News Release:

JDi Design Inc., a design firm pioneering eco product development has been recognised for its commitment to design excellence with the award of the prestigious International Design Excellence Award from the IDSA. (Industrial Designers Society of America)

The TazzyTotes™ Produce Bag received a Bronze IDEA Eco Design Award for its eco chic solution for instore produce bags. JDi Design’s winning design is 100% recyclable and embodies ecological principles at every stage of its lifecycle. It also features a unique bin label and an erasable marker for writing names or bulk bin numbers with a non-toxic dry erase pen, eliminating the need for instore sealing and tagging. The produce bag is part of a modular system designed around everyday shopping needs, from the moment you go shopping until you finally reach home.

The design team, Adrian van Wijk, Sandy Lam, Sam Richards and Jamie McDonald from Vancouver, British Columbia, focused on identifying gaps in the emerging trend to use reusable bags. The result is an international ecological and economic success. “It is very satisfying to see the thought and care we put into a seemly simple product receiving international recognition as well as market place success”, says Adrian van Wijk, Design Director at JDi Design. The TazzyTotes products have been on the market since June 2009.

About JDi Design Inc.
JDi Design is a group of design professionals incorporated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. JDi Design is distinguished by applying creative thinking to the user-focused design of products and services. JDi Design provides eco product design and development services taking ideas from concept to production in a variety of industries.
Environmental Statement
JDi Design is committed to environmental sustainability and strives to harmonize its clients’ business objectives with consumer needs in balance with nature.

About the IDEA.
The International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) is a yearly award partly sponsored by The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), and is dedicated to fostering business and public understanding of the importance of industrial design excellence to the quality of life and economy.

About TazzyTotes
TazzyTotes™ produces an eco-chic range of modular shopping tote solutions designed around everyday shopping needs, the core product idea was born from a desire to do the right thing while at the same time, getting rid of all the plastic bags!

It will feature 13 local instigators that are on stage with 20 slides x 20 seconds to deliver inspiration and insight on the broad topic of sustainability and Vancouver’s ambition to be the greenest city by 2020. A sell-out to be sure.
Opening Act: Christopher Smith & The Beckon Call

http://www.thebeckoncall.com/

For more information about Pecha Kucha Night Vancouver, please go to www.pechakuchanightvancouver.com

Our guest presentation will be by visiting scholar Dr. Tilde Bekker from the User-Centered Engineering Group in the Faculty of Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands).

About Dr. Bekker

Tilde Bekker is an assistant professor at the User-Centered Engineering Group, of the Faculty of Industrial Design, Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands). Tilde Bekker did her MSc and her PhD at the department of Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology. Her research interests include designing intelligent play concepts, developing and assessing user centered design methods and tools and creating playful persuasive solutions for various user groups. She has published widely on the various topics of her research, and has participated in the organization of and reviews for various conferences, such Interaction Design and Children, British HCI conference, the CHI conference, Intetain and the conference on Fun and Games.

She teaches and does research in the area of interaction design and children and elderly, more specifically, on user centered design methods and designing for physical and social activities. At the Faculty of Industrial Design she is responsible for the Playful Interactions Theme that arranges design projects for bachelor and master students.

We hope you can make it, it’s sure to be a great evening:

Where:::::::::::::
Pour House, Vancouver
162 Water Street

When:::::::::::::
Thursday June 3rd 5:30PM – 8PM

How:::::::::::::
Please RSVP to email@bcid.com

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Want to find the Pour House, Vancouver?

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=pour+house+vancouver&fb=1&gl=ca&hq=pou+house&hnear=vancouver&cid=0,0,3889145812526507934&ei=g6XS6rkGZieM4XCnDs&ved=0CBUQnwIwAA&ll=49.284198,-123.10833&spn=0.00893,0.017509&z=16&iwloc=A

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You are cordially invited to a guest presentation by visiting scholar Dr.Tilde Bekker from the User-Centered Engineering Group in the Faculty of Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands).

Presentation Date:Wednesday, May 19,
2:45pm – 4:20 Room 5380 .
School Of Interactive Arts And Technology.
Simon Fraser University, Surrey.

Presentation: Designing interactive play objects for children
Children like interacting with new media, such as television and computer games. Computer games provide very appealing play opportunities: they offer challenges that adapt to the skills of the player and allow children to immerse themselves in diverse world and environments. Mobile interactive objects can provide similar play opportunities if they sense and respond to children’s activities and allow children to create their own play opportunities and fantasies. Designing interactive play objects with similar appeal as computer games may provide new opportunities for social and physical play.

