Design Monat Graz – Better Future

Angus Donald CampbellEducation, Sustainability

I am honoured to have been invited to sit on the Designing for People panel for the Redesign the Future Symposium as part of Design Monat [Month] Graz 2021 in Austria from 16:00 on the 11th of May 2021. I will be presenting an 8-minute lecture and then participate in a panel discussion on the topic with Emanuel Barbosa, Mariana Goncálex de la Rosa and Sigrid Bürstmayr. Emanuel is a designer, design educator and curator at ESAD—Arte Matosinhos Porto, Porto Design Biennale; Mariana is Coordinator of the Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design, Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla; and Sigrid, who invited me to join the panel, is a Lecturer at FH|JOANNEUM idk_ Institut Design & Kommunikation. “Design Monat [Month] Graz bundles and condenses the energy of the local creative industries within one month, makes it visible to the outside world and thus makes a central contribution to anchoring the creative industries in … Read More

Studia Generalia Lecture & Workshop – Finnish Design Academy

Angus Donald CampbellDevelopment, Education, Industrial Design, Research, Social Innovation, Sustainability

I am honoured to have been invited to present a Studia Generalia lecture and a workshop for the Finnish Design Academy mid-November 2020! The Finnish Design Academy is a collaborative network of Finnish university-level design schools, which aims to develop design education to better answer the changing needs of working life. It is a collaboration between nine Finnish universities and I was invited by Sami Kauppinen from the Laurea University of Applied Sciences Masters Degree Programme in Service Innovation and Design to present the lecture and workshop through my prior engagement in an Erasmus+ project linked to the University of Johannesburg. The details of the lecture are as follows: Date: 17 November 2020 Time: 15.00 – 16.00 (EEST) Title: Designing with the Underserved: An Exploration of the Complexities of Design in South Africa from the perspective of the SDGs With reference to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this Studia Generalia … Read More

Designing the New Normal

Angus Donald CampbellIndustrial Design, Sustainability, Technology

I was invited to write the Thought Leader column for the Lexus Life Magazine July/July 2020 issue where I reflected on “Designing the New Normal.” You can access the article in print on page 2 of the magazine here: https://lexuslife.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Lexus_19_final.pdf “Designing the New Normal | From cars to furniture, housing, clothing, equipment – TECHNOLOGY from here on out is going to need to be considered holistically. The rapid spread of COVID-19 has fuelled an unprecedented rate of change. Many people have taken this forced pause as a moment to reflect on what the new normal might be. This in itself is the crux of design – an opportunity to transform our existing situations into preferred ones.  Most people’s homes have become a refuge – and working from home has shown that a more flexible work-life balance is possible. The extended time spent in the home environment has brought about growing … Read More

Collaborative People in Challenging Places

Angus Donald CampbellConferences, Development, Food Security, Research, Social Innovation, Sustainability, Urban Agriculture

These are some thoughts that arose from a request by Prof Ezio Manzini for me to provide some prior input into the DESIS DxCC Seminar on Collaborative People in Challenging Places which took place at the Cumulus Bogotà Conference on the 19 September 2019: “Much of my research engages with individuals who were previously legally marginalised under apartheid, and now even with a majority elected democratic government in place for the last 21 years, continue to find themselves on South Africa’s margins, both physically and politically. Cities in Africa, and South Africa in particular, hold the hope for a better future and hence have been the locations for extensive urban migration. The Gauteng-City Region, where I am based, is home to a quarter of South Africa’s total population. It generates a third of the country’s GDP, on just 2% of South Africa’s total land area. However, such economic stats only speak to those who are formally employed, which in … Read More

Inglorious Fruits & Vegetables

Angus Donald CampbellFood Security, Research, Sustainability

Each year, we throw away over 300 million tons of fruit and vegetables worldwide mainly because they do not conform to retail standards of perfection (57% of total waste). The European Union has made 2014 the European year against food waste; and  Intermarché the 3rd largest supermarket chain in France decided to try and change their customers perceptions to encourage better behaviour towards imperfect fruit and vegetables by showing them that though they might be ugly, they are just as good to eat! Intermarché made every effort to celebrate 5 “fruits et legumes moches” or “inglorious fruits and vegetables”. They received their own print and film campaign, their own local poster and radio campaign, their own in-store branding, their own aisle in store, their own labelling, and their own spot on the sales receipt. Finally, for people to realise that they were just as good as the others, Intermarché designed and distributed inglorious vegetable soups and … Read More

Innovation in Food, Ag and Integrated Resource Systems

Angus Donald CampbellConferences, Food Security, Sustainability, Urban Agriculture

Workshop: Innovation in Food, Agriculture and Integrated Resource  Systems: Creating Sustainable Opportunities in Soweto Presenters: Sander Mager and Dr. Christopher Peterson Facilitator: Dr. Naudé Malan When: Thursday 5 June 2014 11:00 – 17:00 Where: VIP Lounge , University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus , Chris Hani Road South Africa is not unique in facing social, environmental and economic challenges. To address these three successfully would require innovative solutions that bring together state agencies and departments, non-governmental organisations and private enterprises. Two leading experts in the creation of sustainable enterprises will in this workshop share their experience of addressing these challenges. Dr. Christopher Peterson and Sander Mager are leading the creation of the Global Innoversity which is an innovation accelerator aimed at inspiring and supporting the world’s metropolitan regions in developing and sharing innovations in food, agriculture and integrated resource systems. The workshop will share the methods used and experiences gained in creating ecological, social … Read More