2015 Year in Review
We believe design can change the world.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Done well, it can elevate our quality of life, make businesses more competitive, and protect our environment. Design awareness, education, and expertise are more important now than ever before as design continues to impact communities, organizations, and markets around the world. Design Museum Foundation is redefining what it means to be a museum in the 21st century — we’re online, nomadic, and accessible to all through a network of exhibitions, events, and content.
Deb Aldrich
Jeff Monahan
Dawn Barrett
David Morgan
Zeina Grinnell
David Silverman
STAFF Sam Aquillano, Executive Director CT Ransdell, Development Director Liz Pawlak, Associate Director, Boston Grace Moen, Associate Director, Portland Cory dePasquale, Exhibition Producer Tess Favini, Events & Marketing Producer Amanda Hawkins, Program Coordinator
ADVISORY COUNCIL BOSTON
Our mission:
Bring the transformative power of design to everyone, to inspire a world full of creative problem solvers. Design Museum Foundation knows no geographic bounds, however we do recognize the importance of hyper-local programming as museums are still very much grounded in place. Therefore we establish nomadic museums — focused on individual cities and reflective of their unique needs — as branches of Design Museum Foundation. We currently manage branches in Boston, MA; Portland, OR; and San Francisco, CA — and we have a vision to establish branches in every major city.
Ted Acworth
Monique Fuchs
Meghan Allen
Lisa Gralnek
Jeff Avallon
Kristin Phelan
Derek Cascio
Emily Rawitsch
Marc D’Amore
Dieter Reuther
Caleb Dean
Aaron Scott
PORTLAND Amanda Claire
Richard Potestio
Stacy Day
Katie Wagner
Stephen Green
Brad Wignall
David Laubenthal SAN FRANCISCO Nicole Blanchard
Anna Kawar
Vanessa Camones
Heather King
Liz Comperchio
Loren Marshall
Andrea Fineman
Scott Thibeault
Susan Gladwin
Robin Zander
Rebecca Hoover
Design Museum Foundation
Wow, what an exciting year! In 2015 we’ve done so much to democratize design and bring it directly to to the public. Your support makes this work possible, thank you! I hope you’ll join me as we look back on a successful year at the museum and look ahead to what’s next. Design is everywhere — the museum should be everywhere too. What started as Design Museum Boston is growing in exciting ways. Over two years ago we established Design Museum Foundation, repositioning the museum as a national organization dedicated to design education and inspiration. Our vision is to create a national museum with local branches — grounded in local community — that reflect the unique needs of each place. I’m excited about the future of our public outreach across the U.S., including our launch this year in San Francisco. To support this vision we’ve made strategic hires consistent with our mission. At the beginning of June, Liz Pawlak was hired as our Boston Associate Director. Liz is a dynamic architecture professional with a contagious enthusiasm for our mission. To add to the Boston-focused team we hired Tess Favini as Events & Marketing Producer to support Liz, plan events, and spread the word about our programming. Grace Moen was hired as our Portland Associate Director as we strive to build a team on the west coast. Grace brings her international background in arts and architecture to a community overflowing with design opportunity and innovative thinkers. C.T. Ransdell was hired as our firstever Development Director. He is a passionate advocate for publicly accessible design and will work to build on the success we’ve had over the last six years and position us for further growth and impact. We even promoted Amanda Hawkins to be our Program Coordinator — to manage large exhibition programs and develop content. In the last few years we have grown significantly. Institutions do not reach this kind of status independently, and Design Museum Foundation’s vibrancy reflects the support of our committed friends like you. Thank you for everything you do to support the museum.
So what’s next? We’ll continue to produce world-class exhibitions and events in the coming year. I’m particularly excited about our upcoming Extraordinary Playscapes exhibition — a major, national show highlighting the importance of unstructured, outdoor play in childhood development and featuring innovative designs — and stories behind — playgrounds from around the world. Our online presence remains a strong focus as we seek to strengthen our web architecture and deliver an exciting, informative experience to our virtual visitors. In 2016, we will launch an online museum “collection” that archives our exhibitions and events — past and present. We’ll also launch a podcast featuring audio from our events and interviews with special guests. Finally, we seek to deepen our work as informal design educators of children and teens. Over the next year we’ll explore and prototype educational programming that integrates the tenants of the design process into K-12 education. We believe an individualized, project-based approach to teaching and learning will have a major impact on the youth in our cities, and we are committed to using our standing as a leading public institution to offer these highdemand program services. I want to thank you for placing your confidence in us and for your generous support as we continue to expand the ways we deliver on our mission. Together, our donors, contributors, sponsors, members, board members, advisory councils, neighbors, and friends make up the Design Museum Foundation family. We look forward to what this community can accomplish in the year ahead. Sincerely,
Sam Aquillano Executive Director, Design Museum Foundation
2015 Year In Review JAN 16 • BOSTON
MAR 20 • BOSTON
APR 24 • BOSTON
DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
Eric Kramer, Reed Hilderbrand
Grace Teo, Open Style Lab
Emily Rawitsch, Invaluable
@ Sapient Nitro
@ MassArt
@ Sherin and Lodgen
JAN 20 • PORTLAND
MAY 7 • BOSTON
FIELD TRIP
UNITE
Scout Books
Healthcare Environments @ Mad*Pow
JAN 29 • PORTLAND UNITE
Data x Design x Health @ CENTRL Office FEB 12 • PORTLAND PECHAKUCHA NIGHT
Design for Survival
Grace Teo presented on her efforts to develop accessible and fashionable apparel for people of all abilities.
