The Noun Project is excited to announce a new Iconathon on Cultural Heritage, sponsored by the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO).

Iconathons are organized to engage the general public in the design process, so no design or art skills are necessary – all are welcome to participate.  The Iconathon is free to attend but tickets are limited, please RSVP.

“Institutions like libraries, archives and museums serve an essential function in providing access to knowledge, documenting and preserving history, and supporting the civic and cultural needs of their communities – communities often speaking a wide range of languages. A set of public domain icons will enable these cultural organizations to communicate better with patrons and elegantly and clearly visualize the breadth of services, activities, and collections they support and the vital role they play in society,” said Jefferson Bailey, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Metropolitan New York Library Council.

The icons created will be released into the public domain to be used in signage and interactives, as well as to illustrate on-site services, Web pages, online catalogs, mobile applications, and to identify and symbolize many of the other offerings of cultural heritage organizations.

Event Details:

When: Saturday, June 1st from 10:30am to 3:30pm

Where: Metropolitan New York Library Council at 57 E. 11th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003

RSVP: Seating is limited, RSVP for free tickets.

*Image of the New York Public Library by stephs_photos

How do you navigate 500 million unique visitors from different countries across a reference site available in 285 languages?  With over 25 million collaboratively written and edited articles, Wikipedia sets the standard for building user experiences that cross cultural and language differences.  To help in this effort, The Noun Project is hosting an Iconathon design workshop sponsored by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that operates Wikipedia and its sister sites, to create a set of public domain navigation, editing, feedback and expression symbols that can be used not only by Wikipedia editors, but anyone on the internet, for free.

The Iconathon will bring together designers, students, civic activists, and Wikipedia-enthusiasts for a day-long workshop focused around creating symbols for best user-comprehension.  The Noun Project organizes Iconathons to engage the public in the design process, so no art or design skills are necessary to participate.

The open nature of Wikipedia has served as an inspiration for The Noun Project to provide a platform for a visual language anyone can use to communicate.  Given the extensive usage of Wikipedia by people from around the world, we are thrilled to collaborate with the Wikimedia Foundation on adding navigation focused symbols to the public domain. 

Event Details:

When: Saturday, April 6th from 10:30am to 4:00pm

Where: Wikimedia Foundation at 149 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

RSVP: Seating is limited. RSVP for free tickets.

The Noun Project is excited to host an Iconathon during SXSW with (mt) Media Temple!

(mt) Media Temple has been an essential partner of The Noun Project ever since we launched.  We are thrilled they’ve decided to sponsor a fun 2-hour workshop to create a new visual language around inspiration and creativity.  What does it feel like when you get that moment of inspiration?  How would you visually communicate that feeling in a simple pictogram?  We’ll be working together to create a new set of icons to illuminate the world of “Ideas.”

For more than 15 years, (mt) Media Temple has been helping people bring their big ideas to life. In that time they’ve witnessed a lot of light-bulb-over-the-head, “a-ha!” moments. Together we’re fascinated by the challenge of illustrating that moment and that feeling.  The symbols created during this workshop will be added to The Noun Project as public domain for anyone to use.

So if you have an interest in art, design, or iconography–or good ideas, or beer, for that matter–and you’re planning on being in Austin on March 11th, come join us! No design or art skills needed, Iconathons are meant to engage everyone in the design process so don’t be shy.

Event Details:
Monday, March 11, 2013
6:00pm-8:00pm
Paste Lounge at The Blackheart
86 Rainey St., Austin, TX 78701
Seating is limited–RSVP for free tickets

Every day countless businesses across the country take extra time and effort to minimize the impact their operations have on the environment.  One of the areas in which a lot of progress is being made is in Organics Recycling. Organics recycling includes both traditional composting, as well as innovative programs such as “Food-to-People,” in which edible food is donated to people in need, and “Food-to-Livestock,” in which organic waste is sent to local farmers for hog-feed. Food scraps and food-soiled paper make up a ¼ of our garbage, creating methane (a potent greenhouse gas) when landfilled.  Recycling these organics reduces garbage in our landfills, creates valuable resources and provides economic development opportunities.

