Images from 100 Abandoned Houses

A recent panel discussion consisting of local artists and educators ranging from an architect to a museum director was held at the MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit). Its title, “Is Detroit the New Berlin?” spoke directly to the constant comparison of Detroit to other cities, and to its reinvention. Throughout the conversation a given speaker would name a distant city and attempt to discuss that particular places conflicts in relation to Detroit. Almost immediately after making such a statement though it became evident to the audience as well as to the speaker that the particular issue they were speaking of and the solution that place found was not applicable to Detroit.

Opposite terms are ‘born together.’ To have or learn one is to have or learn the other. You cannot have mastered water unless you also know what is not water.

from A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought by Chad Hansen

It is human nature to compare and contrast in order to understand the world. We juxtapose to communicate ideas, to describe an object, person, or place clearly.

Perhaps this is why people are so eager to draw comparisons between Detroit and other great, failed industrial cities. Perhaps this is why people like to discuss Detroit in terms of what it was and is no longer. But a question still remains: do these comparisons help or hinder the creation of a new model for Detroit?

While it is important to learn from the past struggles and work of people elsewhere, Detroit is none of the cities to which it is likened. Detroit in 2009 is not the city that it was in 1940. Nor is it Berlin, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Moscow, Manchester, or Liverpool. Detroit exists in a unique time and a place, with unprecedented conflicts and hardships. In order for Detroit to reach a point of stability, a new model for commerce, industry, and urban living must come into play.

Like the economic infrastructure of Detroit, the infrastructures of many American companies are changing drastically due to the current recession. Some large, failing corporations have been swallowed by former competitors, while others have been forced to downsize. And in another sense, downsizing is an idea with which Detroit residents have become a bit too familiar. The city has been “downsizing” its population for the past forty years. Once home to two million, the city looks and functions much differently at 800,000 residents.

Similar to shifts in most industries, the former model for a successful design company is evolving. Jobs once accomplished by many are now completed by a single individual with a computer and the Adobe Creative Suite. And therefore the design world, like the rest of Detroit, is shrinking. As larger advertising agencies lay off two to three hundred employees at a time, many designers are left unemployed with no prospects.

Detroit has never been a city for chain restaurants and stores. A place housing a mere five Starbucks within its bounds allows small businesses to establish themselves and thrive, because they do not have to compete with larger corporate giants. It only makes sense that its design firms follow suit. And many of these newly unemployed designers are striking out on their own through freelance, some with the hopes that it could one day turn into a small studio of their own. Though Detroit may not be known on a national level for the number of small design studios that call this city home, we are here.

While researching for Pixelgawker I am continually surprised at the number of local studios I stumble across that I had never heard of before. The sprawling nature of Detroit combined with harsh competition for design business from the Big Three, the largest clients for many local design firms and advertising agencies in Detroit, make it difficult for designers to connect with one another. While there are many studios and organizations doing interesting work, the conflict lies in that they are all happening as isolated conversations.

Rather than being a place you can understand by comparing it to a known post-industrial city, Detroit’s condition is a new concept to comprehend; it is what a great American city looks like when the people leave. It is only now that the same looming threat of industrial and economic disaster has been imposed on other parts of the United States that the rest of the country is paying attention. Over the past few months, amidst the constant headlines announcing drastic changes in the American automotive industry, I have noticed that the city of Detroit has garnered a lot of nationwide attention. Projects like The Powerhouse Project, The Detroit Unreal Estate Agency, 100 Abandoned Houses, and Time Magazine’s article “Detroit’s Beautiful, Horrible Decline” are reaching tens of thousands foreign eyes — and people like to root for the underdog.

A comment that stayed with me, from the panel discussion at the MOCAD offered the possibility of considering vacancy as a positive, rather than negative, attribute. I constantly have to remind myself to focus not on what this city lacks but rather on what it has to offer. It’s not over developed — there is a vast amount of empty space. The countless small, independently owned businesses and unique organizations that have arisen from grass roots efforts. Often, the best artistic inspiration comes from heartbreak, and Detroit is an incredible muse. It is a fact validated in the musicians, artists, designers, and people it produces. Perhaps as Detroit struggles to find a new model for design, and for itself, the rest of the world will listen.

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Update: I just now came across this article that was written back in December “The Detroit Dilemma-Ruminations.” It expresses similar thoughts–Interesting, insightful, good links, photos and a map. Read it here.

