August – September 2009
JKDA back from Rome and in our new space
Our move to 1516 Locust Street in mid–June went as smoothly as a move can, including organizing our extensive files and storage. It is a bright oasis of calm with all the wonderful people at Wells Appel. We're two blocks away from the new Apple store than we would have been had we stayed where we were, but that may be a good thing.
Rome was almost intolerably hot, and being in a fifth–floor walkup didn't help. I had 13 students in digital photography at John Cabot University, just down the street from our apartment. Foolishly, I had assumed that my students would have some knowledge of photography, but that turns out to have been naive of me. They were, however, an engaging group, and for the most part did really excellent work in a very short time. We'd be happy to do it again but not in July.
JKDA in Paris in November, Rome in December
Joel Katz will be in Paris during November 2010, working in the offices of Paul Kahn, information designer, in the Marais, and visiting his son, Ben, who will be doing graduate work at the Sorbonne. In December, JKDA will once again be in Rome. During the spring semester, Katz will be teaching information design at University of the Arts and Philadelphia University.
Omaha pedestrian wayfinding program in production
After a three–year hiatus, JKDA's pedestrian wayfinding program for downtown Omaha NE will be implemented by the end of spring 2011. Programming and the Design Intent/Bid document are currently nearing completion. The project includes over 40 poles, each with one or two double-faced signs. Heads-up maps on many of the poles will be near the ground to be accessible for those with weak vision and persons in wheelchairs. Joel Katz and Will Bardel are designers, JKDA is doing the message programming, and Jon Bentz Design of Seattle is the industrial designer.
Brand Atlas in development
Joel Katz is working with Alina Wheeler on Brand Atlas, which will be released by Wiley in 2010. Wheeler is the author of Designing Brand Identity, now in its third edition at www.amazon.com. Katz is designing 60 diagrams and the book overall.