We want to make it easier for anyone to know which restaurants and businesses go that extra mile to make our world better.  We believe if people know which restaurants donate their food scraps to a local food shelter, or what businesses recycled their organics by participating in a local composting program, they will choose those businesses over others.  By recognizing these businesses for their efforts, we hope to encourage others to participate in cutting down their waste.

To get the ball rolling, we’ve teamed up with Minneapolis’ Hennepin County Environmental Services to host an Iconathon design workshop with the goal of creating a badge system that can be displayed on storefronts across the city.   These “badges of honor” will be similar in nature to the Yelp or Zagat rating stickers that can be seen on restaurants around the country.  The Iconathon will be held on Sunday, March 24th as part of University of Minnesota College of Design’s Public Interest Design Week.

We’ve chosen Hennepin County as our partner in this because they have been at the forefront of the organics recycling movement.  The county has assisted businesses, schools and cities in setting up organics recycling programs, including providing a grant to the City of Minneapolis for a pilot curbside organics recycling program in the Linden Hills neighborhood. Currently, about 150 businesses in the county, such as Target, MSP Airport and IKEA, as well as numerous schools and colleges, participate in organics recycling.

When the recycling movement began in the early 1970’s, a 23-year-old college student Gary Anderson created the now universally recognized recycling symbol that has since had a tremendous effect on our environment.  Our goal is to engage the design community and civic activists to create new “badges of honor” to encourage more recycling programs around the world.  The icons created during the Iconathon will be released into the public domain to be used by anyone interested in engaging in recycling programs.

The Organics Recycling Iconathon is sponsored by the University of Minnesota College of Design, PublicInterestDesign.org and The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.

Event Details:

When: Sunday, March 24th from 10:30am to 3:30pm

Where: University of Minnesota, College of Design, Rapson Hall at 89 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455.

RSVP: Seating is limited, RSVP for free tickets.

Yelp sticker photo taken by Robyn Lee.

The Noun Project has teamed up with ProPublica and Hacks/Hackers NYC in organizing an Iconathon to create a new visual language around Investigative Journalism.  This Iconathon will be held at The New York Times building on Saturday, February 23rd, and is sponsored by Knight-Mozilla OpenNews and The New York Times.

We’ll be creating symbols for concepts in watchdog journalism such as public records, on-the-record sources, corporate malfeasance, and illustrating the ways power may be abused in both the public and private sectors.  The icons created will be released into the public domain to be used in news applications and interactives, as well as to illustrate reporting series, Web site topic pages, and mobile applications.

The Iconathon will kick off with presentations on tech & investigative journalism by Scott Klein - editor of News Applications at ProPublica, and Matthew Ericson - deputy graphics director at The New York Times.  “A new set of icons for news will help graphics editors and news application developers use graphical shorthand in place of lengthy explanation — the proverbial thousand words — and to tell meaningful and impactful stories more gracefully and graphically” – said Scott Klein.

Event Details:

When: Saturday, February 23rd from 10:30am to 4:00pm
Where: The New York Times building at 620 8th Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019
RSVP: Seating is limited, RSVP for free tickets.

The Noun Project organizes Iconathons to engage the general public in the design process, so no design or art skills are necessary – all are welcome to participate!

According to Chrys Wu of Hacks/Hackers NYC “Investigative journalism is about explaining complicated concepts and revealing systemic problems. If we can do that visually, it can help readers better understand the reported stories.”  We’re honored to help out in such an important endeavor.

*Detective icon is by Simon Child.

The Noun Project is teaming up with The LAB Miami for an Iconathon to create public domain symbols for civic hackers.

This Iconathon will bring together designers, hackers, students and civic-minded Miami residents for a collaborative workshop to design symbols for public interest. The Noun Project is working with Code for America’s Brigade to identify which symbols are frequently needed by civic hackers when developing new civic apps and websites. The Brigade is an organizing force for local civic engagement – a national network of “civic hackers” who contribute their skills and time to better their communities by way of technology.

