In last Sunday’s Boston Globe, Dushko Petrovich explored how Boston could find itself as the home of a new art revolution. In his essay, Dushko cites all that Boston has going for it: “several great museums, a superabundance of universities, many galleries, a highly educated and increasingly sophisticated audience, and a density that allows for the most important element in cultural life: interaction between creative people.” Dushko makes a pretty convincing job that this revolution is right around the corner, and he’s right. Kind of.

Kind of, because it’s not an art revolution that’s coming, but a design one. It’s been brewing for a while.

In 2006, the public was just starting to educate itself on design. ApartmentTherapy, DesignSponge, sfgirlbybay and others were showcasing creations coming out of New York and San Francisco. Boston had a large, energetic design scene, but people outside of the city thought it was a quaint, stodgy old town, not giving it the attention it deserved. I started DesignBoston to help get that conversation going. Three and a half years later — whether its architecture, interior-, product-, graphic deisgn or more — if you’re offering unique, thoughtful, innovative creations, we want to share it.

A year later, the Design Industry Group of Massachusetts (DIGMA) was formed as “an initiative of the statewide design industries to organize and promote the Massachusetts design cluster as integral to the state’s economy. ” DIGMA unites the various design industries and promotes them to business, government, and the public. In the most recent Boston Home Magazine, DIGMA director Beate Becker shared an interesting fact:

Our impressive numbers may surprise people who think the city is strictly a science and technology powerhouse; in fact, more than 45,000 people work in design-related jobs in Massachusetts, from architecture and advertising to product design for New Balance and Reebok. Boston-area companies actually support the second-largest industrial-design population in the country, behind San Francisco.

The same year, the pinkcomma gallery opened. The introduction on pinkcomma’s website says it all:

This gallery aims to foster and recognize a more creative and experimental scene that has grown out of one of the world’s most significant capitals of architectural education. For all the city’s stodginess, Boston’s six architecture schools and their instructors have unleashed some of the most provocative figures on the world scene.

Through exhibits like “Rethinking City Hall” and “Heroic“, directors Chris Grimley and Mark Pasnik ask us to reconsider our built spaces. The upcoming Design Biennial Boston will “showcase emerging design voices through an exhibition and publication of innovative professional design works.”

This year, Design Museum Boston was formed to “educate the public on the role of design in their lives and the contributions of design within the creative economy.” It’s planned network of physical — galleries, storefronts and malls — and online exhibits will expose audiences “to the design process from a social, economic, and environmental point of view.”

Whether you’re a creative professional or not, design shapes your world. Look around, and you’ll see a world full of buildings, graphics, products and experiences that were all originally visualized by designers. The clothes you wear, the car you drive, the building you work in, even your favorite website; all are the products of designers’ efforts. Each is more usable and inspiring because of designers’ involvement.

DIGMA, Design Museum Boston, pinkcomma gallery, and DesignBoston are trying to achieve the same thing, but from different angles: DIGMA from an institutional level; DesignMuseumBoston in our places of commerce; pinkcomma gallery from the (literally and figuratively) underground, and DesignBoston from a grassroots level.

These are of course just four examples of the connectors bringing attention to the design industry around Boston, and throughout Massachusetts. As more connections are made, as newer, evermore innovative work gets produced, and as more people — in Boston and beyond — recognize the contributions of Boston’s design industry, Boston will truly be a hub of design.

From spring cleaning sales at a local studio to semi-annual sales at a national retailer, this is a good week for deals. Know of a sale coming up that we should mention? Let us know!

JHill Design & Jill Rosenwald Spring Studio Sale – pieces as low as $5. Through 3/6.

Vessel – 40% off Roomies and Fusionware.

Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams – 20% off all tables and storage, through 3/14.

DWR Semi-Annual Sale – Save 15% on most items throughout the store. Free upgrade to white-glove delivery on orders over $2,000. Though 3/16

The pinkcommagallery has issued a call for entries for their inaugural Design Biennial Boston 2010 exhibit, a review of “design works that represent creative approaches and solutions to issues in contemporary design.”

Design Biennial Boston will be a “juried exhibition of the most significant emerging voices among Greater Boston’s early-career design talent (including practices working in architecture, landscape architecture, graphic design, industrial design, and interior design).”

To be considered for the exhibition, a designer must meet the following criteria:

Applicants must practice in Greater Boston, including the metropolitan area and suburbs;
Applicants must have graduated from a design or architecture program;
Applicants may work in another firm, but the work presented must have been completed
independently;
Applicants must have been in independent practice for fewer than 10 years or may be anyone
up to 45 years old, no matter how long they have been in practice;
Applicants may be a collaborative team or a firm if all applicants meet the criteria above.

Selected participants will be presented at the Design Biennial Boston 2010 exhibition at the pinkcommagallery and showcased in an accompanying pamplet publication.

The jury comes from across the spectrum of design in Boston:

Mark Pasnik, Chris Grimley, Michael Kubo, pinkcomma gallery.
Stefane Barbeau, Vessel.
Beate Becker, DIGMA.
Eric Höweler, Höweler + Yoon Architecture.
Fritz Klaetke, Visual Dialogue.
Dennis Kois, Director, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.
Amanda Lawrence, PRAXIS.
Beth Whittaker, MERGE Architects.

