Academy Hosts Feb. 4 Kickoff of the Design Revolution Roadshow

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

“We believe design can change the world, and we’re taking the show on the road,” proclaims Emily Pilloton, architect, author and founder of Project H, whose latest initiative is the Design Revolution Roadshow, a 6300-mile 25-school nationwide odyssey that will officially kick off Feb. 4 at the Academy of Art University.

From February to April 2010, the Design Revolution Roadshow will bring a lecture series and traveling exhibition of “design that empowers people” to 25 design universities and high schools across the U.S. Housed in a restored Airstream trailer and pulled by a biodiesel-powered truck, the roadshow features an exhibition of 40 humanitarian design solutions profiled in Pilloton’s book Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People. Designs on display range from homemade water filters for the developing world to user-friendly blood glucose monitors, mobility tools for the elderly, and educational toys for mentally challenged children. Each product is an example of how design can enable and improve life, rather than simply take up space as a commodity or accessory.

Project H Design is a nonprofit organization created to connect the power of design to those who need it most; the roadshow is an outreach effort to promote design education and familiarize students and teachers with the concepts, tools and products that will allow the next generation of creative problem-solvers to apply their skills to the world’s most pressing problems and improve life on a global scale.