Design TEDx

TEDxers remix the TEDCity2.0 poster from a kit of parts

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What is the city of the future? What will it look like? How will it come to be? This weekend, from Taipei to Melbourne to Mexico City, over 100 local organizers will offer their answers at TEDx events in honor of TEDCity2.0, a day-long TED event celebrating urban innovation.

TED challenged organizers to remix the official TEDCity2.0 posters, which were designed by the firm Kiss Me I’m Polish. The group offered up a design guide to help organizers customize their poster with a lot of local flavor — with really impressive results.  

Here, some of our favorite customized posters…

TEDxChristchurch in New Zealand. Organizer Kaila Colbin says: “Christchurch is a city best defined by transition, as it seeks to rebuild and reinvent itself following the major earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Today, the city is littered with shipping containers and broken buildings, but it also boasts seeds of life as creative temporary projects have begun to spring up: a summer events pavilion made entirely of blue shipping pallets or a Cathedral made out of cardboard. These are all signs of the re-emergence of Christchurch as a place to experiment and grow.”

TEDxChristchurch in New Zealand. Organizer Kaila Colbin says: “Christchurch is a city best defined by transition, as it seeks to rebuild and reinvent itself following the major earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Today, the city is littered with shipping containers and broken buildings, but it also boasts seeds of life as creative temporary projects have begun to spring up: a summer events pavilion made entirely of blue shipping pallets or a Cathedral made out of cardboard. These are all signs of the re-emergence of Christchurch as a place to experiment and grow.”

TEDxGreensboro in North Carolina. Team member Jeff SanGeorge says: “The focal image is a statue of Nathaniel Greene, for whom our city is named. To see him broken from his moorings and being moved symbolizes that our city is actively being reinvented, and is not tied down to the past.”

TEDxGreensboro in North Carolina. Team member Jeff SanGeorge says: “The focal image is a statue of Nathaniel Greene, for whom our city is named. To see him broken from his moorings and being moved symbolizes that our city is actively being reinvented, and is not tied down to the past.”

TEDxMexicoCity in Mexico. Team member Ileana Mondragón says: “Mexico City is one of the biggest and most populated cities of the world and it is full of contrasts. The pre-Hispanic, the colonial and the modern collide. These elements match perfectly with the cultural diversity that makes up the Mexican identity.” (Original design: Lucia Cantu from Malaca Design.)

TEDxMexicoCity in Mexico. Team member Ileana Mondragón says: “Mexico City is one of the biggest and most populated cities of the world and it is full of contrasts. The pre-Hispanic, the colonial and the modern collide. These elements match perfectly with the cultural diversity that makes up the Mexican identity.” (Original design: Lucia Cantu from Malaca Design.)

TEDxStormont in Northern Ireland. Organizer Eva Grosman says: “Our poster was inspired by Belfast’s industrial heritage and its aspiration for a better future. The Big Fish sculpture relates the history of Belfast from Tudor times to present day newspaper headlines. It also contains a time capsule storing information, images and poetry on the City. Culture and arts … play a vital role in helping [our] society deal with its troubled past.”

TEDxStormont in Northern Ireland. Organizer Eva Grosman says: “Our poster was inspired by Belfast’s industrial heritage and its aspiration for a better future. The Big Fish sculpture relates the history of Belfast from Tudor times to present day newspaper headlines. It also contains a time capsule storing information, images and poetry on the City. Culture and arts … play a vital role in helping [our] society deal with its troubled past.”

TEDxPeshawar in Pakistan. Organizer Muhammad Uzair says: “Peshawar is one of Asia’s oldest living cities. A gateway to central Asia, it once was a hub of education and trade. Recently, the war on terror has left the city devastated, but the resilient are not afraid to dream. They are working day and night to rebuild their city and make it a city of education, trade and culture, which it once was. The pictures I have used [symbolize] the city’s rich culture and history.”

TEDxPeshawar in Pakistan. Organizer Muhammad Uzair says: “Peshawar is one of Asia’s oldest living cities. A gateway to central Asia, it once was a hub of education and trade. Recently, the war on terror has left the city devastated, but the resilient are not afraid to dream. They are working day and night to rebuild their city and make it a city of education, trade and culture, which it once was. The pictures I have used [symbolize] the city’s rich culture and history.”

TEDxKrakow in Poland. Organizer Ewa Spohn says: “Krakow is a city with a rich history and culture — from Poland’s Golden Age in the 15th and 16th centuries, to the communist era, to today. These aspects of our city are mixed up on the poster, as they are in reality. The photos include Wawel — the castle where Poland’s kings and luminaries were traditionally buried — as well as the blocks of apartments built during Communism for the proletariat, while the K with a crown is, in a certain sense, the symbol of Krakow.” (Designed by Magda Kania, photos by Lukasz Dąbrowski.)

TEDxKrakow in Poland. Organizer Ewa Spohn says: “Krakow is a city with a rich history and culture — from Poland’s Golden Age in the 15th and 16th centuries, to the communist era, to today. These aspects of our city are mixed up on the poster, as they are in reality. The photos include Wawel — the castle where Poland’s kings and luminaries were traditionally buried — as well as the blocks of apartments built during Communism for the proletariat, while the K with a crown is, in a certain sense, the symbol of Krakow.” (Designed by Magda Kania, photos by Lukasz Dąbrowski.)

TEDxWestHollywoodLibrary in California. Organizer Francisco Contreras says: “The City of West Hollywood is modern and progressive. Known as ‘The Creative City,’ we have led the way in the fight for affordable housing, LGBT rights, human rights and civil rights, women’s rights, seniors’ rights, protection of our environment and animal rights, as well as the fight against HIV and AIDS. The hot air balloon is symbolic of these and many other progressive ideas that are born and take flight from the creative spirit that pervades the city.”

TEDxWestHollywoodLibrary in California. Organizer Francisco Contreras says: “The City of West Hollywood is modern and progressive. Known as ‘The Creative City,’ we have led the way in the fight for affordable housing, LGBT rights, human rights and civil rights, women’s rights, seniors’ rights, protection of our environment and animal rights, as well as the fight against HIV and AIDS. The hot air balloon is symbolic of these and many other progressive ideas that are born and take flight from the creative spirit that pervades the city.”

This post originally ran on the TEDx Blog. Read much more about TEDx and its wide constellation of ideas »