Every month, the Nerdologues invite friends and nerds from the community to share their stories. Some people do stand-up, perform sketches, or sing songs; a lot of people tell their tales. Then, it’s compiled into a podcast.

In collaboration with ChiDM for Design Week, this month’s theme is “Discovery”. Speakers include Jane Beachy, Philip Burton, Renata Graw, Tracie Hall, Mike Joosse, Joey Nakayama, Jessica Disu, Max Temkin, Matthew Terdich, and Kathryn Terrell.

Tickets are $10 in advance, and $15 at the door.

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> Learn more: The State of Detroit

The museum is closed until June 30th, 2020. While distancing we are planning virtual events, moving our exhibitions online, and publishing student design projects. Take care of yourself!

On the evening of June 12, ChiDM presents an exercise in PLAY, exploring dynamic relationships between space, shape, and color.

Participating designers include The Patternbase, Programme x Michelle Kliman, and Jennifer Wandro.

An initiative of Chicago Loop Alliance, ACTIVATE transforms iconic Loop alleys into pop-up urban experiences. Combining the talents of Chicago’s most creative minds, the events feature art, music, and more in unique urban settings.

> This event has ended.
> Learn more: The State of Detroit

The museum is closed until June 30th, 2020. While distancing we are planning virtual events, moving our exhibitions online, and publishing student design projects. Take care of yourself!

Detroit has been shaped by its explosive growth followed by its continued decline. Those contrasts, along with employing creative thinking and innovative practices, shape the metropolis’ culture, values, and potential.

Celebrate The State of Detroit opening with our closest supporters and enjoy food, music, and beer provided by Motor City Brewing Works.

Tickets

Members: $5
General: $10 in advance, $15 at the door

> This event has ended.
> Learn more: The State of Detroit

The museum is closed until June 30th, 2020. While distancing we are planning virtual events, moving our exhibitions online, and publishing student design projects. Take care of yourself!

No topic is off the table and no leaf will be left unturned in Debbie Millman‘s Ask Me Anything!

This is a live panel discussion with a series of esteemed and established designers from the HOW Design Live Conference. Join in the fun on May 7th at 7:00p at the Cards Against Humanity Theater!

Now showing—Look Both Ways

Debbie Millman‘s Look Both Ways is now on display at the Cards Against Humanity Theater, featuring visual essays from her 2006 book, Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life and Design. Debbie has been exploring the art of telling a story through a unique combination of images and words all of her life. In this body of work, she has tried to investigate the ability stories have to honor the diversity and commonality of our collective human experience.

About Debbie

Debbie Millman is a writer, educator, artist, brand consultant and host of the radio show Design Matters. For the past twenty years, Debbie has been president of Sterling Brands, where she has worked on the redesign of over 200 global brands, including projects with P&G, Colgate, Nestle, Kraft, and Pepsi. In 2013, Debbie was named one of the most influential designers working today by GDUSA. She is the founder and host of Design Matters, the world’s first podcast about design, which has garnered millions of downloads and Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. Her written and visual essays have appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, Print Magazine, Design Observer, Fast Company, and more, and she is the author of two books of illustrated essays. Her work has been exhibited aChiDM, Anderson University, School of Visual Arts, Long Island University, the Wolfsonian Museum, and Some Office.

> This event has ended.
> Learn more: The State of Detroit

The museum is closed until June 30th, 2020. While distancing we are planning virtual events, moving our exhibitions online, and publishing student design projects. Take care of yourself!

ChiDM is excited to announce the return of our Guideline student critique night on Tuesday, April 7. Once again, we’re teaming up with talented design professionals to provide feedback to passionate students.

Tickets are limited to 30 participants and you must RSVP through Eventbrite to attend. Students should bring up to three current design projects and will receive feedback from some outstanding local designers. Projects-in-progress and process work are strongly encouraged. Leave your tie and dress shoes at home; this is a casual event.

For this spring edition of Guideline, ChiDM is partnering with the fantastic folks at Simple Truth, who will be sponsoring and hosting the event.

