CommUnity: Sawdust, Pentagram, Carson and more united for San Francisco Design Week 2019

Earlier this week German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered the commencement address at Harvard University hours after she received an honorary doctor of laws degree at the institution. Merkel told attendees that modern actions taken on the world stage must be "multilateral rather than unilateral" and focus on international concerns rather than nationalistic and isolationist ones. "In short we have to work together rather than alone," Merkel said. Well, the design community is on the same page with one of the world's most influential leaders in politics and beyond and the spirit of unity is about to take over San Francisco's Bay Area. 

Designers of all disciplines are united by the drive to solve problems, advance aesthetics, and re-think our the future claims the team of San Francisco Design Week, an essential week-long city-wide festival which showcases the unique intersection of ideas, design, business & entrepreneurism that makes the Bay Area the birthplace of the future which takes place this June.

To celebrate this year's "CommUNITY" theme SFDW invited leading San Francisco and acclaimed international designers to participate in this creative call to arms by showcasing original artifacts they have produced specifically for this event which will include posters, typefaces, product, sculptures, digital art and more. 

The original works are sold in a silent auction with proceeds benefiting San Francisco Design Week (SFDW) to enable its mission to bring together the local Bay Area and international design community. 

"The increasing global collaboration among visual designers, industrial designers, strategists, writers, photographers, videographers, illustrators, and artists has created a community of purpose in today’s complex world" notes SFDW on this year's theme, the result of a collaboration with Mucho.

SFDW is a one of a kind opportunity to engage with the region’s thriving design industry, whose output affects the daily lives of billions of people globally as designers of all disciplines are encouraged to participate in this essential world stage.

The increasing global collaboration among visual designers, industrial designers, strategists, writers, photographers, videographers, illustrators, and artists has created a community of purpose in today’s complex world

"San Francisco’s international success is born from a historically free-spirited entrepreneurialism, coupled with the imaginative vision of contemporary design and state-of-the-art technology. Pioneers of new ways of looking at the world, nimble Bay Area start-ups are now among the world’s most influential design-led companies, producing products, services, and experiences that profoundly influence the daily lives of billions of people globally" notes the team of SFDW19.

Through studio tours and events, SFDW celebrates this spirit of newness by providing unique access to exhibitions and conversations with the designers who are shaping the future — from architecture to fashion, product design to digital services, and everything in between.

Rob Gonzalez & Jonathan Quainton of Sawdust, United Kingdom. "Mote of Dust pays homage to an excerpt from Carl Sagan’s book Pale Blue Dot. Sagan was inspired by an image taken, at his own suggestion, by Voyager 1 on February 14, 1990. As the spacecraft moved towards the outer edges of our solar system, engineers turned it around to gaze upon our tiny planet. Voyager 1 was approximately 4 billion miles away when it captured a portrait of earth, appearing only as a tiny point of light, a pale blue dot. 
Sagan later profoundly describes in his book just how small we are in the vastness of the cosmos, a community floating on 'a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam'" @madebysawdust.co.uk

David Carson Design in collaboration with Album Surf, USA. "When lines are drawn, they're never straight. In surfing and design the principles are the same. Uniformity is boring. Creativity is celebrated. Progression is paramount. LUSEA (5'10") is designed to beautify a wall, but ready to surf. Shaped by Matt Parker and designed by David Carson using overlaid letters from meaningful words." @davidcarsondesign.com @albumsurf.com

Sascha Lobe of Pentagram UK @pentagram.com

The event is produced by AIGA SF. Connect with the event through social media or sign up for the newsletter to stay informed of SFDW happenings and read more here.

Bidding is now open here.