Read this leading story at http://www.icograda.org/web/news.shtml

The Trnava Poster Trienniale 2006 is in the list of top similar events in Europe. The Trienniale and accompanying events in Bratislava and Trnava have developed into the largest exhibition of graphic design achievements that has been organised in Slovakia. Presenting premium artworks of contemporary design from abroad and creating space for confrontation between foreign and domestic design, the exhibition has been organised every three years since 1991. The Poster Trienniale showcases the latest poster achievements at international level, encompassing its diversity and openness to various national cultures, traditions and tendencies.

Read this leading story at http://www.icograda.org/web/news.shtml

Jelena Drobac uses this signum to sign her paintings, prints, photos, posters and more. Instead of just combining her initial letters, she uses a foot that forms the letter J, representing dance, game ("design is a sort of game"), movement and stepping forward. In heraldry, the foot symbolizes strength and vitality. The letter D in the background replaces the shield in heraldry and stabilizes the sign. These are traditional symbols in a modern context, which illustrate her approach to design: "KISS - Keep It Short & Simple."

View in Galeria http://www.icograda.org/web/galeria-current.shtml

Part II: Cuba, Si! Life and design on the embargoed archipelago
by Robert L. Peters, FGDC

Cubans are acutely aware of their precarious position alongside their Goliath neighbor; they study history, and they see that the desire of the U.S. to colonize Cuba forms a longstanding pattern. U.S. "founding fathers" Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams both spoke of the need to incorporate Cuba into the nascent U.S. empire - Adams referred to Cuba as: "an object of transcendent importance to the commercial and political interests of our union," while Jefferson simply desired to "conquer and annex" the island nation - impossible at the time because of the strength of the British fleet.

Read this story http://www.icograda.org/web/feature-current.shtml

What type of Icograda event do you value most?

Contribute to Icograda's strategic planning process.

State your opinion http://www.icograda.org/web/opinion

Which of Icograda's activities do you value most

25%  Advocacy with business and international organisations.
21%  Communication of member activities.
57% Coordination of professional practice standards.

Totals shown may be more or less than 100% due to rounding

Buenos Aires to host UNESCO design forum

In October 2006 Buenos Aires is to host a forum called 'Buenos Aires, City of Design, towards 2010' that will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the May Revolution, and which will be held in the context of the city's designation as a 'Creative City of UNESCO'.

The forum will be attended by the City's leading representatives of the design movement, including those from academic institutions, private sector enterprises, entrepreneurs and public bodies. The participants, many of whom were involved in the City's successful bid to become a City of Design in the framework of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network, will present their activities and plans for the City towards 2010 and discuss the importance of the design sector to the local economy.

For more information: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en

We now have something like eighty years of debate on the distinction between graphic design as a commercial practice, on the one hand, and as an experimental, speculative and polemical process on the other. The distinction typically manifests as client commissions versus self-initiated design. Does that debate still have currency? What new perspectives are emerging from the practitioners, critics and other stakeholders who seek to challenge such orthodoxy? What is the current perspective on design authorship in the context of this debate? This Special Issue of visual:design:scholarship (: Research Journal of the Australian Graphic Design Association) invites your contribution to the definition and evaluation of future design practice and research.

Guest Editor: Katherine Moline
k.moline@unsw.edu.au
School of Design Studies, College of Fine Arts
The University of New South Wales

For more information: http://www.agda.asn.au/education/designresearchjournal/index.html

Methodologies and design practices from around the world are increasingly encroaching on the way we practice design today. From accessible environments to worldwide branded environments, developing an understanding of international design practice is critical to success not just overseas, but also in design work in your backyard. This combination of technical lectures, panel discussions, and case studies will focus on how worldwide wayfinding, information design, identity design, and branded environment practices are creating a common ground of international design methodologies that all designers need to know.  This workshop is perfect for professionals creating more accessible environments, developing environments that market to different cultures, looking to do business internationally, or just wanting to see the most interesting new EGD trends from around the world. Keynoted and led by famous Argentinean environmental graphic designer Ronald Shakespear, it is an event not to be missed.

For more information: http://www.segd.org/prof/workshops.htm