As author, designer and professor Scott Boylston once said: “Design with the community, not for the community.” I traveled south back to dear Savannah, GA. The trip was not only to participate in the Design Ethos conference held by Savannah College of Art and Design but to regain my creative energy for the final leg of my MFA research at Purdue University. A year later I am still looking back on all that I have accomplish, yet all that is ahead of me. Participating in the Do-Ference was a life changing experience I think of on a daily basis. Having the opportunity to work with Liz Ogbu, Marc O’Brien and Mike Weikert was just what I needed to wrap up my graduate research at Purdue.
We worked as a team to understand Waters Avenue. The area had been a throughway for many decades. With transportation changes, the area was declining. Our team identified the Assets, Challenges, and Opportunities of the area and designed a plan to help local residents and officials revitalize the area. Following the 3 day weekend Do-Ference in 2013, the Waters Avenue area is now under a multi-million dollar Streetscape plan to revitalize the area. The plan is anticipated to begin in 2015.
