On Wednesday of this week a new group called the Design Exchange met for the first time. Born of the Portland Design Festival and the cross-pollination it inspired, the idea of the Exchange is to bring together people in Portland who design buildings, apparel, graphics, software, squeegees, or anything else.
Although right now it’s just a series of get-togethers, there is hope that the Design Exchange can someday become much more.
Part of the mission is to connect designers with people in the community so that the importance of design itself in fostering a sound economy and vibrant culture is kept on the front burner in both the public and private sector. The Design Exchange isn’t just about preaching to the choir, but sharing its ideas and successes with the greater public. Portland has an opportunity to be known for its range of designers, from major athletic companies headquartered here like Nike and Adidas to advertising giant Weiden + Kennedy, from award-winning industrial designer Ziba to internationally-renowned architecture firm Allied Works. If we can regularly get these people talking with one another and the community, who knows what might come of it?
There is also talk of someday creating an actual brick-and-mortar home for the Design Exchange. It could provide meeting/exhibition space, perhaps a museum of great Portland-originating design (I’m imagining a pair of Air Jordans next to a model of the 2281 Glisan building), maybe food and drink and tables to congregate at. It could be a resource for higher education professionals and students to bring their ideas to the world, or for business and government people to interface with creative services providers. And perhaps even a destination for tourists.
The next Design Exchange meeting, with education the primary focus, is scheduled for 4:30pm on Tuesday, July 12 at Mississippi Pizza. If the ideas being bandied about aren’t enough to get you there, I’m told free pizza will be served. An additional meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 14 at 3:30pm (location unknown but I plan to update this post with that info soon).
Some of the people involved so far are Stuart Emmons of Emmons Architects, Don Rood of The Felt Hat, Thom Walters of Coraggio Group, Randy Higgins of the Environmental Design Office (“edo”), and writer Jake Murray. The Portland Development Commission is also a supporter.
It’s all just talk at this point—or really talk about having a talk. But the Design Exchange is a very encouraging endeavor.
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