Recently, I had the great pleasure and good fortune to participate in Project M, an accelerated program designed to inspire young creatives to use their work to enact positive and significant social change. This 2009 session brought together 14 young designers and writers from around the country in Belfast, Maine to address challenging times. For 12 days and countless hours we sat together sharing stories, generating ideas, then rapidly prototyping our visions into tangible outcomes. The results were sometimes crude but always insightful. Ideas belonged not to the individual but to the entire group. Together, we rolled through several iterations in far less time then it might take in a typical school or office environment. What we would eventually uncover took something outrageous and turned it into something outrageously interesting. 

Throughout this time, and for several days after my return to Detroit, I continued to ask myself, how can I harness this collective experience and expand it beyond just these two weeks? How can I work in this sort of environment all the time? What would it take to establish a permanent co-operative ’something’ like this in Detroit, and further, how can it be turned into a self-sustaining entity? Almost immediately many of my ideas were shattered by the voices of practicality. To house a functioning collective of talented people AND generate enough income to pay those people is no easy task. However, I’d like to discuss a couple of models being explored in other cities in an effort to expand the dialogue on this subject and hear the thoughts of those who might be interested in exploring these ideas further.

The Design Office – Providence Rhode Island – visit website

What is it? Founded in 2007, The Design Office is a small group of Providence designers sharing office space and equipment, while essentially remaining independent from one-another. Though the members do collaborate on occasion, each designer mainly works on her own commissions while also developing un-commissioned projects for various means of distribution. The space is currently maxed out at four full-time members, but both part-time members and project-length collaborators are invited to use the space and resources for a reasonable membership fee.

Why it works? By remaining financially independent from one-anther, the four full-time members forgo the typical fees that it takes to operate even a small design studio. Income is collectively generated by renting out part-time desk space to project collaborators and by selling designed products on their online store. I would venture to guess that the majority of revenue comes through each member’s individual client projects. Aside from the practical benefits of sharing equipment and space, working together in an open environment allows the members to collaborate on projects both commissioned and un-commissioned. 

The issues? Critics will ask, how does an operation like this make any money? I would agree, that the business model in place isn’t constructed to generate a huge revenue. Income created through the membership fees of part-time participants might be enough to cover the monthly bills and equipment fees, but otherwise each full-time member is relying heavily on the client work they individually commission for their own earnings. What this model offers is a collaborative, co-operative environment for independent designers to work within, as they gain a client base and extend their professional network. This is not a model for the timid. Members must be proactive and be willing to pound-the-pavement to gain work. I see this as a viable option for independents who like the studio environment but prefer working for themselves, and who already might have a small growing pool of clients. I’d take a studio space over my kitchen table any day. 

Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation – visit website

What is it? The Pratt Design Incubator is intended to support the entrepreneurial talents of designers, artists, and architects within the Pratt community. In theory, the incubator provides: start up support for Pratt alumni looking to start a business; design consulting services on a project basis; workshop and seminar organization; mentorship and network coordination; and a resource center for design entrepreneurs. Tangibly, the incubator provides an open co-opperative office space and access to shop facilities. The incubator is comprised of a multi-disciplinary group of design, business and industry professionals; a director who outlines projects on the consultancy side and manages projects in the incubator itself; a mentor network; and an advisory board who governs the selections of incubator participants. Graduating seniors, alumnae and faculty must submit project proposals and be accepted into the incubator. Once accepted, they may stay within the incubator for up to two years. 

Why it works? By offering office space and mentorship, the incubator provides a safe and stimulating environment for young design entrepreneurs, taking some of the mystery and overhead out of starting a business. Like any incubator, the collective, co-operative environment works with great advantage, enabling faster more innovative solutions in a shorter period of time. In addition to their own individual projects, the incubees assemble into consultant teams to tackle commissioned projects from outside organizations. The consultancy practice brings in engaging projects from outside clients, allowing the incubees the opportunity to work collaboratively and use design as a vehicle for positive change. 

The issues? Like the Design Office it is unclear how this model generates enough income to sustain all participating members. Because of its affiliation with a private school, its likely that some funding is gained from the institution itself. The consultancy practice within the incubator could be a viable source of income, though budgets for these projects would have to be relatively generous if each involved member is to be adequately compensated. When assessing the value of this incubator model, however, it is important to look at the experience the program offers its participants rather then the income, especially for young designers who are trying to start their own practice. 