5:45–6:00 PM Check-in
6:00–8:30 PM Critique

Snacks & beverages provided

> This event has ended.

The museum is closed until June 30th, 2020.

While distancing we are planning virtual events, moving our exhibitions online, and publishing student design projects. Take care of yourself!

Join ChiDM for a behind-the-scenes tour of Columbia College Chicago‘s Fashion Study Collection.

Inspired by Deborah Sussman’s work on the visual identities for three Californian retailers – Joseph Magnin, Zody’s and Standard Shoes – we will view the modern Californian fashions purchased in these stores like these. Our visit will consist of a tour of the Collection’s vault, an informal presentation on modernity in fashion, and an examination of garments or accessories that typify mid-century and California design.

Photo credit: Garments from the Fashion Study Collection at Columbia College Chicago. Photo by Jacob Boll.

> This event has ended.
> Learn more: Deborah Sussman Loves Los Angeles!

The museum is closed until June 30th, 2020.

While distancing we are planning virtual events, moving our exhibitions online, and publishing student design projects. Take care of yourself!

Join ChiDM for a series of programs that explore the vibrant themes of our current exhibition, Deborah Sussman Loves Los Angeles! Meet members of the museum’s curatorial committee and the greater creative community as you learn about and discuss topics relating to Deborah Sussman’s work such as color theory, environmental design, interiors, furniture and object design, fashion and retailing.

Much attention has been paid to the large scale and public spaces of Los Angeles, from the highways to the architecture and the influence of the landscape. And while many of Deborah Sussman’s most celebrated projects relate directly to the sprawling physical landscape of the city, she also spent nearly 10 years with the Eames Office, designers whose furniture helped define the aesthetic of an era.

This discussion group will explore post-war housing, the manufacturing of furniture and appliances, and the domestic interior within a distinctly California style through articles and essays by leading design historians. (PDFs of readings will be sent to participants upon registration.) Discussion led by curatorial committee member Morgan Walsh.

> This event has ended.
> Learn more: Deborah Sussman Loves Los Angeles!

The museum is closed until June 30th, 2020.

While distancing we are planning virtual events, moving our exhibitions online, and publishing student design projects. Take care of yourself!

Join ChiDM for a series of programs that explore the vibrant themes of our current exhibition, Deborah Sussman Loves Los Angeles! Meet members of the museum’s curatorial committee and the greater creative community as you learn about and discuss topics relating to Deborah Sussman’s work such as color theory, environmental design, interiors, furniture and object design, fashion and retailing.

Color is one of the most powerful visual tools a designer can use to communicate. It influences our perception of space, shapes and moods, and embodies diverse meanings across cultures.

> This event has ended.
> Learn more: Deborah Sussman Loves Los Angeles!

The museum is closed until June 30th, 2020.

While distancing we are planning virtual events, moving our exhibitions online, and publishing student design projects. Take care of yourself!

ChiDM is delighted and honored to host Marian Bantjes for a design talk from 2:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, June 08 to help kick off Chicago Design Week and celebrate the Museum’s June opening.

Marian Bantjes is a designer, typographer, writer, and illustrator whose work ranges from vector art, hand illustrations, and patterns that move beyond traditional genres. Art enthusiasts from students to experienced formalists identify with her work, which features a creative juxtaposition in combining underlying structures with beautiful fluidity.

Her inspiring career captures ChiDM‘s 2013 work at play theme, as she spent her early career working as a book typesetter and then opened her own design firm, where she worked for 10 years. She left the firm to pursue passionate work that she says is “highly personal, obsessive, and sometimes just plain weird.”

We invite you to join us on June 08 to hear more from Marian about this play that is now her work as we spend the month celebrating the blurred line between work and play. You can purchase tickets for $20.00 through Eventbrite or at the door, if space is still available.

Learn more about Marian Bantjes and her work.

> This event has ended.
> Learn more: Work at Play

The museum is closed until June 30th, 2020.

While distancing we are planning virtual events, moving our exhibitions online, and publishing student design projects. Take care of yourself!