Every designer knows that much of our work never makes it into the world. Our archives are filled with sketches, studies, prototypes, and concepts abandoned because of project constraints, shifting priorities, budgets, or a client who chose another direction. Sometimes they're simply the result of an afternoon spent exploring a new material or idea.

These works are not failures. They are relics of our process, dense with experimentation, creativity, and unrealized potential.

DESIGN GRAVEYARD invites designers across Chicago to resurrect one of these forgotten works, remove it from its original constraints, recontextualize it through a new medium, and give it new purpose.

PRODUCE NO NEW WORK.

• Submit one (1) relic for print per design team.
• Crop all media to a 24" × 24" canvas using the provided InDesign template.
• Don't treat the canvas as a presentation board. Each submission should present a single lost idea, recontextualized as its own subject.
• Dimensional and digital media are considered on a case-by-case basis and are subject to display constraints. Contact SEGD Chicago to discuss feasibility.

Design Graveyard is curated by Katie Osborne and Ryan Odom, AIA of SEGD Chicago.

Thank you to all who have made Design Graveyard a reality.

Design Graveyard is looking for volunteers to help bring Chicago's forgotten ideas back to life with an exhibition of forgotten work called Design Graveyard.

From exhibition installation and event support to welcoming visitors and helping behind the scenes, volunteers will play an important role in creating an exhibition that celebrates the work that never made it into the world.

You'll meet designers from across Chicago, experience the exhibition from the inside, and help create a memorable event for the Chicago design community.

Interested? volunteer@designgraveyard.org ↗