The workshop will be held at The LAB Miami’s newly opened collaborative space in the Wynwood Art District.  The LAB’s campus is a dynamic environment for social innovation and entrepreneurship that includes tech startups, programmers, designers, investors, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, artists and academics.

Event Details:

When: Saturday, February 16th from 10:30am to 3:30pm
Where: The LAB Miami at 400 NW 26th Street, Miami FL 33127
RSVP: Seating is limited, RSVP for free tickets.

The Civic Hacker Iconathon is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

*Lab Rat image courtesy of The LAB Miami.

In honor of World Disaster Risk Reduction Day, our next Iconathon will take us to Washington, D.C., where we will collaboratively create a suite of symbols on the topic of Urban Disaster Preparedness with the experts from the Global Disaster Preparedness Center and the American Red Cross.  The icon set that will be developed will be used for any number of applications including mapping, websites and publications.  These icons will help the American Red Cross and the rest of the humanitarian community communicate important Disaster Preparedness ideas graphically.

The Iconathon will be hosted at the historic American Red Cross National Headquarters on Saturday, October 13th to coincide with the International Day for Disaster Reduction and the official launch of the Global Disaster Preparedness Center (GDPC).   Our speakers will include Ian O’Donnell – Senior Information Architect for the GDPC, Robert Banick – Geographic Information System Coordinator for the American Red Cross International Services, and Edward Boatman, co-founder and Creative Director of The Noun Project.

This event is free and open to the public, anyone is welcome to participate - no design skills required.  Space is limited and an RSVP is required to attend due to security reasons, since we’ll be just blocks away from the White House.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, October 13th
Time: 10am to 3pm
Location:
American Red Cross (Historic National Headquarters)
Board of Governors Hall
430 17^th Street NW, Washington, DC20006
Please use 17^th street entrance
Theme: Urban Disaster Preparedness
Speakers on Disaster Preparedness: Ian O’Donnell – Senior Information Architect, Global Disaster Preparedness Center, and Robert Banick – GIS Coordinator, International Services, American Red Cross
Speaker on Symbol Design & User Comprehension: Edward Boatman, co-founder and Creative Director of The Noun Project
Host: Global Disaster Preparedness Center and the American Red Cross
RSVP: Eventbrite

About the American Red Cross

Responding to the increased frequency of disasters, global climate change and urbanization, the American Red Cross works with communities to build resiliency to future disasters, from training local first responders to helping mitigate common hazards. In 2011, their disaster preparedness programs spanned more than 30 countries.

The American Red Cross is part of the world’s largest humanitarian network with 13 million volunteers in 187 countries. Working together, they help respond to disasters, build safer communities, and educate future humanitarians. Each year, they reach millions across the globe.

About the Global Disaster Preparedness Center

The American Red Cross, together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, has established the GlobalDisasterPreparednessCenter—a resource hub on disaster preparedness oriented toward the Red Cross network that will support learning and knowledge sharing for disaster preparedness practitioners worldwide.

This new Center, which will launch on October 12^th, will offer a range of new services and initiatives in the coming year, including 1) an interactive website aimed at offering analysis, tools, best practices  and other resources in disaster preparedness, 2) a research program that will fund a variety of studies that will build the evidence base for disaster preparedness, and 3) an array of options for tailored technical assistance.

As proud Angelenos, The Noun Project is excited to partner with amazing organizations throughout Los Angeles to host an Iconathon for the L.A. River on Saturday, July 21st.  The Iconathon will focus on developing a set of universally recognized signage for the L.A. River and the surrounding areas.  And since the symbols will be placed in the public domain, municipalities around the world will be able to use the River symbols created.

The Los Angeles River is something of a hidden gem in our city.  Although it runs right through the heart of L.A., not too many people know about it.  This is because early in Los Angeles’ history the River was confined and routed through a series of concrete channels to prevent the kind of catastrophic flooding that occurred in 1938.  Confining 80% of the River to these concrete channels resulted in essentially the world’s largest storm drain, causing many citizens to forget there was even a River in the first place.  This contributed to rapid deterioration and pollution of the River.

