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The Cal STATE of DESIGN is a week-long action symposium creating local impact and leveraging the innovative synergies across the 23-Campus CSU System.
Design, as a process of innovation, creates value through action and improving the human experience. The best of design work happens when diverse teams address complex problems through local engagement and collaboration. With more than 480,000 students representing the most diverse communities in the US, the CSU Universities are designed to create value. For every $1 invested by the state, the CSU generates $5.43 for California's economy and supports the state’s skilled workforce, providing over 100,000 socially mobile graduates every year.
THE SYMPOSIUM IS BUILT ON FOUR PILLARS:
1) Research and Discovery (from the field and the lab)
2) Systems and Pathways (design science, collaborations, and voices from the field)
3) Education and Workshops (for skill development and innovative problem solving)
4) Local Impact (boots on the ground engagement, metrics, and public discourse)
All four of the pillars will inform the culminating event, both innovator and accelerator – an action design jam. Affinity groups will spend 2 days in a live, virtual format, pulling in the voices for action and change to tackle some of the most important challenges affecting our communities.
Through the Immersive Design Research Lab, students and faculty will collaborate to create local impact and leverage the innovative synergies across the CSU System. The Cal STATE of DESIGN is a ‘value accelerator’ and will provide an opportunity for CSU campuses to designate ‘design affinity groups’ to participate in the week-long action symposium. Each campus will host events locally as well as be connected virtually to all design projects across the system.
Formats for the symposium will include:
Communities of design practice and engagement affinity groups will utilize Adobe tools to create branding and storytelling assets while also leveraging Adobe collaboration tools as a model for remote education and co-created community engagement.
Some of the first to be invited will be:
Alumni, Associated Students, Civic Organizations, Colleges, Community Groups, Cultural Groups, Departments, Design-Centric Businesses, Environmental Orgs, Financial Innovators, Indigenous Peoples, Industry Partners, International Partners, Labs, Schools (Ed. Ecosystem), Small Business Orgs, Social Innovators, Storytellers, Student Challenges, Technology Firms
In order to be true to the nature of a ‘value accelerator,’ the Cal STATE of DESIGN will capture the action symposium data, including content, sentiment, artifacts, and newly created information and knowledge. This will be done through publishing research and actions, recording events for future access, providing resources to continue building on workshop skills, and featuring sponsors and contributors. The intention is to create an archive of resources that will continue to catalyze future collaborations.
The first initial event is inspired by the International Year of Creative Economies, where our affinity groups will align with sustainable development goals and creative work that can be promoted, protected, and valued. Along with meeting the SDG goals, our event will help connect and bridge economic, social, and environmental sectors to help promote a collaborative environment at all levels of the CSU system. Invited groups are allowed to choose any SDG that will align with their content.
Examples of Sustainable Development Goals Include:
Alumni - Alumni's from the CSU help support the future of students (SDGs: SDG 4 plus SDG 16)
Associated Students - Students can develop connections and collaborate on designing sustainable products or structures that can take a larger role in the future (SDGs: 4,16)
Civic Organizations - Civic organizations can appeal to a broader audience to help facilitate development of sustainable actions or standards (SDGs: 11,13,17)
College - Colleges provide a safe and peaceful space for students and other individuals to connect, share or spread ideas, and allows people to grow (SDGs: 4,5,8,16)
Community Groups - Community groups provide a sense of unification towards the goal of sustainable movement within cities (SDGs: 11,16)
Cultural Groups - Cultural groups provide a variety of ethnic/cultural backgrounds to help diversify possible measures of sustainability (SDGs: 6,7,12,13)
Departments - By collaborating with other departments within the CSU, the diversity of different perspectives/opinions help create more robust products/ideas (SDGs: 4,9.16)
Design-Centric Businesses - Design-Centric Businesses can help create a more streamline workflow and generate ideas to to help create value of design in business (SDGs: 7,8,9,12,17)
Environmental Orgs- Environmental Organizations provide innovative solutions and ideologies to combat climate change with the use of clean energy and water sanitation (SDGs: 6,7,13)
Financial Innovators - Financial Innovators can help alleviate low economic sectors and maintain economic growth (SDGs: 1,8)
Indigenous Peoples - Indigenous people can provide cultural influence and generally more efficient use of resources or experiences for sustainability (SDGs: 10,11,12,14,15)
Industry Partners - Industry partners can connect and work with students to gain experience while also providing extra help on innovation and projects (SDGs: 4,8,17)
International Partners - International partners can provide different perspectives to students and others (SDGs: 17)
Labs - Labs can provide a workspace to test and design products or devices to reduce resource consumption across communities and beneficial impacts on the environment (SDGs: 4,9,12,16)
Schools (Ed. Ecosystem) - Schools can provide events that relate to preserving the environment(such as cleanup events or recycling collections) while also informing students how to conserve consumption of resources (SDGs: 4,12,13,14,15)
Small Business Orgs - Smaller business organizations play a major role in the economy, as they are growing businesses that provide not only jobs, but also a way to better the community around them (SDGs: 1,8,11)
Social Innovators - Social Innovators can help share and spread influence of design to inspire all generations on shaping a better world (SDGs: 16,17)
Storytellers - Storytellers(from various groups) can share their stories related to the importance of wildlife and the environment, and why there should be more emphasis on sustainable solutions for the future (SDGs: 10,14,15)
Student Challenges - Student challenges can help promote sustainability through the use of events or competitions related to the process of sustainable solutions (SDGs: 4,7,12,16). Poverty, hunger, lack of resources can be solved by innovative solutions and feedback from the community and other outside influences (SDGs: 1,2,3,6,7,8,12)
Technology Firms - Technology firms are constantly evolving to create and adapt existing technology to benefit the environment and general health of the public (SDGs: 2,3,7,8,9)
The development of the symposium is a collaborative effort too. Please share any ideas you may have as we develop this extraordinary opportunity. Design practice and therefore design education are enjoying a time of great growth and opportunity – largely due to the proven capacity for innovation and value creation. We look forward to accelerating that value across the design expertise and communities of the CSU system.
In the spirit of innovation, we thank you.
Professor Heather Barker, IDRL Director and Lead PI and the Cal State of Design Team!
Logo
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Credits:
Created with images by StartupStockPhotos - "startup whiteboard room" • Sushiman - "Young Asian business creative team work together, mobile application software design project. Brainstorm meeting, internet technology, smartphone web app designer, office coworker teamwork concept" • AndrzejRembowski - "cooking lesson workshops" • mohamed_hassan - "idea light bulb creative" • geralt - "human observer exhibition" • qimono - "graffiti artist graffiti art" • wimkantona - "graffiti street art street" • cocoparisienne - "bike mature close up" • Svitlana - "Using modern technologies. Young asian man in casual clothes wearing virtual reality glasses while his colleagues discussing new project behind him" • Pexels - "architecture building business" • Broesis - "friendship fun backlighting" • luchschenF - "Splashing color ink" • Rawpixel.com - "Fashion Designer Stylish Showroom Concept" • Chaosamran_Studio - "Graphic designer artist Work drawing sketch design development Prototype car Automotive industrial creative visual concept" • Laymanzoom - "Finger touch with environment Icons" • Chaosamran_Studio - "Architect designer Interior creative working hand drawing sketch plan blue print selection material color samples art tools Design Studio" • ipopba - "Manager Technical Industrial Engineer working and control robotics with monitoring system software and icon industry network connection on tablet. AI, Artificial Intelligence, Automation robot arm" • ronstik - "engineer working on robotics automation project" • I Viewfinder - "Modern robotic machine vision system in factory, Industry Robot concept ."