A 4-hour drive from Atlanta takes us to Savannah, a time capsule of southern charm and hospitality. The city has beautifully preserved its historic buildings and green areas, and most interestingly has also been transformed by the presence of Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The involvement of young artists and designers in this historic city creates an unusual mix of old and new narratives.

SCAD is a creative education empire established in 1978 that now counts four campuses in three different countries and over 9000 students. Walking around in Savannah, one can only notice the overwhelming presence of SCAD and the instrumental role it has played in restoring the historic districts. The School of Fibers is located in a building from 1906 that used to serve as a military hospital during the Civil War. SCAD’s main auditorium is located in a former high school building built in 1920. A former warehouse built in 1956 houses the industrial design department. The School of Film is located in an old power station originally built in 1894.

SCAD turned historic Savannah into a energetic platform for the young generation. Its dominating presence in the city has caused a few stirs however the benefits brought by the school have most certainly helped save many failing buildings and neighborhoods.

Doug Grimmet, Founder, Primal Screen talks to Cities x Design about the booming growth of the broadcast design industry and why Atlanta ranks among the nation’s largest employers in this dynamic sector.

Modern Atlanta is most commonly known as the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr, the home of soft drinks giant Coca-Cola and the headquarters of the 24-hour news channel CNN. The city may also remind some of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games with its remnant sites still in the downtown area.

Despite recent additions such as The World of Coca-Cola, the Aquarium and the transition of Georgia State University to a full time campus, some feel the city could still benefit from innovative urban transformations. Last May, the 18th Congress for the New Urbanism took place in the city and brought together experts in the field of urban planning, government policy, and community development to discuss tangible solutions that can support the city in its transition toward more livable environments.

Atlanta, with its rapid growth, has followed a classic American urban model built up around suburban developments and highway systems. One notable presentation from the conference was on “Retrofitting Suburbia” by local academic Ellen Dunham Jones of Georgia Tech.  In her speech she proposes solutions that could change the social and environmental patterns of unsustainable suburban environments such as those that currently dot the Atlanta region.

Today, media corporations and film studios employ a large number of designers and have created a solid motion graphic design industry in the area. Throughout the years, the city has grown around the field of media and television which places the city as a serious contender alongside New York and Los Angeles. During our visit we spoke with Doug Grimmett from Primal Screen, a multidisciplinary design studio that works for clients such as ABC, CNN, PBS and HBO amongst others, and quizzed him about his city and its future.

It was clear from our interview that the presence of important corporations and media outlets are enough to draw designers to the city of Atlanta. As will the expansion of the activities of the Museum of Design. Yet it will be interesting to see how designers will continue to play a role in the regeneration of their city and how local culture and history can be more successfully integrated into the urban fabric.

Helen Johnson and Josh McManus of CreateHere in Chattanooga, TN, talk with Cities x Design about nurturing the creative economy in their city. Their discussion touches on the innovative non-profit model of their organization, how they meet staffing challenges and the advantages of being privately funded.

Chattanooga is a small town hidden at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. This former river commerce hub has, like many other places, experienced the negative impact of de-industrialization and is today looking at creative solutions to boost its image. The opening of Volkswagen’s $1 billion manufacturing plant in 2011, should help with Chattanooga’s population growth and economic vitality.

Designer collectives such as Young Monster work on the promotion of music bands and feed the local creative scene that is slowly taking shape. Thanks to the support of Create Here, many creative enterprises find the support to launch their businesses and contribute to the city’s social and cultural life. Their fellowship program entitled Lead Here encourages young people to take action in their own community.

Cities x Design set out to clearly identify the role designers play in promoting and shaping their communities. We found a great spokesperson for Columbus in Gabe Shultz. He talked to us about creativity in Columbus, becoming a designer, his work and how he manages to do it all in one go.

Richard Crabtree talks with Cities x Design about the design community and design economy of Columbus, OH, and the visionary work of Salvato Coe + Gabor.

The Columbus College of Art and Design recently published a report entitled Creative Columbus, which is an inventory study of Central Ohio’s creative industries including the arts, design, performance, media and marketing.

The prominent design fields in the area are fashion, industrial, interior and communication design, with a concentration of businesses in downtown Columbus and many self-employed creatives in based in Clintonville.

During our visit we took a closer look at communication designers and their role in local businesses. We want to highlight CSCA (Columbus Society of Communicating Arts) for its unique and independent approach to design promotion, and its Creative Best Awards initiative that rewards local talents.

A special mention goes out to Ologie, a branding agency that helps businesses with social media strategies, and to Gabe Shultz for his insight on the role that graphic designers play in the corporate world and for keeping the experimental alive through his project Bored Sketchbooks.

Photos: © Jeff Seslar of Chromatic Identity – © Gabe Shultz

Paul Davis, Paul Nini and Kristen Harris talk to Cities x Design about what makes Columbus a creative city and why the Columbus Society of Communicating Arts revels in its independence.

For the longest time Columbus has been considered a typical American city and its local population has been viewed as a mirror image of the U.S. population as a whole. For this reason the city is often used as a testing ground for corporate America’s latest products and services.

Large chain retailers and brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch and The Limited (parent company of Victoria’s Secret) are headquartered in Columbus. Similarly, large insurance companies are firmly based there as well.

Despite such facts, Columbus doesn’t lack personality and is not afraid of supporting independent initiatives. And with the largest university campus in the United States, Ohio State University is a strong local asset that grows and graduates inspired young minds and plays a role in spreading fresh ideas into the city’s diverse communities.

During our short stay, we had the opportunity to walk High Street of Short North, an area recently praised in the New York Times. Highlights include Jeni’s Ice Cream offering handmade confections made with locally sourced ingredients, the spacious and luminous Northstar Cafe, and Tigertree, a select store with unique design pieces from the area and beyond. The noteworthy North Market (the only market in Columbus and also small business incubator) was unfortunately closed during our visit.