The 2014 WantedDesign Design Schools Workshop challenges students to re-envision the expressive qualities of paper in the context of ubiquitous computing, much as painting was reinvented after the camera was popularized. There is a revolution in the exploration of paper, from building components, to 3D paper-printing, to computational origami, to innovative and renewable materials.  Designers have the unique role and responsibility to harness paper’s inherent qualities of tactility, dimensionality, and physicality. This workshop challenges student teams to create a variety of new applications for paper as a creative vehicle rather than as a passive receptor (something on which to write or print).

With this aim, paper will be explored far beyond the limits of the print medium to newly harness its inherent elegance, dimensionality, and emotionality. International student teams will collaborate to explore paper as a material for expression in the design of lighting, furniture, home goods, wearables and spatial environments. Fresh new designs will emerge from research into: the history of paper as a carrier of culture and tradition (ornamentation, lanterns, and festivals); the intersection of analog and digital; and sustainability through opportunities to reduce carbon footprint and re-/up-cycle.

“The birth of paper originates from a need to write, illustrate, and document; it is the medium on which marks are made. But when creative attention is turned to the material itself, the medium becomes the object and the true personality of paper emerges.” —Paper: Tear Fold Rip Crease Cut.

Art Center College of Design’s Associate Professors of Environmental Design, Penny Herscovitch & Dan Gottlieb, will lead the 2014 workshop. For more than 80 years, Art Center has achieved an international reputation for a rigorous, transdisciplinary curriculum, faculty of professionals, strong ties to industry and a commitment to socially responsible design. In recognition of its success in applying design innovations for humanitarian purposes worldwide, Art Center became the first design college to be granted NGO status with the United Nations.

This year the design schools participating to the Design Schools Workshop at WantedDesign are: Art Center College of Design from California,  Tama Art University from Tokyo, Centro from Mexico City, ENSAAMA and ENSCI les ateliers from Paris.

The program is supported this year by Design Milk