MassArt Announces Free Panel Discussion: Excellent Swiss Design

Thursday, November 6th 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Tower Auditorium, Massachusetts College of Art and Design

621 Huntington Avenue, Boston MA

In conjunction with the exhibition EXCELLENT SWISS DESIGN at MassArt’s Bakalar & Paine Galleries from September 10- November 22, 2014 (621 Huntington Avenue, Boston), MassArt is bringing together Swiss and American industrial, graphic, and furniture designers for a panel discussion on Thursday, November 6 from 6- 8 pm exploring the viewpoints and experiences of these international design professionals. Panelists will discuss product and project design across various markets and the potential benefits of opening up international collaborations and multicultural design exchange. How can designers benefit from each other’s history, practice, and industrial bases? Topics include explorations of unique materials, approaches to sustainability, and challenges that face the field of design today. Moderated by MassArt Professor of Graphic Design Elizabeth Resnick. This panel is held in collaboration with swissnex Boston. For more information please email czaug@massart.edu or call (617) 879-7337.

The EXCELLENT SWISS DESIGN exhibition at MassArt features selections from the Design Prize Switzerland, a biennial award that for twelve years has recognized advancements in the areas of communication, fashion, furniture, interior, product, and textile design. This exhibition showcases innovative projects, from laser-engraved textiles to a faucet that reduces water consumption by 90%, to a running shoe that reimagines impact through a hollow-core sole. Celebrating ingenuity and sustainability, this exhibition pioneers a new vision for contemporary design. Fall exhibitions and events at the Bakalar & Paine Galleries are free and open to the public.

The following speakers will participate in the Excellent Swiss Design Panel Discussion:

1. Ludovic Balland, Graphic Designer

Born in Geneva, Ludovic Balland received his bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the Basel School of Design. He founded the Ludovic Balland Typography Cabinet in 2004, a graphic design studio that focuses on book design, editorial design, and new visual identities for international brands and cultural institutions. His clients include Das Magazin, Die Weltwoche, Landesmuseum Zurich, Warner Museum, and the Warsaw Museum of Modern Art. Balland has been awarded the Swiss Federal Design award for “Warsaw under construction” and a finalist for the 2013 Design Prize Switzerland for Architekturbücher. Balland currently teaches editorial design at Ecole Cantonal d’art de Lausanne and gives workshops in Europe and the United States.

2. Aaron Panone, Designer and Engineer

Aaron Panone is a designer and engineer specializing in mechanical design and creative solutions. All of his products are proudly manufactured in the USA. As the lead designer and creative director for his company Cuppow, Aaron designed the Cuppow canning jar drinking lid in collaboration with Joshua Resnikoff. The Cuppow drinking lid is one of a handful of products under the Cuppow name, all are made from recycled material, manufactured in Massachusetts, and allow users to upcycle something existing and/or replace a disposable product with a reusable solution. Aaron is co-founder and member of Fringe in Somerville, MA - A 7500 sq ft multidisciplinary work space located in the heart of Union Square in Somerville Massachusetts. As the home to fifteen small businesses and design studios, Fringe occupies an energetic 7,500sf converted warehouse space. Industries represented include: letterpress printing, web design and development, branding, illustration, beer brewing, photography, video, architecture, industrial design and product development, electrical and mechanical engineering, and green roofing.

3. Thilo Alex Brunner, Industrial Designer

Thilo Alex Brunner was born in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland and attended the University of Applied Science of Northwest Switzerland where he studied as an industrial designer. He then received his Masters in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship from l’Ecole Cantonal d’art de Lausanne. Brunner’s designs focus on function and minimalism while keeping a playful sensibility and sleek product form. Brunner has been awarded the Swiss Federal Design Award in 2011 for his commitment to the design heritage of the Swiss Army Knife; the 2013 Design Prize Switzerland for his work on the On running shoes brand and the 2014 Red Dot Award for the design of a new line of thermo bottles for renowned Swiss company SIGG. Brunner is the founder of Thilo Alex Brunner Ltd. and is also the cofounder of Brunner Mettler Collabo Ltd.

4. Thomas Wuthrich, Furniture Designer and Entrepreneur

Thomas Wüthrich and Yves Raschle founded INCHfurniture in 2004, a furniture company focused on furniture designed with solid, sustainably managed teak wood. Their products are made at a wood-processing technical college in Indonesia whose partnership with INCHfurniture is not only sustained economically, but also through the advice of Wüthrich and Raschle who regularly lead workshops and seminars in Indonesia, offering an alternative to the standard forms of economic globalization. Wüthrich currently teaches courses in product and object design at the Institute for Interior Design and Scenography of the University of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland.

5. Moderator: Elizabeth Resnick, MassArt Professor of Graphic Design

Elizabeth Resnick is a passionate graphic design professor and curator who has organized six design exhibitions, the last three being a triad of contemporary socio-political poster design. She is the former chair of Graphic Design at MassArt and has served on the chapter board of AIGA Boston from 1989–2005, organizing numerous public lectures and exhibition events. In 2007, She received AIGA Boston’s Fellows Award in recognition to her service to her community. She is currently working on a new book of university-level socially-focused design assignment briefs titled Developing Citizen Designers.