Yesterday we held our first “START CITY HERE” event in Los Angeles at the beautiful new Heath Ceramics space (video on Vimeo of the space is here) thanks to RISD alum and studio director Adam Silverman. More photos will come up shortly on to our Flickr site, but in the meantime I want to thank the 80+ alumni and parents for making it out to triangularly engage y(our) RISD community! -JM

President John Maeda is the guest today on “10 News Conference” (WJAR Channel 10, Providence, 6:30am) with Bill Rappleye and Jim Taricani. Among the topics they are discussing is whether artists and the business world are mutually exclusive or can live in harmony and prosper, how business leaders can use design principles to adapt to the changing economy and what Rhode Island can do to attract new thinkers who integrate humanities and technology in a knowledge-based economy. John also reminded viewers about his recent conversations about starting “ultra-light” creative businesses in Providence and discussed the ongoing stories surrounding Shepard Fairey’s Obama posters, copyright and fair use. And he reminded the audience of early risers about the opportunities to Jog with John at 6am and talk innovaton and creativity along the way.

» You can watch the interview here.

When Graphic Design senior Jennifer Whitney ’09 GD first began thinking about the design for this year’s Commencement collateral, she remembered feeling “inspired by the passion” of the Dadaist artists she has periodically researched over the last four years. “I thought Dada was an appropriate direction for the Commencement pieces because the movement included artists from many different disciplines – design, sculpture, performance art, painting, drawing, film and more,” she says.

Jenn loved delving into the fun visual imagery these artists created, but found it challenging to make her pieces look contemporary. “I didn’t want to simply imitate Dada,” she says. “I wanted to create pieces that reflect that inspiration.” President Maeda is among those who applaud the outcome and wish Jenn well as she transitions to the next phase in her life as a designer, which she predicts will be full of “exciting new opportunities.” As for the famous movement behind the look of her Commencement materials, she adds: “Dada activities also included gatherings (such as celebrations) and in May graduating students will certainly have reason to celebrate!”

I had the pleasure of addressing the RISD Museum docents today. They are a spirited crowd of volunteers that grace the hallways of our Museum with wisdom and stories to share with our many visitors. Thank you docents for your contribution in time, knowledge, and cheer to our RISD community!

I have begun posting new content on the theme of “leadership” together with Becky Bermont on the Harvard Business Review Blog. You have questions? I have questions too. Period. -JM

Yesterday, the front page of The Providence Sunday Journal asked “What does our new economy look like?” and a host of RISD people answered. Seniors Tino Chow and Aaron Perry-Zucker (co-organizers with junior Justin Rosengarten of the upcoming What We Do campus event) are planning to stay in Providence after they graduate in May, convinced after having made so many professional connections here, that “Rhode Island is the perfect place to innovate.”

The Journal notes that recent alums Matthew Grigsby and Joseph Gebbia are building Ecolect, a three-year-old firm that runs an online clearinghouse for information about sustainable materials, in Providence (the company also has offices in Chicago and San Francisco).

RISD students and alumni who remain in RI are examples of a new generation of innovators who are creating new business models for the 21st century. “A business incubator is nice, but that was the 20th-century model,” President John Maeda said in the article, urging the government to become a stakeholder in the process. The president says the state should guide entrepreneurs as they start their businesses, and universities should give a boost to them in their classrooms. “We have to make graduates feel desirable. There needs to be a personal passion from our leaders to make that happen. That’s [the new] incubating.”

Ninety-five leading design firms - representing a wide range of disciplines - were on campus for four days last week (with more to come in April) to conduct informal interviews and give feedback on student portfolios in the Furniture, Graphic and Industrial Design and Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Architecture departments. More than 400 students took advantage of the opportunity to present their portfolios and receive advice on how to gain a competitive edge in a challenging world.

Creative directors, designers, principals and presidents got a first-hand look at RISD’s talented students - and the students benefited from meeting over 50 alumni, who returned to campus to participate in the reviews. RISD alumni obviously understand the RISD experience, know what it’s like to be a student here, and how to transition from the studio to the real world. It could take weeks, and even months, to schedule interviews with the number of companies that the students saw in a matter of four hours. RISD’s Career Services Office calls it “the career equivalent to speed dating” - with many relationships lasting well beyond the 15-minute interview.

Thanks to RISD CSO for organizing this incredible event, to the students who participated and to the alumni who came back to Providence to lend their expertise to the program.

Among the companies in attendance were: Chermayeff & Geismar, Landor, Pentagram, Ogilvy, Modernista!, Wolff Olins, Helmut Lang, Urban Outfitters, Target, Altitude, Essential, frog, Continuum, Hasbro, Invivia, Reebok,West Elm, Nemo, Moshe Safdie, Sasaki, Elkus Manfredi and Tro, Jung Brannen.

Shepard Fairey ‘92 IL was a guest recently on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show. During the interview they discussed not only Shep’s ubiquitous Obama and Andre the Giant posters, but also how he blurs the lines between street and gallery, graphic design and fine art, much as his artistic forebears Keith Haring, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat did before him and Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer MFA ‘77 PT are still doing. The conversation turns to issues of copyright infringement (accusations by the AP that he appropriated AP freelance photographer Mannie Garcia’s image for his iconic Obama poster) and the fourteen counts of vandalism levied against Shep while in Boston to attend the opening of his ICA retrospective. Look for more in the news about Shep and copyright, as this issue continues to grab headlines.

And today’s New York Times includes a review of the Shep’s “Supply and Demand” exhibition at the ICA.

Building on a relationship begun at RISD, potter Adam Silverman BArch ’88 and architect Nader Tehrani BArch ’86 recently created Boolean Valley, a sculptural installation that opens this Sunday at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. Using the principle of Boolean logic in its design, the topographic installation is made of almost 400 dome-shaped ceramic units placed to produce a striated, undulating landscape that responds to its architectural surroundings. Also included in the MOCA show are plans and perspectives showing the evolution of the work at each site, along with an exclusive new animation created by Office dA, Nader’s Boston-based studio. On March 22, the two alumni will give an opening day art talk at the Pacific Design Center, where you can see the installation through July 5.

Want to see more of their individual work? Check out the Fleet Library at RISD, designed by Office dA, or visit Heath Ceramics in Los Angeles, a collaboration between Adam and the historic Heath line, on March 30 at 6:30pm for a reception to welcome President Maeda.

Be sure to check out the steady stream of videos being produced by FAV student Justin Rosengarten and Co. for the upcoming “What We Do,” and also take a gander at RISD Speaks — a new importance voice is forming there.