International Design Organisations: Histories, Legacies, Values

I am happy to announce that I will be taking part in a plenary discussion alongside Jonathan Woodham and Nina Serulus at the International Design Organisations: Histories, Legacies, Values conference at the University of Brighton.

The conference will feature some wonderful panels examining the roles of international design organisations in a post-industrial and post-organisational world. Download the programme here. 

From the Drake, to the Broadview, to Filmores

Eventually, I want to write more about this but this short post will have to suffice for now. Toronto's next gentrification culprit: Filmores. This year, the Broadview Hotel (formerly Jilly's) opened. The Broadview Hotel attempts to recreate the change the Drake Hotel created in the west end, by literally copy pasting the model. Mark my words, this gem (Filmores), located at Dundas and George (oh so close to the memorable corner of Dundas and Sherbourne), is not far behind. 

Here's how it appears gentrification works in Toronto: neighbourhoods go through gentrification, but Coffee Time (which I am convinced is a front for money laundering), stays in place. Super-gentrification begins when Coffee Time gets replaced by a medium range restaurant, and hyper-gentrification happens when the medium range restaurant becomes a boutique/concept store, coffee shop or restaurant. For evidence of my theory, look no further to King St. West and Bathurst, where Coffee Time was replaced by Wild Wing, which will soon be replaced by something with 'raw' walls and a chalkboard. Also, the corner of Queen West and Niagara, Coffee Time has been replaced by 'Loaded Pierogi'. So it begins...again.

Studio X Amman at Milan Design Week

Happy to announce that I will be speaking at Studio X Amman's event at Milan Design Week (Salone del Mobile) on Saturday 8 April at the Palazzo Clerici.

The event begins at 11:30am, and I will be giving a talk titled 'Propositions for design culture in the Arab world' during the 'Days, Weeks, Biennials: Design in Unsettled Times' session from 14:30-16:30 alongside Karim Kattan, Mohamed Elshahed, Deniz Ova and Rana Beiruti.

Trying a new medium...medium

Joining new social networks is tedious, however, I like the engagement this site provides – particularly that people can comment on particular passages. It's also clean and easy to publish on, providing the author easy access to headings and text size, quotations, and uploading images. I decided to give it a try and published a piece on the branding of Kuwait Airways: medium.com/@danah.abd