Institute, a columnist and editorial board member of the Social Marketing Quarterly; the International Journal of Health Communication; and Applied Environmental Education and Communication: An International Journal. He authored a recent book entitled Radio: A Post 9/11 Strategy to Reach the World’s Poor, as well as co-authoring Fostering Community Based Social Marketing. He has published dozens of articles on social marketing and social change. He is co-author of the Institute of Medicine’s Report, Health Literacy: A Prescription to End the Confusion. He received the Alan Andreasen Award for scholarship and practice in Social Marketing and served on the IOM committee on health literacy.

 

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