Aside from the obvious benefits of working together among a group of like-minded individuals, models and programs like the two discussed above could offer just enough incentive to keep some of Detroit’s freshest talent in the area. More importantly, models like these are challenging the ways business can operate by removing the top-down hierarchical structure and broadening to a more collaborative, equal one. These are two obvious ideas, but I am curious to learn what other people are doing or have tried in the past.  What we need now, more then ever is community. This of course is not to undermine the designers who have already committed to Detroit. Their work and their initiatives should not be overlooked. But there is a sea of young talent graduating from local universities and schools each year, and they’re leaving the city. Perhaps its time we seriously start thinking about new ways of keeping them here.

both megan and colleen have established objective and emotional arguments as to why design in michigan is still relevant: the ability to create impact, immediate access to the design community and affordable living. now i ask: where in this country, at this particular time, is there a better chance to experiment with design practice than detroit. where else in the country is your risk of failure so small and your opportunities for success so great? yes, our immediate future is defined by digging ourselves out of an economic mess and soaring unemployment, but our long-term future is a design community that can survive independent of the automotive industry and that can define it’s success not by artifact but by ideas. it can also be defined by an up-and-coming generation of designers willing to stay and play. with the ability to think beyond the current model of design practice, michigan designers will no longer be a victim of their circumstances, rather, they will define a new reality based on the conditions presented to them.

in order to realize that potential, the silos that we have built for ourselves need to be torn down so we can successfully rebuild our design community. in an earlier post (here) i discuss the celebrate michigan design initiative that colleen and i initiated thru aiga detroit. we started off with the simple premise that michigan in general and detroit specifically was once world renown for it’s design innovation in both theory and practice. we discussed at length how our once illustrious history was now lost amidst a dismal economy and a public’s general apathy towards design. we lamented that michigan used to be a design innovator. we wondered, “what is it that’s keeps us from reaching new levels of innovation? are we dwarves standing on the shoulders of giants unable to cast a new vision for ourselves?”

as pixelgawker continues to evolve, we will begin to break this larger question into a series of case studies. we will be revisiting this topic from different perspectives and looking to voices around the community to help us shape the conversation. but moving forward, i would encourage everyone to simply share stories of studios, organizations and individuals that are trying to break convention and reshape detroit in their own image. let perseverance and hard work be our source of inspiration. we must collectively recognize good ideas so we can help support them. let’s reward those who are taking chances and taking a risk to help build a new reality for detroit design. let’s become a community that embraces change and is not afraid to take risks.

in conclusion i would like to highlight several noteworthy individuals and organizations that are inspiring not only because of what they do but how they do it. as we begin to share stories and voices begin to emerge i hope we can be inspired to provoke ourselves and others into action.

design 99: Part retail space, part architectural design studio, design 99 seeks to break the notion of contemporary design as expensive and inaccessible. see an interview here of owners mitch cope and gina reichert.

great lake urban exchange: as i mentioned in an earlier post, even though it’s not a design organization, glue is a great model for us to follow. it was founded by two twenty-something great lakes residents, as a multi-media documentary, networking, and creative research effort to encapsulate day-to-day experiences in “declining” post-industrial cities and answer the question: what’s right and what’s wrong about my post-industrial city?

detroit industrial arts league: a growing collective of detroit-based creative professionals developing a non-profit open-access industrial arts and design facility. by filling out the survey located on their site, people can effectively help the organization become a reality.

sweet juniper: an honest reflection of “two people people raising their kids in the most dangerous city in America.”

aiga detroit: in addiiton to  regular programming centered on celebrating michigan design, this summer, aiga detroit will be organizing a series of conversations promoting best practices in design.

detroit make it here: a user-centric news, information and networking hub for detroit-based creatives.

For days I ’ve had the lyrics of the Smashing Pumpkins’ Tonight, Tonight running through my head. Once a part of the soundtrack to windows down, summer sing-a-long nights during my high school years, those words have found a new relevance to my adult life. Perhaps I am being sentimental, but the words still won’t leave my mind:

You can never ever leave,

without leaving a piece of youth. And our lives are forever changed,

we will never be the same

I moved to Detroit from Ann Arbor, Michigan, when I was 18 years old. Before that I had not spent much time in Detroit. As a child we would come every few years to attend a concert, or visit the DIA or the science center. On these occasions we never spent much time experiencing the city. Our destination was always a cultural institution, never Detroit in and of itself. At that time I recall feeling envious of the University of Michigan students fortunate enough to be moving to Ann Arbor for the first time, as opposed to leaving it behind.

Like many other experiences, moving to Detroit was riddled with firsts. The first time I was a minority — a white person in a grocery store. The first time I ordered Subway through bulletproof glass. The first time I saw a prostitute on a street corner. In those early months at CCS Detroit taught me something invaluable despite the likely perceived negativity of those firsts.

It is important to note that while my address remained in Detroit, I had the option to remove myself from these surroundings. I did not have to shop at the Food Pride a few blocks from my school; I had the luxury to grocery shop in the suburbs. But looking back I am glad that I did shop at Food Pride, even if it was only twice. I realized then why everyone working and shopping stared at me as I entered that grocery store. I couldn’t blame them; they did not have the freedom I had, to leave.