Interested in submitting for the Design Biennial Boston 2010 exhibition? Get all the details and application here, but hurry – all entries must be received at the gallery by 4:00pm on March 12. The exhibition will take place in late spring.

Design Museum Boston, the new non-profit I met last month “with the goal of creating and maintaining a network of virtual and physical exhibit spaces online, in Boston, and across New England”, is throwing a party to launch their museum and social network, DesigningAMuseum.org.

For one night, the digital becomes physical as both designers and non-designers alike come together to help build the Design Museum Boston community. Have a drink, become a member of DesigningAMuseum.org, and live tweet at our onsite kiosks. View an onsite exhibit of the Design Museum Boston mission featuring local design work. Join the conversation as we work together to educate the public about the work local designers are doing and celebrate its broad impact.

Donations will be accepted onsite and there will be a silent auction with some fantastic items to benefit the museum, including: a litl webbook, pogoplug, imojito iphone wallet, Bose SoundLink digital music system, Philips Color Kinetics eW Profile Powercore and a variety of products from Converse. So bring your ideas and your check book. We’ll see you there!

It’s not often you get to be a part of the launch of a new museum, albeit a different kind of museum. “Through a decentralized network of physical and virtual exhibits, Design Museum Boston brings programming to galleries, retail environments, public spaces and the web. There, audiences can be exposed to the design process from a social, economic, and environmental point of view.”

The party (and inaugural exhibit) is planned for Tuesday, March 16, at West End Johhnies, starting at 7:30. If you’re going, please be sure to RSVP.

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Last night, Vessel hosted its second design lecture, this time featuring Michelle Yeeles of Bob’s Your Uncle. It was an entertaining and educational discussion. Michelle described how she and her husband Martin started the company after Michelle was laid off from Reebok in 2000 — including the kind of obstacles and opportunities they’ve faced (Target knocked them off!), and concessions about the business they’ve made in order to enjoy a balanced life.

The audience was light but engaged. Among the attendees were FilzFelt‘s Kelly Smith; Over,Under‘s Chris Grimley; JHillDesign‘s Jennifer Hill; furniture maker Ben Durrel; Plank‘s Doreen Hing, and more. The audience peppered Michelle with questions throughout her presentation, eager to learn from Michelle’s nearly decade-long experience as a creative business owner.

I really like what Vessel is doing with the lecture series. It’s akin to an idea I’ve had about starting a multi-disciplinary design discussion group. Vessel’s Milisa is working on booking up the next several month’s events. I’m looking forward to catching them all!

Every time I go to Vessel, I take note of an interesting assortment of stationery they stock. Vessel’s Milisa told me it’s from a local company, Bob’s Your Uncle. She told me that BYU is based right in Fort Point Channel, and they run a store in front of the office called, not too ironically, Front. So, after more than a few nudges, I recently made my way down the the Channel Center to visit Front and check out Bob’s Your Uncle.

All of Bob’s Your Uncle’s cards, notepads, wine bags and other papergoods are created with high quality, offset printing. Each piece is branded with a cheeky saying — not surprising for a company named after a bit of British slang.

Front is a bright, open space filled with Bob’s Your Uncle’s stationary, but also a selection of local, national and international artisans, skincare products, and even a few pieces of vintage furniture. I know someone that would like these pieces of jewelry. (Hi Meg!)

I was given the chance to check out the business side of Bob’s Your Uncle, too. The office space is functional and well lit (as any work space should be) and lined with art from a nearby artist.

Through the back of the office is the warehouse. While walking through the warehouse, I learned that all of Bob’s Your Uncle’s stationery is produced in Maine, in a – get this – WIND POWERED factory using FSC-certified paper and soy-based inks. Talk about earth friendly!

How cool is Bob’s Your Uncle? I just stopped by to quickly check it out, and they turn around and give you a full tour!

Bob’s Your Uncle / Front
25 Channel Center Street, unit 101
Boston, MA 02210

…but it’s for a good reason!

When I should have been writing about the great designers I’m coming across, I’ve been working with Joyce — not just a blogger but also a freelance photographer and graphic designer — on designing and programming a new DesignBoston.org.

The basic layout is all set, but there’s still much to be done. We’re hoping to be finished in the next few days. When that happens, the site will be unavailable for a short time while we make the switchover.

In the meantime, I’ll be sure to post as often as I can.

Thanks for your patience!

(Yes, I was dared to put this old school .gif up. )

Another interesting duo that I met at SHIFTboston are Derek Cascio and Sam Aquillano. They are creating the Design Museum Boston, where they will share all types of design – architecture, furniture, product design, graphic design and more.

The approach Derak and Sam are taking for Design Museum Boston isn’t the normal route of raising millions of dollars in funds, finding a building and curating exhibits. Instead, they will open DMB in vacant store fronts, flash store-style, in various neighborhoods. This way, they’ll be able to share design with people that may not otherwise take the opportunity to experience it.

I had a chance to talk with them briefly at SHIFTboston. They’re just starting out, and I’m hopeful that Design

My friend Sam tipped me off to the fantastic short film “The Third & The Seventh”. It’s “a full-CG animated piece that tries to illustrate architecture art across a photographic point of view where main subjects are already-built spaces.”

Created by Madrid-based designer Alex Roman, the film shows an amazing attention to detail. I could go on, but why don’t you check it out for yourself.

To get the best effect, hit full-screen.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.