Inspired by theories from behavioral psychology and persuasion, sport psychology and game design a variety of interactive play objects were iteratively designed and evaluated. Through design research we have developed a design philosophy on creating opportunities for children to be physically and socially active. I will illustrate our approach by describing a number of design cases.

About Dr. Bekker
Tilde Bekker is an assistant professor at the User-Centered Engineering Group, of the Faculty of Industrial Design, Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands). Tilde Bekker did her MSc and her PhD at the department of Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology. Her research interests include designing intelligent play concepts, developing and assessing user centered design methods and tools and creating playful persuasive solutions for various user groups. She has published widely on the various topics of her research, and has participated in the organization of and reviews for various conferences, such Interaction Design and Children, British HCI conference, the CHI conference, Intetain and the conference on Fun and Games.

She teaches and does research in the area of interaction design and children and elderly, more specifically, on user centered design methods and designing for physical and social activities. At the Faculty of Industrial Design she is responsible for the Playful Interactions Theme that arranges design projects for bachelor and master students.

Congratulations to BCID Professional Member Adrian van Wijk who has been recognized with a Red Dot Product Design award for his Eco modular filing system.

Vancouver, Canada, April 6th, 2010 Adrian van Wijk, BCID a designer pioneering eco product development has received the prestigious red dot Design Award for his innovative “Eco, grow-as-you-go” Orgafile Modular Filing System designed for OrgaFile (Pty) Ltd. The red dot Awards are the largest and most renowned design competition in the world, presented annually in Germany.

The Orgafile filing cabinet is a first in the industry to provide typical fixed-unit cabinet features including: an anti tilt mechanism, a general cabinet lock and a single module safety catch in a contemporary post consumer extruded wooden filing module. This unique modular filing system brings a breath of “clean” air with its style, feasibility and modularity to an established market.

JDi Design’s innovation in the Orgafile Modular Filing System proves that eco effective design for mass production is both sustainable and makes for good business. The jury of international renowned design experts awarded the Orgafile product with the red dot quality seal for design excellence. This recognition is received by a select few chosen from over 4,200 entries coming from 57countries.

The design team, Adrian van Wijk and Jamie McDonald from Vancouver, British Columbia, focused the early design research on sustainable production techniques.  Later working with Orgafile’s unique market insight the team sought to develop a design to solve the business problems of minimizing production infrastructure, providing value to the end user and leaving noticeably less of an environmental impact than competitive products.  “I am very satisfied with our design effort,” says Adrian van Wijk, Design Director at JDi Design. “Our green design solution has been recognized with best in class product design awards now, in both North America, Europe, and Africa.”

For more information visit: http://www.jdidesign.com or call: 604 632 9894.

About Adrian van Wijk.

Adrian is the founding principal at JDi Design inc., a group of design professionals incorporated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. JDi Design is distinguished by applying creative thinking to the user-focused design of products and services. JDi Design provides green product design and development services taking ideas from concept to production in a variety of industries.

Environmental Statement

JDi Design is committed to environmental sustainability and strives to harmonize its clients’ business objectives with consumer needs in balance with nature.

About Orgafile

Orgafile is in the business of offering the best solution for customers wanting to access their offline data/information effortlessly. Suitable for every home, suitable for every small or large office. For more information visit: http://www.orgafile.com

About red dot

With more than 12,000 yearly submissions from more than 60 countries, the international “red dot design award” is the largest and most renowned design competition in the world.

Red Dot Award :  http://www.red-dot.de

The Carter Wosk BC Creative Achievement Awards for Applied Art and Design celebrate British Columbians who through their creativity contribute to the cultural and economic fabric of the Province.

The awards recognize individuals whose work has a practical function. Artists and designers who work in jewelry, glass, wood, fibre, clay and metal or in such areas, but not limited to, textiles, furniture, weaving, ceramics, fashion and industrial design are eligible.

Both established and emerging artist and designers are invited to apply. Up to three awards will be presented annually.

Award Recognition

Up to three recipients will be awarded $2,500 each at a presentation and exhibition event to be held in the Fall of 2010. The recipients will be granted the use of the British Columbia Creative Achievement Award seal to signify their creative excellence.

Eligibility

A citizen or permanent resident of Canada, who has been a resident of British Columbia for the past three years is eligible to apply. Posthumous submissions will not be accepted.

In the context of this award, Applied means art and design that has a practical or functional application or that emulates such a function as part of its principal aesthetic. For example, a wood designer who creates furniture, a glass artist who creates vases, or an industrial designer who creates a usable object or device are eligible, even if the objects they create are not truly functional. In contrast, an individual who practices a discipline that traditionally falls under the heading Fine Art, such as painting or sculpture, is not eligible.

