This June 11, the folks over at ALO - Dawson College's Graphic Design Alumni Association - will devote their precious time and overflowing talent to local non-profit organizations for a madcap 24-hour design frenzy. The inaugural Design'n'Dash event, aiming to become a yearly fixture, was conceived of in an effort to assist Montreal organizations whose dreams of good design are dashed by restrictive pocketbooks. Over an entire day and night, within the confines of Dawson's design department, 16 professional designers will set their coffee cups on automatic refill and beautify the world of 15 organizations, including Women Aware, Project Genesis, Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Island, the Yellow Door Choir, and Boys and Girls Club of LaSalle. The projects will range from logos to T-shirts to presentation packages and more.

As organizer and owner of the Red Paint Design firm Monia Poncik explains, ALO can't take credit for the brilliant concept: It was inspired by an event developed by the American design agency RIGGS in 1998, which became such an overwhelming hit for both community and industry that it's now a yearly nationwide competition.

"I participated last year," explains Poncik, "and I thought, 'Why not actually bring this full-fledged into Montreal? So that's what I'm trying to do."

ALO's committee went through the many organizations' applications and chose projects they felt would be the most beneficial to the non-profit as well as the most fun for the designers.

"For the designers, the draws are exposure, of course - you get to break free from your little corporate world and do something for the community. And it stretches your creative muscles. You get constricted when you work in a corporate environment, you can't go as crazy as you want to go. With this event, most of the organizations don't have a lot of restrictions. They have a theme, but otherwise it's 'Make it something beautiful and creative!'"

Watch the website for an online posting of all the projects designed during the first Design'n'Dash (www.designanddash.com), and look for an upcoming exhibition of the wares at Dawson in September. And don't forget to mentally prepare your application for next year.

 
 

		Write your comment on this article!

Thanks Charles Monpetit!!     Thank you Charles Monpetit. It is nice that "these people" want to make "something beautiful and creative" but, it is also nice that they are actually finding time in their schedule to do "just that"...help out. Providing visual communication work at no charge. It is a pity that as a participant of the Design'n'Dash event that this is the only thing I am willing to provide. Unfortunately, I am not a doctor therefore am not qualified to volunteer at Doctors Without Borders. Thanks to people like Charles Gandhi Montpetit, that the world is overwhelmed with help. Our mission was not "to touch up that person's face on the AI website". But if I do need to touch up pictures to get Amnesty International's message across, then trust me, I will not lose any sleep over it. It's "cool" to design logos for non-profit organizations, especially to those that don't have one or can't afford one. But I also have to wonder; do donors actually support charities because their causes are well designed?
Homer Mendoza	{22 votes}	June 11th, 2006
A good idea with an even better cause!     This is a good idea. I was an student of Dawson from 1998-2001, and I was so shocked to see how much young, artistic talent the school had. The works of the Design students was put up around the school, and it was so nice to see fellow students express themselves through an art. I'm happy to see this Design and Dash event being held for 24 hours, it really shows how dedicated people are. I hope it's a suceess, and I hope it becomes a yearly event, with much pride and enthusiasm. Giving back to non-profit organizations is an added bonus, as people who have a hard time getting funding for their organizations are being lent a helping hand by student who are also trying to make a living. To me, this is a nice balance. A bit of give and take, with art and care written all over the event.
Meghna Patel	{1 vote}	June 24th, 2006
With a bit of fine-tuning ... this could actually be beneficial     "There's good deeds and there's good intentions" sings Ben Harper in "Ground on down". The intentions behind this project are quite honorable indeed, it's a pity they didn't get the same type of project going from the marketing students. Create brand awareness with no budget. Now THAT would yield some significant results. Come to think of it, if they want to make this an annual thing, why not select 2 or 3 organizations and focus a few departments on the "design n' dash" project. Get marketing to work with design and public relations (assuming of course that Dawson offers all three...). You know; run it like a business project... Nothing like REAL experience to really learn your craft.
Bernard Dahl	{12 votes}	June 14th, 2006
Mad Scramble Unhealthy and Unproductive     I think it is quite unhealthy to work 24 hours stretches at a time in any career. I detested it when I was forced to work round the clock on computer software to meet deadlines. Towards the end you get tired and weary with your brain trying to put your body to sleep to protect itself. To be really creative at designing you need to be energetic and refreshed and need time to mull over new ideas in your head. When pressed for time you are likely to fall back on old designs that served you well in the past. If 24 hour workdays are such a great idea you would have designers work two complete 24 hour days flat out and then take the rest of the week off. I don't see this as part of a new trend.
Stephen Talko	{9 votes}	June 13th, 2006
Dash of Dare     A dash of dare is all that is needed to create a melting pot of creative genius in this city. I think that AOL may be onto something fresh and innovative with these 11th-hour creations contributing to the city's renowned and growing cultural community. Often when you just brainstorm without crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Ps, you don't have to watch all your Ps and Qs...sorry I couldn't resist. What an inspiration for youth and the young-at-heart. For once, technology doesn't factor into the boundless human imagination. Just an once of good, old-fashioned creativity. A spontaneous 24-hour flow of original or inspired ideas. Perhaps we should have these creative brainstorming sessions across all sectors of the economy. It's important to hold this annual event because it stimulates growth. And growth translates into progress. What an economic impact a progressive North American city would make on the world stage. What if it were Montreal?
Heather Lee	{11 votes}	June 12th, 2006
Design Competitions     Now if only that initiative occurred several years back at Concordia, so many students like myself might have had the boost to create a portfolio and seek employment rather than having to depend only on our own devices. It is not enough having seen logos of successful artists who have made it. What's important today is that students can get a continued amount of input from the institution maybe something can be organized throught the alumni associations of universities. Dawson college doesn't have to offer the only door. It takes a tremendous amount of will to keep up with the latest in software innovations, maybe its because I'm a boomer that I some difficulty keeping up with the new graphic design tools. But it shouldn't be that way profs told me and so I still do logo concepts and designs, the old fashioned way and others like me should continue forging on as well.
Martin Dansky	{34 votes}	June 9th, 2006
Thanks but...     It's nice that all these people want to make "something beautiful and creative," but at the same time, it's a bit of a pity that the only help they're willing to provide is... just that. Can you imagine someone contacting an Amnesty International victim and offering to touch up that person's photograph on the AI website? Yes, I'm sure that the charitable organisations can use a cool logo without paying for it, but I also have to wonder at donors who will only support well-designed causes...
Charles Montpetit	{17 votes}	June 9th, 2006
The All-Nighter!!!     What a great concept! Free professional art + marketing designs for non-profit organisations who probably have little or no budget for such an extravagance. And yet, arguably, they need this kind of promotion to generate funds and raise their profile most! This is a great way to bring what is an all too vicious circle to a grinding halt and talk about a win-win situation : the alumni are given free reign to speedily design their hearts out over the course of a 24 hour design marathon and both parties gain increased exposure/visibility. Props to Monia Poncik and the Dawson folk for being so forward-thinking in their unassailable sense of community and altruism!
Mark St Pierre	{14 votes}	June 9th, 2006
Design n' Dash     Well, good for them is pretty much all I can say. If only there would be more oranizations like the DCGDAA, because it must be really hard to choose the non-profit organizations you're gonna help. There are so many of them that can use it, all with good causes. Good luck!
J L	{10 votes}	June 8th, 2006

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