The President of the Society of British Interior Design, Vanessa Brady, recently contacted Tom to participate in an interview and submit an article to Society Magazine for their Design Education issue. Tom was selected because of his 25 years of experience as a design principal and current position as an adjunct professor at Harrington College of Design.

This article and interview, along with others in the issue, are Vanessa’s first steps, while working with the British government, to overhaul design education in the UK. The idea is that these articles will spark national and international conversations on the state of design education and inform future changes.

This issue of Society and Tom’s article are perfectly timed with Tom’s recent acceptance to join the Harrington College of Design Strategic Planning Committee, where he will help shape curriculum and develop a strategic 5 year plan for the school!


click for the full article

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NeoCon 2013 is only 143…142…141… days away. Yeah, we know…

m+ believes in using the power of design to challenge convention and ask ‘what if.’ That is why we practice interdisciplinary design. Tells us what you need for NeoCon 2013 and we will do it better than you anticipate. We are not constrained by mediums or design disciplines.

We will make NeoCon easier for you. You will have one firm to work with (us!), instead of coordinating multiple firms with your internal departments. To streamline your project, we assemble a personalized team with the right professionals for your project’s size, all under one roof because design is our passion, not the size of the project.

Just need something simple like an email blast? We can do that. Need AOR services and an interior revamp for your showroom? We can do that with our alliance partner Gridwerk Architecture. Or, do you need an exhibit designed to travel to NeoCon, NeoCon East, IIDEX, and more? We can do that too. Need help creating your brand strategy, message, and then applying it to your space, website, and print collateral? Not a problem, we can do that with our alliance partner Studio PinPoint.

NeoCon is more than a 3-day show, it is your opportunity to build pre-show anticipation, develop new leads, and use them to increase sales long after NeoCon is over.

Call, message, tweet, or send smoke signals, whatever you have to, just reach out to us today.

Will you be an early bird this year?

Please contact Lauren Haras to discuss your project needs for NeoCon 2013 and beyond by email or at the studio at 773.227.0007.

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While working with Okamura to update their showroom for NeoCon 2012, the need arose for art in the ‘conference room vignette’. Some within Okamura wanted to incorporate art that was comparable to what is normally seen in a corporate setting, while others wanted to use the space to show off more of their beautiful product photography, like what we used to create the macro graphics throughout the showroom. NeoCon was fast approaching, and because Okamura had many other things to prepare for the show, the decision of what the art would be was left to m+ (muahahaha!)

After a brief in-house meeting, it was quickly decided; let’s do both! Okamura’s upscale office furniture is so beautiful, it is art in and of itself. We printed out the photography that we had to work with and started folding the paper to see what other interesting forms we could create while accentuating the subtle beauty in the detail of Okamura’s product. Once we had a plan for each of the 6 images we wanted to create, it was taken back to the computer to become a reality.

Each image takes the photograph of one chair and either repeats or mirrors it to construct hypnotic and surreal works of art. The final images were printed in our studio and taken to the Frame Factory to be properly mounted and framed. We were able to deliver them to the showroom the day before NeoCon, and unveiled our creations in front of a dozen Okamura decision makers and employees from around the globe. As soon as the craft paper wrapping came off, the cell phones and cameras came out! We don’t know what they were saying, exactly, but we know it was good!

See the whole series, as well as the lovely framing details at our website!

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Not only do we create environments, we also custom design products to go in them. We are not afraid of a little industrial and product design! Just added to our website is our product section. Check back often for updates, because almost every environment we have ever designed includes custom furniture, storage, and more! Below is a little teaser of what has been added.


custom chandelier for Maya Romanoff New York


custom identity pillows for ESI Ergonomic Solutions Inc



LED lighting fixture concepts for Artemide

   
custom counter stools for CF Stinson

So head over to the product section to see everything new we’ve added, including the wreath and menorah we featured on the blog previously!

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Our lovely wreath, S. Fernando, won Honorable Mention last night at Steelcase’s Wreath and Menorah Charity Auction! We’re number two!

In all seriousness, the creation did manage to raise $330 for The Children’s Place Association, and our beautiful scientific menorah raised $130!

   

We had a great time at the event and can’t wait for next year! Tom and Lauren even won raffle prizes!

   

And for a little extra Christmas cheer [and for those who didn’t get the joke]:

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It was hard for us to decide whether we wanted to create a wreath or a menorah for this year’s 13th Annual Steelcase Wreath and Menorah Charity Auction, so we decided to design both! Each design is unique and offers a completely different aesthetic.

For the wreath, we utilized off-cuts of acrylic samples graciously donated by 3form. Christmas colors are layered to create a mid-century modern wreath, pin-mounted to a beautiful walnut panel, which was donated by Greatlakes Architectural Millworks. Working together, the materials make a fun, colorful wreath that harkens back to a classic wreath, but with a modern twist! The name, S. Fernando, is a reference to the mid-century modern movement that was so prevalent in the San Fernando Valley.

For the menorah, we wanted an elegant yet slightly quirky design that utilizes olive oil lamps, like the original menorah. Our creation is made from test tubes, an Erlenmeyer flask, and a simple bent steel plate, which was welded by our own Andres Lemus.

     

Check out the website for more images and process of the wreath and menorah!

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Tom will be presenting at PechaKucha Chicago Vol 24 on December 4. For those who’ve never been to a PechaKucha night, various presenters talk about a myriad of things, but all talks have one thing in common: 20 images, 20 seconds each. Tom’s talk will be about the influence of pop culture [movies, music, etc] on design and architecture.

Katelyn Smith from our office designed the Vol 24 poster, a mix of stencil, spray paint and digital manipulation.

Be sure to come out to the show, it promises to be a wonderful night!

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