Cumulus Experience 2 from Facultad Arquitectura y Diseño on Vimeo.

Cumulus Student Ambassadors Danni Deng and Zhou Siqi reporting from the Cumulus conferences Rovaniemi 2019 Around the Campfire: Resilience and Intelligence by the University of Lapland, Finland.

https://www.facebook.com/cumulus2019/videos/198316521065946/

School of Design, Jiangnan University, formerly known as Molding Department of Wuxi Institute of Light Industry in 1960, is one of the institutes with longest history of Chinese modern design education and one of the earliest design programs in China. According to the 2017 evaluation from the Ministry of Education, School of Design at Jiangnan University ranks A category among all design disciplines in China.

Conference theme: DIFFUSED TRANSITION AND DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=XJ8p1FOxxH8

Theme:The designer’s view of the living museum – collections, works, site and missions.

In the context of the Paris 2018 Cumulus Conference hosted by the Césaap partnership of the four Parisian schools of Art & Design – Boulle, Duperré, Estienne and Ensaama – an international transdisciplinary workshop was proposed to students from colleges affiliated to Cumulus.

The workshop offered young designers the possibility of working in teams on subjects linked to the living museum as embodied by the Centre Pompidou. The students were invited to approach the works, the collections, the site, and the missions of the museum with a designer’s eye.

This was a real opportunity for in situ transdisciplinary work in the context of an international learning exchange. The project was supervised by a team of teachers from the four Parisian schools and coordinated by Jérôme Picard from the Norwegian architecture agency 3RW. It also benefited from the support and equipment of the curatorial and cultural communication departments of the Centre Pompidou.

See the footage from the workshop at

The theme of Cumulus Hong Kong 2016 was ‘Open Design for E-very-thing — exploring new design purposes’, which seeks to explore this openness of design, namely the opening up of design process and design for openness. Six different tracks are set to explore the new purposes of design, including Open Design for Empathy, Ethnography, Experiment, Environment, Education and Engagement.

In this Place addresses how the importance of ‘place’ impacts the way in which we generate ideas, create and design. It looks at how we transmit and circulate ideas, ideologies and knowledge between geographical locations, historical moments, objects, images, actions and cultural contexts.

The REDO biannual Cumulus 2017 conference in Kolding aims to playfully inspire, challenge and develop the role, relevance and scope of design, art and media in a global world with sustainability for people, planet and profit in mind. The overall aim of the conference is to create lasting impact in design and design education and initiate (future) actions.

Learn more about the conference at http://cumuluskolding2017.org/

During these three days in Zürich we explored the chances for small countries and communities to establish Design as a successful and potential cultural and economical source. This was not only interesting for the “small countries”, also the “big countries” can learn from the small. Also the aspect of the scale, what is the understanding of a “big country” in Europe compared to an even bigger, maybe in Asia or America?

Swiss Textiles workshop

Fabric Frontline

he award recognises that the individual has exemplary international standing and is predicated on the award bringing honour to the individual and to CUMULUS equally.

Professor Sotamaa has been involved in art and design education and research for over 40 years.
In 1990, Professor Sotamaa initiated the CUMULUS Network in cooperation with five other major design schools, and served as its President until 2007.

Under his leadership, Cumulus grew into a global platform for art, design and media educators, researchers, students and partners.

Background

Yrjo Sotamaa (Finnish designer with an MA in Interior Architecture and furniture design) was the author of the design declaration and past president of Cumulus. Yrjo Sotamaa’s career was based on building a sustainable future and the importance of art, design and the mythologies of design involved, which enable such creative societies and designs to be developed. The Association Cumulus is described as an international network of universities, colleges, organizations and business partners all incorporated in the topic areas of art, design and media.^[1]Allowing for academic and corporate collaboration. Cumulus has expanded and improved in status over the past decade leading it to become a successful international organization representing a global community of 140 first-class institutions worldwide.