As my time at CCS wore on, the thought of leaving Detroit grew ever more enticing. In a way, staying in Michigan felt like failure. Teachers advised me to avoid getting too comfortable in Detroit, as though my design sensibility and drive would expire over a few short years. A CCS portfolio day happened to connect me with a job opportunity in a small local firm with excellent bosses and great coworkers. A full year of working after graduation I realized I had begun to get comfortable. Despite being employed as a designer — the occupation I had spent four years of my life incessantly working toward — I felt as though because I had not left Detroit, I had somehow failed. It was easy to get comfortable here. I had an established a group of friends and was familiar with the local restaurants and bars, the waitresses knew me by name.

If I were to be transplanted, to New York, or Chicago, or San Francisco, who would I be? Because people here know me, Detroit provided me with opportunities I never would have encountered on the coasts. In Detroit, I can have an active voice in the design community. At the age of 24 I can hold a chair position on the Detroit AIGA board. In larger cities the AIGA boards are made up of people already known to the national design community, and have contributed twenty or more years to the field. Not to discredit seasoned professionals in any way, but that hierarchical atmosphere is not what Detroit needs now. Detroit needs people to believe in it. Detroit needs new ideas, new energy, and it needs vigor. Detroit needs its youth.

As I watch more and more close friends and acquaintances slip into unemployment I realize that rather than leaving, the difficult part is staying. When I moved to Detroit I thought I was leaving my youth behind in Ann Arbor. Certainly parts of it I did. It never occurred to me that with that loss I would gain a youthful optimism for Detroit, one that I am scared to abandon six years later.

In the words of Billy Corgan, “I believe in the urgency of now.”

Detroit, I believe in you.

What I didn’t anticipate was such an ill response on the out-of-state job-seeking front. Nor, at the time, did I understand the enormity of the economic downturn that has since plagued our nation. I don’t know whether it was the dismissive replies from all the design studios, or the thought of driving a U-haul mid-winter, or an insightful conversation that I’d had with a teacher and friend, but this past January the fire inside me, that for so long was fueling my Detroit departure, all of a sudden seemed to dwindle. Somehow Detroit was beginning to feel all the more spectacular. I began to think deeply about what it was that I was really looking for out of state. Was it an impressive job? A stylish apartment? Meaningful relationships? It was as if in all the excitement of graduation I had lost sight of what I was truly in search off. It only then dawned on me, that all I was looking for I already had, and I had it all right here in this delightfully unrefined city.

What may seem like an over-night shift in perspective and ideals has, I believe, actually been gradually building up over the past 4.5 years. During this time, I’ve had the fortunate experience to meet, talk and work with a good number of genuine, talented individuals who each, in their own way, have contributed to the molding of my design ideas and understanding. Both living in and attending school in Detroit has played a vital role in shaping who I have become as a young designer and will continue to be a driving force as I grow and evolve. For that, I am continually proud and eternally grateful. Recently, a family friend asked me when I was moving to New York City. My response seemed to catch her off guard. “I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe next month, maybe next year, maybe never.” I told her that Detroit has this weird ability to grab you up, and hold on tight. It clenches you like the jaws of a pit bull. In the beginning its painful, but soon the sting disappears and you’re proud of the scars it leaves behind.

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So what exactly is it that Detroit has to offer a young designer? How can we encourage creatives to stay here? What models can we adapt to better grow design business? In what ways can we work together to cultivate a new plan for Detroit? These are just a sampling of topics that we hope to explore in the coming months. Our ideas will sometimes seem idealistic, but above all we hope to find some practical solutions. Our goal is not necessarily to provide all the answers, but to encourage a dialogue and inspire others.

To kick things off, I offer up five simple reasons why its good to be a designer in Detroit:

1. Community – Perhaps one of the greatest incentives the city can offer a designer is a modest, albeit substantial, design community. Humble but steadily growing, the Detroit design scene is alive and active, making it easy for young designers to be involved and have a real voice.

2. Rolling hills and sweeping plains – Well, more plains then hills, but boundless land nonetheless. What New York boasts in skyscrapers, Detroit counters with broad, available urban landscape – an asset that very few North American cities can offer, and an opportunity for massive re-development and renewal.

4. Opportunity to be a part of something monumental – Call it wishful thinking, but I believe that something big is going to happen in Detroit, and its going to happen sooner then we think. That ’something’ will be led by the creative class, and will require new models of thinking, and joint efforts from individuals residing both within the city and without. (stay tuned for more on this topic)

5. The simple fact that we have nothing to loose.

Here’s to this wondrous gem of a city, with lots to boast and far more to discover.