The Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) Voices of Experience series celebrates the legacy of Mayer/Reed Founding Partner Emeritus Michael Reed, FSEGD.
In this inspiring short film, Michael reflects on his career, design philosophy and impact on the built environment. He joins a lineup of influential experiential designers including Bruce Mau, Chris Calori & David Vanden-Eynden, Donald Meeker, Richard Burns & John Barry, Wayne Hunt, and Lance Wyman.
“Across his career, Michael has adhered to one guiding principle: the privilege of designing information systems for the public comes with the responsibility to ‘do the right thing.’ His work demonstrates that great design is not an act of personal expression but of public service.”
Read more about Michael’s career and watch the video here.
Summer is in full swing and Portland parks are buzzing with activity. To celebrate the season, Mayer/Reed gathered with friends and family for a picnic at one of our recently completed projects, Mill Park in Southeast Portland.
It was a delight to see the space in action — the play area and splash pad packed with neighborhood kids, the bounty of the lush community garden and pick-up soccer games taking shape on the lawn. We set up our picnic in the shelter and spread out blankets in the shade of the large canopy trees. It was a perfect summer evening to celebrate community, sunshine and the joy of a new park.
Mill Park is officially open to all and a celebration is planned for Thursday, September 25. See you in the park!
Building on the momentum of this spring’s Streets of Possibility event, I helped organize a workshop on June 13 to brainstorm tangible ideas for the future of downtown Portland, Oregon. Nearly 40 urban designers and creative thinkers gathered with tracing paper, markers and optimism—ready to reimagine downtown’s street network and its connections to the Willamette riverfront.
As one of the event organizers, I designed maps and created prompts to spark ideas and nudge the creative process. We asked big questions and proposed bold ideas: Why not this? What about that? Could it look like this? The ideas flowed as freely as our markers until late afternoon.
Downtown Portland is undergoing transformation. It won’t return to what it was, nor should it. Our challenge, rather, is to help shape what it will become. Over 40% of downtown Portland’s land lies in the public realm of streets. Waterfront Park is an enormous, underutilized asset most of the year with untapped potential for connection, culture and community. This exercise helped us envision downtown as one of Portland’s neighborhoods—more than a place to just work or visit; a place to stay, play and simply be.
Real change requires action. Coming together to share ideas and see new perspectives is critical to our city’s path forward. Thank you to Randy Gragg and Will Smith of the PDX Design Collaborative for opening the doors of the JK Gill Building to host the workshop and the designers who showed up eager to sketch, discuss and push each other to think bigger and more inclusively.
The day wrapped up with a happy hour open to the broader community and even more voices contributed to the dialogue. One seasoned participant remarked, “This is the way we used to do it”—a compliment that reminded us we’re returning to a civic culture where urban design is visionary, not reactive. Follow-up conversations are happening, and we’ll share a summary of the workshop to ensure the thinking can live on and inspire action at all levels. We invite everyone—elected leaders, civic organizations, business owners, residents—to keep imagining. Because Portland’s next chapter is unwritten, and together, we can shape it.
You’re invited! Join us for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, June 26 to celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of the St. Helens Waterfront Redevelopment Project — encompassing a riverwalk and street extensions into the new waterfront district.
Mayer/Reed’s riverwalk design revitalizes the former industrial site. The first phase improves public access to the Columbia River and creates places to gather and play.
Photo courtesy of the City of St. Helens
Festivities begin at 4:30 p.m. at Columbia View Circle (Strand & Cowlitz Streets) with a ribbon cutting and remarks from city leaders. After the ceremony, explore the new stretch of ADA-accessible riverwalk as you head over to the revamped Columbia View Park for live music, food and craft vendors, games and a beer garden. The celebration continues every Thursday this summer with a weekly concert series, 13 Nights on the River.
