How to you convey the spirit of an entire career’s worth of work in under 3.5 minutes?
Winner, "Design Mind" 2018
The “Design Mind” award at the National Design Awards is granted “in recognition of a visionary...who has had a profound impact on design theory, practice, or public awareness." Anne Whiston Spirn had been nominated in this category previously, but had never won. As a scholar, a photographer, and a professional who has united restoration of the urban natural environment and inner-city community development into a single theory of practice, her work never conveniently fits into one box, and can thus present a perplexing picture to designers firmly rooted in narrowly-defined design practices.
Anne approached me in 2018 about creating a short video as part of her submission for this award. To communicate decades of experience and a spirit of investigation in her work, we focused on shooting images of Anne “in her element,” such as navigating the shores of her hometown of Nahant, Massachusetts and at work in her home studio, and achieving a sense of reflection and spontaneity in her narration.
Anne won the award. In a conversation with the award’s sponsors, she learned that “it was the video” that clinched it. The video is currently displayed in many places that feature Anne’s work, including the International Federation of Landscape Architects, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and as a gateway to her own website.
Role: Director, Editor
For: Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards
Date: 2018
Type: narrative strategy, media campaign
Cinematography: Libbie Cohn, Pitchapa Jular, Anne Whiston Spirn, Michael Waldrep, John Moody
Photographs: Anne Whiston Spirn, WPLP, Philadelphia City, Temple University
Video Pitch: To See the Invisible (03:39)
“Helping people to see more deeply isn’t only to see cities as part of the natural world, or landscapes as a product of design. It’s also to help them see and understand the things that most interest them, so that they can think for themselves. If we’re going address issues like climate change, people have to be able to make up their own minds. ”