First, we invite you to participate in the ongoing dialog on the Design Ethos blog. Every 3 or 4 days we’ll provide new content for you to consider. This will help you learn about life along Waters Avenue.
Please add your voice to the blog, even if it means asking questions, or sharing links or ideas. You will also learn about different class initiatives that are presently underway as a means of preparing everyone for the DO-ference. We have a lot of talented people working on a daily basis with the community, laying groundwork.
Also, make sure to visit the Case Study section, which includes projects that have been done in the past either along the Waters corridor. Between the blog and the Case Studies, we figure anyone coming to the DO-ference can learn just about anything they want to know about Waters Avenue.
This year's Ethos is so big that it broke in half. First off, we have the standard three-day conference; not unlike last year's conference, and then there is the "DO-ference", a section of the conference where attendees aren't just listening or talking. Instead they are actually making an active difference.
We don't know exactly what the 'deliverables' will be at the end of the DO-ference, but they will likely include strategies and tools that the community has co-created, that the community will use for its own needs, and that a committed groups of faculty at SCAD, individuals from Waters Avenue, and all of Savannah who are determined to follow through on. For more information, check out the Waters Avenue Revitalization Project.
Thought 
you'd never ask! We have a Call for Entries out now that requests poster designs and panel topics. For more information, or if you'd like to print or share with your colleagues or students, you can download the poster here.
The diagram above is a representation of what each of the 6 DO-ference teams will be comprised of. We know designers can bring a lot of insight and creative energy, but there’s not substitute for having direct access to the people who’ve lived along the corridor all their lives, as well as people with an understanding of the larger dynamics at play.
Over the course of the 3-day DO-ference, you’ll have about 15 hours to explore a creative charette process with fellow designers, design students, local community members, municipal staff, and business and community leaders. The process will begin with a introductory panel, continue with an intimate tour of a section of the Waters Avenue corridor, then flow into a collaborative creative process intended to accelerate the economic revitalization of the neighborhoods. At the end of Design Ethos 2012, each DO-ference team will have an opportunity to present a summary of their ideas, concepts and ‘solutions’ to the entire conference crowd. Â
