DESIGN THINKERS CONFERENCE — Look in any direction, from almost anywhere in downtown Toronto, and more likely than not you'll see advertising. Writing this story in a downtown café, my view is of a larger-than-life iPod ad, painted onto the entire outside wall of a restaurant. Just down the street, west of the iPod wall a huge billboard tells me that cardigans at H&M are only $39.99. Cheap, I think, where's the closest H&M? My personal weaknesses aside, no one can deny the power of advertising. It is ubiquitous -- advertising has encroached on public and ...

DESIGN THINKERS CONFERENCE -- Janine James has a tip for every city that wants to become more sustainable: start with a vision and the rest will follow — even if the city is broke. As a speaker at the eighth annual Design Thinkers conference, put on by the Registered Graphic Designers organization and held at the Metro Convention Centre Oct. 17-19, James has come to talk about how designers can help lead the next wave, the environmental wave, she says. “When you've got the idea, the money will come,” James says. “When a city or a company isn't sustainable, it ...

Jessica Hume will be covering the Ourtopias at the Design Exchange June 15 to 16 for the Spacing Wire. "Ourtopias: Ideal cities and the roles of design in remaking urban spaces" runs June 14 to 16 at the Design Exchange. www.dx.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TTC Chair Adam Giambrone is excited today, and everyone in the room can feel it. Standing at the podium of the Design Exchange, the Toronto city councillor smiles broadly as he tells the audience that the province has just announced ...

Jessica Hume will be covering the Ourtopias at the Design Exchange June 15 to 16 for the Spacing Wire. "Ourtopias: Ideal cities and the roles of design in remaking urban spaces" runs June 14 to 16 at the Design Exchange. www.dx.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - While Canadians are frustrated with the lack of leadership in all levels of government, there is a sense of contentment among us that gets in the way of our making progress, according to Toronto's preeminent architect Bruce Kuwabara.“There is a sense of ...