DESIGN ROUNDUP is your weekly guide to the NYC design community.

Be sure to check back every Monday for a fresh list of events.

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April 3 – April 9, 2011

1/ New School Arts Festival: Conversation with Frances McDormand and Screening of Blood Simple

Cecilia Rubino talks with the Academy Award–winning actress Frances McDormand on acting and instigating—how actors collaborate with and inspire writers-directors and how this informed her first film, the 1984 American neo-noir Blood Simple, which was the directorial debut of Joel and Ethan Coen.

When: Monday, April 4, 2011, 8:00 pm

Where: Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street, NYC

Price: Free and open to the public. Seating is limited and reservations are required: http://nsafbloodsimple.eventbrite.com

2/ Unique New York 2: Behind the Curtain

The second in a series of intimate fundraisers for AIGA/NY featuring our international treasures of people, places and processes. Join Roger Griffith, Associate Conservator in the Sculpture Department at MoMA, for drinks and tales of damage and decrepitude.

When: Tuesday, April 5, 2011, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Where: Conservation Studio at MoMA, NYC

Price: $150 tax-deductible

3/ Debate Club: Young Designers on Getting Schooled at Work

On the occasion of the exhibition Radical Shifts: Reshaping the Interior at Parsons, 1955–1985, recent graduates Loren Daye, Love Is Enough. Ltd., and Jonathan Lee, art director, 2 x 4 Inc., discuss how their training prepared them for work after school.

When: Tuesday, April 5, 2011, 6:30 pm

Where: Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 Fifth Avenue, NYC

Price: Free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations required; seating is first-come first-served

4/ The Touch of Light

Juhani Pallasmaa, architect, professor, and writer, will give The Cooper Union’s annual Feltman lecture on light and lighting design.

When: Tuesday, April 5, 2011, 6:30 pm

Where: The Great Hall, The Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, NYC

Price: Free and open to the public

5/ Bicycles, Babbling Brooks and Bertham Pro – A Tribute to the Goudys

Two former bookkeepers impacted American typography and graphic design for all time, Frederic and Bertha Goudy. This presentation will discuss the significance of their achievements in printing, type design and typography, as well as take a personal look at how they lived, entertained and worked together.

When: Thursday, April 7, 2011, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Where: Type Directors Club, 347 West 36th Street, Suite 603, NYC

Price: Free TDC Members, $15 students, $20 general public

6/ Urban Omnibus and Design Trust Public Space Potluck

Hear Design Trust board member Sylvia J. Smith, FAIA, LEED AP, Senior Partner at FXFOWLE Architects and Partner-in-Charge of the Lincoln Center redevelopment, present an inside look at the renovation and expansion of one the world’s leading cultural institutions.

When: Thursday, April 7, 2011, 5:30 pm

Where: David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts., NYC

Price: Free and open to the public. RSVP by emailing

7/ Bright Lights: The AIGA Awards

A fresh new celebratory event honoring the 2010 AIGA Medalists: Herman Miller creative director Steve Frykholm; RISD President John Maeda; and Morla Design principal Jennifer Morla; a as well as 2010 Corporate Leadership Awardees Method and Tiffany & Co.

When: Thursday, April 7, 2011, 6:30 pm – 9:30 p.m

Where: The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC

Price: $200 general public