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GRAY’s passion is empowering designers and raising awareness about the importance of design in the world. Not only does design make things look better and function better, but good design also solves problems. Design affects our mental well-being, physical health, and the environment. And there is something to telling everyone we know about it.
GRAY touts design across our platforms. We profile designers, feature their works, and call out the changemakers. We organize events that bring the design community together to share insight and resources. We provide speaking platforms to ignite dialogue and collaboration, and we hold one epic design competition to honor the sheer talent and grit of designers who strive for excellence in everything they do.
And we wish we could do more.
Our ability to continue this work is dependent on financial support. We believe it takes a village to achieve our goals, and we invite you to join us in this mission. Do business with GRAY by advertising with us, becoming a patron sponsor, sponsoring our events, come to our events.
By supporting GRAY, you become a part of something great and help us make a positive impact in the world of design.
—SHAWN WILLIAMS, FOUNDER + PUBLISHER
About Gray Media LLC
ORIGIN STORY
GRAY magazine launched in 2011 to fill the void left by shuttered design publications during the economic recession. It focused exclusively on the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. and Canada until expanding internationally in January 2020. When COVID-19 hit, we made a hard shift to digital to offer real-time connections. We live-streamed chats with designers around the world on everyday topics and launched an online expo to share the latest works. In print, we doubled down on content, featuring as much inspiring and innovative content as we could. Supply chain issues throughout the pandemic years made it tricky to navigate consistent print production but our patient readers and advertisers kept us going. Now in 2024, we're emerging with a rebrand and a fresh take on what a digital magazine can offer. >>
In the Design Lounge is a video series that we developed during the pandemic lock downs. The first season recorded via video conferencing featured roundtable discussions with designers and industry pros on maintaining business under duress. Since then, topics have become lighter, casual conversations about latest works and initiatives, and every now and then are recorded in-person with our guests or in front of live audiences. Season 5, hosted by Brandon Gaston, kicks off in May 2024. Featured guests this year include Franck Genser and many others. >>
We launched GRAY Awards in 2017 to recognize design excellence and celebrate our creative community in a uniquely GRAY way. Winners are first announced at the party held in our hometown of Seattle, where we dote on them with showers of confetti, surprise entertainment, and all-around jubilation. In 2020, when an in-person party was prohibited, we presented winners via video and held a watch party. The GRAY Band of Designers wrote and composed an original song, judges recorded the announcement of winners, and finalists pre-recorded winning reaction videos (though they didn’t know at the time if they had won) -- in total, designers in 24 different countries participated in the making of the video that year. Judging panels have included design legends such as Ingo Maurer, Deborah Berke, Tom Dixon, Philippe Starck, Stephen Burks, and many others who have generously lent us their time and expertise. The 8th annual GRAY Awards kicks off with a call for entries in June 2024 and winners will be announced online in March 2025.. >>
©Barbie Hull Photography
It was always part of the vision to produce a symposium and finally, in 2023, we launched Destination DesignCon. We’d use this platform to lead thoughtful dialog on design and futurism in the built environment, gather like-minded creatives and changemakers, and put a spotlight on the incredible design scenes in local communities. The 2023 event was held in Victoria, British Columbia, which prompted the launch of their first annual design festival, Design Victoria. We chose this city because we found it’s design core and city initiatives to be an unsung hero and emerging global leader. For 2025, we’re headed to sunny Palm Springs, California. Stay tuned for details. >>
GRAY has been a media partner for the inspiring home tours put on by Modern Architecture +
Design Society (MA+DS). We finally got together this year to co-curate our first ever series of interior design-focused tours. Visiting residential and commercial spaces, the tours take us to Washington D.C, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland. And we’re working with some really outstanding designers, including OSMOSE, ZGF, SkB Architects, Skylab, Rainey Richardson, studioMET, Charlie Hellstern, and so many others. The response to date has been so great that we’re already considering adding more cities to the lineup in 2025. Where would you like us to go... Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Miami, Boston?
OSMOSE ©The Morrisons
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