Last evening, AIGA Portland hosted Brian Singer, president of AIGA San Francisco, principal at Altitude Associates and creator of the 1000 Journals Project. It was in 2000 when the project began as one hundred journals were initially sent, containing only basic information about the project, a blank slate, and an artful cover. As many of you may recall, that was around the time of the (first) dot com bust and Singer was at the epicenter the tech quake; San Francisco. Much like the economy today, there appeared to be more time for exploring ideas than there was available paying work and it became clear that people were feeling a need to reach out to others in order to rekindle connections or spark new ones. In those eight years the project has expanded to include one thousand traveling journals and has prompted a new online effort, 1001 Journals, which picks up where the last bound journal left off, as well as a book and movie. In this era of online social media, it's good to be reminded that a hand-scratched note or illustration still colors the personal nuances that pixels can only aim to render. An exhibit of the 1000 Journals Project is underway at SFMOMA and runs through April 5, 2009.
Shouts-out to Stephanie Wagner, and her team of volunteers and facilitators at AIGA Portland, for their assistance in bringing Brian to town. It was a pleasure to attend and to hear first hand how the project was conceived and how it continues to evolve and flourish.
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Magic Shop wrote on 28 Nov at 10:34 AM:
The 1000 journal projects was a blast and a lot of fun to read!