MAR 20 • FOUNDATION ONLINE
New Website Launched!
MAY 12 • PORTLAND FIELD TRIP
Jacobsen Salt Co. & Bee Local MAY 15 • BOSTON DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
Lisa Gralnek, MOO @ Vermonster
@ Holocene MAR 29 • PORTLAND FEB 17 • SAN FRANCISCO UNITE
Design x Entrepreneurship @ General Assembly
FILM SCREENING
Making Space: 5 Women Changing the Face of Architecture @ Hollywood Theater
MAY 20 • PORTLAND EDUCATION
Youth Workshop: Internet of Things @ Smarsh
APR 1 • SAN FRANCISCO UNITE
Impact Design @ Autodesk Gallery
Our first event in San Francisco featured entrepreneurs from architecture, product design, and user experience design.
APR 8 • BOSTON FIELD TRIP
GrandTen Distillery
A roundtable of Internet of Things industry professionals worked directly with teens to conceptualize new product ideas.
FEB 19 • BOSTON
APR 22 • PORTLAND
MAY 20 • PORTLAND
UNITE
STORY HOUR
UNITE
Data Visualization
Design Fail
Internet of Things
@ Village Ballroom
@ Smarsh
FEB 25 • BOSTON
APR 22 • SAN FRANCISCO
MAY 23 • BOSTON
FIELD TRIP
FILM SCREENING
FASHION SHOW
PhillipoStyle
Post New Bills
Rapid Jewelry
@ General Assembly
@ Design Within Reach
@ Boston Park Plaza Hotel
Design Museum Foundation
JUN 6 • BOSTON
AUG 5 • PORTLAND
SEP 11 • BOSTON
PLACEMAKING
FIELD TRIP
DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
Urban Innovation Kick-Off
Laika Animation Studios
Naz Mirzaie, Essential
@ Troy Boston
@ Wentworth Institute of Technology AUG 7 • BOSTON
JUN 11 • BOSTON
DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
SEP 13 • BOSTON
EXHIBITION
Dave Laituri, OneHundred
FIELD TRIP
Design for Dining
@ Cantina
Cape Cod Modern House Trust
@ 7 Restaurants in Downtown Crossing AUG 13 • BOSTON UNITE
Dining & Design @ CIC Boston AUG 19 • PORTLAND We paired 7 design firms with 7 restaurants to reimagine the dining experience — the results were incredible!
UNITE
A special visit to the modern houses on Cape Cod with a tour from the director of the Trust.
Retail Design @ Pioneer Place
SEP 16 • SAN FRANCISCO STORY HOUR
JUN 18 • PORTLAND FILM SCREENING
Sign Painters @ Cinema 21 JUN 19 • BOSTON DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
Stephen Martyak, studioTYAK @ Red Thread
AUG 20 • BOSTON
Tactical Urbanism
EXHIBITION
@ swissnex SF
Engaged Body @ Boston Architectural College AUG 23 • BOSTON EDUCATION
Tinker Tent @ Boston Children’s Museum
JUL 15 • PORTLAND
Local thought leaders share their stories about tactical urbanism, outside on swissnex’s new parklet.
STORY HOUR
Invisible Design
SEP 23 • BOSTON
@ On Deck
MEETUP
WeWork JUL 17 • BOSTON DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
Caleb Dean, Owl, Fox, & Dean
A young girl begins construction of her vision for the perfect playground at our outdoor design workshop in Boston.
@ Reed Hilderbrand JUL 23 • BOSTON
EXHIBITION
EXHIBITION SPECIAL EVENT
Pattern Walk
@ 7 Restaurants in Downtown Crossing
DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
Sarah Williams, MIT SEP 4 • BOSTON
Downtown Table Tour
OCT 2 • BOSTON
@ Harbor Garage
@ Northeastern University
2015 Year In Review
Thank you!
OCT 7 • PORTLAND
NOV 13 • BOSTON
PROGRAM SPONSORS
STORY HOUR
DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
Making
Jef Leon, Bergmeyer
ACME Scenic & Display
@ On Deck
@ CIC Boston
Autodesk Foundation
OCT 8 • SAN FRANCISCO
NOV 18 • BOSTON
MEETUP
MEETUP
Galvanize / theMIX agency
Environments at Work
OCT 27 • PORTLAND
NOV 19 • BOSTON
MEETUP
EXHIBITION SPECIAL EVENT
FLOR
Dinner with the Designer
Bergmeyer
@ Legal Crossing
Boston Architectural College Cambia Health Cantina CIC Boston Creative Circle Enernoc Fidelity Investments General Assembly
DEC 1 • PORTLAND
Gerding Edlen
FIELD TRIP
Gigantic Brewing Company
Pulp & Deckle
Harpoon Brewery Hotlips Pizza
Attendees learn about the museum and meet the team at our first Meetup in Portland.
