Danielle teaches graphic design at Wayne State University and also has her own practice. Most of the design work she does these days is for arts and culture organizations. Lately she has been collaborating on more and more projects with Lana Cavar, a graphic designer based in Zagreb, Croatia. They met in the MFA program at Yale and even though they now live far away from each other the collaboration has somehow worked. In 2008 they designed the exhibition materials and catalogue for the MOCAD exhibition ReFusing Fashion: Rei Kawakubo. The book was selected as one of the AIGA 50/50 books for 2008 and also selected for the 2009 Tokyo TDC annual. Last summer they met in Berlin to design print materials for the festival LIVE FILM! JACK SMITH! At the moment they are co-editing a book with Natasha Chandani, also a former classmate from Yale, on Lafayette Park, the neighborhood of Mies van der Rohe-designed buildings in downtown Detroit. Lana had come out to visit Detroit a few times and Natasha, who is based in New York, was interested in seeing Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is an interesting neighborhood on several levels—it’s an example of a successful urban redevelopment project from the 1960s and it refutes prevalent mainstream media narratives of Detroit as a kind of ‘no man’s land.’ All three of them have designed architecture publications at one time or another and worked closely with editors so they decided that they wanted to edit a book themselves this time. For the time being the Lafayette Park book is what Danielle is focusing a lot of energy on (besides teaching). Other projects she has worked on recently are a monograph for the artist Mary Ellen Carroll that she worked on with Dutch designers Mevis & van Deursen, and the redesign of Criticism, a quarterly journal for literature and arts published by Wayne State University Press.
Why design?
I like that design is essentially collaborative—I like working with other people and kind of sharing projects. I like graphic design in particular, as opposed to, say, ‘fine art’ or architecture or industrial design, because graphic design can be so modest—like it’s our job to design restaurant menus and tri-fold brochures. We design the most ephemeral, invisible things. Also, graphic design is totally contemporary—if you were to accumulate all the flyers, brochures, packaging etc. in all the stores and nightclubs and museums and schools and businesses in a city you’d get a perfect reflection of the flow of capital and persons through that place at that particular time. I mean I think these short-lived flyers and brochures and things have a greater social impact than for example a well-designed chair, even if that chair is for sale for cheap at Target, or a painting, or a beautiful building. I think because graphic design is so in touch with the current historical moment at any given time it gives us, as graphic designers, unique opportunities for being activists and for giving voice to maybe under-represented groups or alternative messages. Not that that happens often enough. But it could. And at certain historical moments it has.
What inspires you?
The RecycleHere! drop off center—the only recycling center in Detroit, and it’s only open Wednesdays and Saturdays. Until like 3 pm. They have extra drop off points on rotating Saturdays, those are also inspiring. I like making it to the recycling center while they’re open and seeing all the other people who also made it there.
Franklin Furniture—a used office furniture store on Franklin Street, in Detroit. I normally hate shopping but I really like Franklin Furniture. It’s huge, and it’s like a record of all the businesses that have recently moved or closed down in the area. My favorite area is the office supply area, where you can pick up things like hole-punch re-enforcer stickers that are no longer adhesive and rolls of thermal fax paper.
Eastern Market in the winter months—it’s more intimate in the wintertime and it’s easier to shop.
Marching bands—I wish I had the opportunity to see more marching bands.
What is your favorite aspect of AIGA?
That it brings people together.
Favorite Designer
Some favorite designers/artists: Gran Fury, Sol Lewitt, Karel Martens, Emory Douglas
Favorite Books
William Gibson, Pattern Recognition
The Philosophy of Andy Warhol
Harry Potter (all seven books)
Bruce Chatwin, The Songlines
Douglas Crimp & Adam Rolston, AIDS DEMOgraphics
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49
Judith Williamson Decoding Advertisements
Richard Ohmann, Selling Culture
Herzog on Herzog
Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Favorite Songs
The Kinks, Dedicated Follower of Fashion
MC Solaar, Léve-toi et rap
Neil Young, Ohio
The Magnetic Fields, 100,000 Fireflies
Jonathan Richman, Government Center
Bauhaus, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything
Stereolab, Des étoiles electroniques
Bob Dylan, Positively 4th Street
Arthur Russell, Keeping Up
Diana Ross, I’m Coming Out
The Pretenders, My City Was Gone
Joy Division, Love Will Tear Us Apart
Bookmarked Websites
I don’t really have any design websites bookmarked. Right now it’s just stuff like Gmail, the New York Times website, Facebook… but these are websites (mostly of friends) that I check from time to time:
linkedbyair.net
greenblatt-wexler.com
sulki-min.com/wp
thethirdofthree.com
corinevermeulen.com
julieteninbaum.com
shopgoldenage.com
dextersinister.org
manystuff.org
ubu.com
How has living in Michigan shaped your work/design?
Living in Michigan, and specifically in Detroit, has given me a new understanding of the ebb and flow of global capital. I feel like I’m living the future.
Who is your favorite Michigan based designer/artist?
Some of my favorite Michigan artists/designers are Stevie Wonder, Charles & Ray Eames, Diana Ross, Corine Vermeulen, Minoru Yamasaki, Tyree Guyton, Jeff Karolski, Christopher Fachini.
What is your favorite Michigan made product?
8 Mile Honey