In the past several years there has been a growing grass-roots movement to restore and revitalize the L.A. River and surrounding areas.  One of the first voices for this movement was Friends of the Los Angeles River, founded in 1986 by Lewis MacAdams.  We are thrilled that Lewis, as well as as Omar Brownson, Executive Director of LA River Revitalization, will be speaking at the event to help us learn more about the significance of the River.

The event will be held at the LALA Gallery, which supports great street artists like JR, Roa, and Shepard Fairey.  LALA is tucked into a spacious corner of an old meat packing facility built in 1949, boasting high ceilings and a raw space that is a natural fit for street artists to bring their work inside.  The Iconathon will coincide with Bloomfest LA, a fun festival celebrating the Arts District.  We’re looking forward to winding down the day with some indie music on the KCRW Stage, great brews and good food!

This event is free and open to the public, anyone is welcome to participate – no design skills required.  Space is limited, so please RSVP.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, July 21st
Time: 11am to 4pm
Location: LALA Gallery at 1335 Willow Street, 2nd Floor in Los Angeles, CA 90013
Topic: L.A. River
Speaker on “LA River”: Omar Brownson, Executive Director of LA River Revitalization
Speaker on “Symbol Design & User Comprehension”: Edward Boatman, co-founder and Creative Director of The Noun Project
RSVP: Eventbrite

We’re grateful to the following Partners & Supporters for making this Iconathon possible:

American Institute of Architecture, Los Angeles Chapter
City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles River Revitalization
DeLab
Friends of the Los Angeles River
GOOD.is
Los Angeles River Corporation
LALA Gallery
LA Creek Freak
Mia Lehrer & Associates

LALA Gallery in Arts District

The Noun Project and Code for America have partnered with the City of San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation to host an Iconathon on Saturday, June 30th.  The design workshop will focus on creating a set of public domain symbols to visually communicate Neighborhood Revitalization.  These symbols will cross language and illiteracy barriers to communicate things like community gardens, stores that sell healthy food, and places to see public art.

We are working with San Francisco’s Central Market/Tenderloin neighborhoods as the site to inspire ideas for symbols.  This event is free and open to the public, anyone is welcome to participate – no design skills required!  Space is limited, so please RSVP.

Image of Tenderloin by Jake Levitas

We’d love to get your input about what symbols you think should be created during this Iconathon.  Please visit ImproveSF to see what symbols we’re considering, to submit your ideas and vote for your favorites.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, June 30th
Time: 10am to 3pm
Location: Code for America Headquarters at 155 9th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Theme: Neighborhood Revitalization
Speaker on “Central Market Area Revitalization”: Ellyn Parker from the Mayor’s Office of Economic Workforce and Development
Speaker on “Tactical Urbanism”: Dan Parham, co-founder of Neighborland
Speaker on “Symbol Design & User Comprehension”: Edward Boatman, co-founder and Creative Director of The Noun Project
Lunch: sponsored by Bars + Tone and faberNovel
Collaborators: Code for America, the Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation and City & County of San Francisco
RSVP: Eventbrite

About San Francisco’s Central Market/Tenderloin Neighborhood

The Central Market neighborhood is a stretch of Market Street from 5th Street to Van Ness Avenue in the heart of San Francisco.  Situated next to Tenderloin, the neighborhood has for decades suffered from blight and neglect.  In 2010, San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development launched the Central Market Partnership, a public/private initiative to renew and coordinate efforts to revitalize the Central Market neighborhood. The City’s goal is to restore Central Market as San Francisco’s downtown arts district by inviting in new retail, restaurants, services and employers, at the same time as ensuring against displacement.

The efforts to revitalize and transform the Central Market area have culminated in companies like Zendesk and Twitter paving the way forward by moving their headquarters to the area.

For more information visit www.centralmarketpartnership.org