How to Apply

An individual may submit his or her work or another individual may nominate a person for this award. Please complete the 2010 Submission Form and submit with the supporting material to the British Columbia Achievement Foundation.

Selection of Recipients

An Advisory Panel, comprised of experienced individuals in the field of applied art and design, will assess the submissions and select the recipients based on the material provided and the following criteria:

Awards were presented by Premier Gordon Campbell and Keith Mitchell, chair of the British Columbia Achievement Foundation.

“In applying creativity, ingenuity and innovative designs to functional objects, this year’s recipients demonstrate the talent and strength that exists throughout B.C.’s applied art and design community,” said Campbell. “We are pleased to celebrate the accomplishments of these artists and to highlight the important contributions that applied artists and designers make to the cultural and economic fabric of B.C.”
“Working in wood, glass, fibre, clay, metal in such areas as furniture, jewelry, textiles, ceramics, industrial and fashion design, these artists create work that inspires us all.” Mitchell noted. “Today’s recipients join 20 previous recipients who have been honoured since the inception of the award in 2005, all of whom represent the spectrum of outstanding applied art and design work in BC.”

The recipients of the 2009 BC Creative Achievement Awards are:
• Judson Beaumont, Straight Line Designs – furniture design
• Robert Johnston, Tangram Design – industrial design
• Lilach Lotan, – ceramics

For more information on the BC Creative Achievement Awards please visit:
www.bcachievement.com

For more information on Robert Johnston and Tangram Design please visit:
www.tangramdesign.com


Canadian designers have been recognized for their innovative work internationally, yet seldom are there opportunities for the public to view these accomplishments. The intent of this exhibition is to engage and inform the public about the significant achievements of Canadian designers in the field of sports and recreation.

The exhibition will focus on design projects that are grounded in the Canadian context. In the global economies of the 21st century all designers work in an international context. At the same time Canadian designers are responding to the esthetic, cultural and economic considerations that are uniquely Canadian. The Canadian environment and lifestyle has been a locus for innovative design for decades. Canada is no longer seen as simply a supplier of raw materials. Our designers are now turning those materials into products that are marketed around the world.

The exhibition “High Performance: Evolution and Innovation in Canadian Design”, will be organized around Canadian design success stories presented as ‘case studies’, and include conceptual drawings and proto-types of the objects. The intent in forming the exhibition around these stories is to engage and educate the public. It will provide an opportunity for a greater depth of understanding of the design process and Canadian design products in particular. This approach will allow for a discussion of Canadian design strategies, while creating a more satisfying experience for the visitor than simply presenting a selection of current design products.

The idea of ‘High Performance’ in the context of the exhibition unites the various design objects. All well designed objects are meant to perform, yet some because of there ultimate use must perform at a high level. Examples of high performance objects are easily seen in products designed for professional or extreme sports, as well as those for rigorous outdoor activity. Canadian designers have excelled at producing innovative products for sports and recreation. The exhibition will feature products that exemplify innovative design strategies in this field.

“High Performance: Evolution and Innovation in Canadian Design” presents a unique opportunity for the public in Vancouver and the many visitors who will be attending the 2010 Olympics to gain a understanding of the significant creative contributions made by Canadian designers.

For more information about the show and submissions contact:

Greg Bellerby
Director + Curator
Charles H. Scott Gallery
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
1399 Johnston Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6H 3R9

Tel 604.629.4514
Fax 604.844.3801
gbellerb@ecuad.ca

Submission Deadline: September 30, 2009

Submission Criteria: Contact Greg Bellerby by email or telephone (contact info above) to discuss your design product with him.

Jamer Hunt is the Chair of Urban and Transdisciplinary Design at Parsons, where is he developing a new graduate program in Transdisciplinary Design. Previously, he served for seven years at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia as Director of the Masters Program in Industrial Design.

His teaching and his professional work focus on design as a means for exploring the politics and poetics of the everyday. Dr. Hunt holds a doctorate in cultural anthropology and has consulted or worked at Smart Design, frogdesign, WRT, Seventh Generation, and Virtual Beauty.

His practice, Big + Tall Design, combines conceptual, collaborative, and communication design, and he is co-founder of DesignPhiladelphia, an initiative to energize Philadelphia’s design community and foreground the city as a laboratory for innovative design projects. Dr. Hunt has served on the Board of Directors of the American Center for Design, on the editorial board of the forthcoming journal Design and Culture. He is currently co-authoring a graphic design textbook for Thames & Hudson entitled Form Follows Context.

7pm | Monday, September 14, 2009
Theatre | Rm 301 | South Building

This lecture is free and open to the public.

For more information about this lecture and Emily Carr University please visit http://www.ecuad.ca/node/3547