City as Interface

As part of the Making the City exhibition, AIGA/NY has organized a series of panel discussions exploring different ways in which New York City is made—and remade—through design. In these discussions, we will talk about how the role of the designer is also made anew. Because design for civic projects is often shared between organizations and disciplines, the designer cannot operate only as a visual form-giver at the end of a pre-established process. In addition, we are moving away from uni-directional awareness campaigns and towards designing the experience of the city itself.

Each of the three panel discussions looks at a specific framing of context at a time when advances in  technology, engineering, and social movements have reimagined our conceptions of New York City. City as Interface discusses how technology is reshaping how citizens, policy, design, and government interact with one another in New York City. Now that access is increasing, what are the opportunities and challenges cities face in implementing these ideas as they apply to governance and policy?

Panelists
Sarah Williams, Director, Civic Data Design Lab, MIT Architecture
Bill Cromie, Director of Emergent Technology, Blue Ridge Labs
Chelsea Mauldin, Executive director, Public Policy Lab
Ariel Kennan, Director, Innovation and Design at NYC Mayor’s Office of Operations

Moderator
Willy Wong, Former president, AIGA/NY;  Former CCO, NYC & Co