Words of wisdom

I went to an event yesterday hosted by Interior Design Magazine, all about the business of design. Though the day was packaged with discussions of brand extensions, product development, and business people getting through the design process, the highlight was getting to hear Sergio Palleroni speak. He is the founder of the BaSiC Initiative, which is about building sustainable communities through design. I'm catching onto this late, as he has received so many accolades that they are too numerous to list here. One thing that he said yesterday, which I found to be very emblematic of his work is that "the future depends on millions of small solutions."

I like the concept of bringing design to the people, or the community as designers. I am lukewarm about the business interpretation of it, which sometimes means more products more of the time. Sergio Palleroni's approach is another perspective which shows that more design for the people does not mean more waste, but less waste or even zero waste.

You can catch one piece of his and his student's new furniture, which involved turning reclaimed wood from Katrina into furniture for the New Orleans community at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum next month. You can learn more about his work with his students at BaSiC.