DEC 4 • BOSTON
Improper Bostonian
DESIGN MUSEUM MORNINGS
Keyshot
Jeremy Brady, HubSpot OCT 28 • SAN FRANCISCO
@ MassArt
UNITE
Data Visualization
DEC 10 • BOSTON
@ Babson SF
SPECIAL EVENT
Legal Seafood Mad*Pow Mahlum Architects MassArt
Winter Celebration
Modern Edge
@ National Office Furniture
MOO Northeastern University Playworld Purity Organic
FOUNDATIONS & GRANTS Data visualization experts share their ideas and best practices at this UNITE panel discussion.
NOV 11 • PORTLAND UNITE
Creative Entrepreneurship @ Simple
Red Thread Reed Hilderbrand
ArtPlace America
Room 68
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Sherin and Lodgen
Boston Foundation for Architecture
Signarama
Massachusetts Cultural Council
Solidscape
National Endowment for the Arts
The Chiofaro Company TriMark United East Troy Boston Vermonster Vitamin T Zipcar
Design Museum Foundation
MEMBERS DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE GOLD ADX
Brown Brothers Harriman
Gerding Edlen
Red Thread
Artaic
The Chiofaro Company
Proper Villains
Room 68
Sam & Wendy Aquillano
Gate 3 Design
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE SILVER Bose
Essential
Cantina
Leo & Lia O’Donnell
Aric Wood
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE BRONZE ACME Scenic & Display
Holst Architecture
MassArt
Silverman Trykowski Assoc.
Dawn Barrett
Ann Hudner
NELSON
David Silverman
Creative Circle
IdeaPaint
Reflex Lighting
Soldier Design
Fidelity Investments
IDEO
Sapient Nitro
Vitamin T
Fresh Tilled Soil
Mad*Pow
Sasaki
Wentworth Inst. of Tech.
ADD/Stantec
Environments at Work
Humanscale
Payette
Bergmeyer Associates
Figure Plant
Jaywalk Studio
Dieter & Karen Reuther
Derek Cascio
Fusco & Four
MANTA
Aaron Scott
CMD
Nels Gabbert
Jeff Monahan
Sara Sigel
Design Management Inst.
Gigantic Brewing Co.
David Morgan
Story and Structure
Eight, Inc
Harpoon Brewery
Motiv
swissnex Boston
Elkus Manfredi Architects
HOTLIPS Pizza
Max Osbon
Sue Wolff
Eleven
Modern Edge
Katie Wagner
David Hart
The Felt Hat
Brad Wignall
Anne Lovett
Kenichi Tomita
Marc & Charlotte Zawel
Nicole Blanchard
Bri Grady
Devin O’Neal
Nathan Shedroff
TeLisa Daughtry
Lisa Gralneck
James Owen
Katerina Simpkins
Adam Gesuero
Maryellen Hockensmith
Vince Pan
Peter Spalding
Susan Gladwin
Michelle LaFoe
Danielle Perretty
Robert Uhlig
Zeina Grinnell
PATRONS
ADVOCATES
FRIENDS
Attendees of our Downtown Table Tour enjoy the Design for Dining installation at Sip Wine Bar in Boston’s Downtown Crossing — designed and produced by Gate 3 Design and Visual Dialogue.
Pedestrians stroll past our store in Boston and towards our Pattern Walk exhibition. We commissioned 9 local designers and teams to create new patterns to activate the space outside the Harbor Garage downtown.
Design Museum Foundation
A young girl shows off the design sketch and playground prototype she created at the Tinker Tent, a collaboration between Design Museum Boston and Boston Children’s Museum to offer hands-on learning opportunities for kids.
Event attendees gather at Mad*Pow for our UNITE on Healthcare Environments to hear from an expert panel, including a user experience designer, hospital-based artist, patient advocate, and healthcare architect.
A stand-up comedian tells her design story at Story Hour: Invisible Design at On Deck in Portland. At this new event series in Portland, local thought leaders share their experiences in an open-mic-like format.
Our expert panel wraps up an amazing discussion on design for social impact and sustainability at our UNITE: Impact Design event at Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco.
Design Museum Foundation
Models from Urbanity Dance show off the Rapid Jewelry collection of 3D printed jewelry at our spring Fashion Show at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.
Boston Advisory Counil Co-Chair, Caleb Dean, begins his Design Museum Mornings presentation on new thinking in organizational design and development at Reed Hilderbrand’s new office in Cambridge.
Design is everywhere. So are we.
designmuseumfoundation.org @designmuseumfdn @designmuseumbos @designmuseumpdx @designmuseumsf Copyright Š 2015 Design Museum Foundation