Jane Thompson, “Rediscovering Design Research: Concept, Atmosphere, Impact on Modern Living”

We are delighted to announce that D-Crit will host a special lecture by this year’s National Design Museum Lifetime Achievement Award winner: the editor, designer and urban planner Jane Thompson. Thompson will discuss her experiences as partner and urban planner with Ben Thompson at Design Research, Inc. in the 1960s, editor at Interiors and founding editor of I.D. Magazine in following years, and principal of her own firm Thompson Design Group in Boston. The lecture will be introduced by D-Crit faculty member and a former colleague of Thompson’s at I.D. Magazine Ralph Caplan, and will be followed by a Q&A session and a drinks reception upstairs in the D-Crit department.

Taking off from the just released book Design Research: The Store that Brought Modern Living to American Homes—an illustrated life story of the pioneering retailer, Design Research—Thompson will show a triple-image visual history of the D/R stores 1953-1978, including the amazing collection of designer  goods introduced to the U.S. by founder Benjamin Thompson, and its multiple influences on the American design culture, visual arts, fashion and fabric design, as well as the evolving marketplace for quality products in America. The process of co-authoring with D-Crit faculty member Alexandra Lange, and creating and designing the highly visual book with Michael Bierut and Pentagram, is another topic for discussion. A chance to catch up on 60 years of modern design history!

For sixty years, Jane Thompson has explored how design relates to our well-being, urban life, and global environment. As founding editor of I.D. Magazine, Thompson became a critical voice in design, providing a strong female perspective in a male-dominated field. Thompson has pioneered urban revitalization projects such as Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, New York’s Grand Central District, and the Chicago Navy Pier. Jane and Benjamin Thompson, FAIA, collaborated for two decades on Design Research, the postwar emporium that introduced advanced designs from abroad. Her book published this September, Design Research: The Store that Brought Modern Living to American Homes, introduced by Design Within Reach founder and D-Crit guest lecturer Rob Forbes, and chronicles the General Store of Good Design, Design Research’s legendary Cambridge shop founded in 1953.

This lecture is open to the public. Space is limited; RSVP to dcrit@sva.edu. Please note that the talk will take place in the Social Documentary Filmmaking department on the first floor of 136 West 21st Street.

Event Information

When: 22 Sep 2010, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Where: SVA Social Documentary Filmmaking Department Screening Room, 136 West 21 Street, First Floor
Price: Free and open to the public

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