History and the evolution of the design declaration

Cumulus was set up in 1990 by the combined efforts of ‘The University of Art and Design Helsinki (UIAH) (currently Aalto University School of Art and Design) and the Royal College of Art inLondon, collaborating with Danmarks Designskole, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Universität Gesamthochschule Essen and Hochschule für angewandte Kunst in Wien. The organizations focus is on enhancing academic forward designs and generating creative communities connecting the continents. This is described by the declarations author-Yrjo Sotamaa, as a ‘mission to make societies and industry aware of the importance of culture, art, and design in building sustainable societies, creative economies, innovative regions and a better everyday life for all people.’(journal article)This attitude is what brought about the declaration and members of Cumulus continue to work by the declarations approach.

Objectives

The Kyoto design declarations main aim is highlighted by their statement of commitment from the members of Cumulus, to act on being globally responsible for building sustainable, human-centered, creative societies. The Kyoto Design Declaration suggests that it is important, globally, to maintain and continue local or traditional practices. Focused on sustainability as a form of collaboration and as a design ethic. Forming relationships from addressed green issues and design proposals. Design thinking is the factor found at the core of the design manifesto. In co-operation with design thinking the importance of cultural traditional values are noted in order for their rejuvenation and focus. The design declaration states that In order to forward the ideals ofsustainable development and design issues Members of Cumulus agreed to commit to share and promote their knowledge on sustainable development by upholding a relationship with educational and cultural institutions, companies, government agencies, design and other professional agencies and NGO’S. The Kyoto design declaration is a mark of the shift in movement from materialistic and visible values to a more intellectual and mental approach towards all aspects of design. The declaration describes this as an era of ‘cultural productivity’ and when embedded with cultural influences and sustainable principles there is a great potential for an improved world through design society. Sotamaa delivers the declaration to provide benefits to our global communities in the form of economic, ecological, social and cultural benefits which will endeavor to improve quality of life through design durability.

Designers Involvement

Through notions of the declaration designers are made aware of ecological and social problems in the field of global development and sustainable design. This presents issues to address for design matters of education and research. ‘The declaration challenges design to redefine itself’- Yrjo Sotamma. The implementation of the declaration is clarified and kept up to date through annual sustainability reports available through the Cumulus website. Information includes actions taken by the association regarding the dealings and goals, which are set out in the declaration. There are six subheadings, which outline and shape the declaration. The subheadings divide the declaration into categories for the designers and other professional businesses and institutional collaborations to follow and comprehend. -Proposing new values and new ways of thinking -An era of human centered development -The imperative for designers to assume new roles -Seeking collaboration in forwarding the ideals of sustainable development -From education to global responsibility -The power to make fundamental improvements to our world

Success and results

When signed in 2008 by the 124 global members of cumulus including the executive Board of Cumulus, President Christian Guellerin, Past President Yrjö Sotamaa, Rector Kan Shimamoto, Kyoto Seika University, and Industrial Designer Takuo Hirano from Japan. The Declaration also received support from ICISID, BEDA, AIGA and EIDD. four major international organizations, who still support and encourage the declaration and its design concepts. Cumulus now consists of 165 members from 43 countries. Continuously expanding globally and intellectually.

A direct result from the Kyoto design declaration is the cumulus green award. It is through this award that Cumulus is able to take action of the goals and aims stated in the design document. The projects intentions are to induce a response to design issues on sustainable societies through research and design projects. Design competitions are an example of how the declaration is put into place. This is through design competitions that question and discuss the current design issues to do with sustainability. Enforcing designers, students and corporate professionals to follow the guidelines of the Kyoto declaration enhancing their knowledge on the declarations main statement of building sustainable, human-centered, creative societies.

The Kyoto design declaration is seen as influential to many realms and institutions of design. Examples are seen across the globe. Helsinki is the origin of the Cumulus secretariat. The University of Art and Design Helsinki (TAIK) pioneered in the development of the Kyoto declaration, committing to educate sustainable issues. In order to create a successful global community the Mayor of Helsinki, (Jussi Pajunen) stated in his World Design Capital 2012 application that his city will use all means presented by design- in the spirit of the Kyoto Declaration. The Kyoto design declaration will be considered a part of design history in regards to national global mapping. Organizations such as ICSID who support the declaration are also involved in connecting memberships across the continents, leaving an impact on millions of designers throughout the world.