Curiouser & curiouser


A few thousand words and a design proposal lighter…
May 15, 2008, 11:30 am
Filed under: Uncategorized

On Tuesday 13 May I had the great privilege of submitting our Design Research Proposal. 

The proposal outlines our project objectives, research methods conducted, design constraints, audience, proposed outcomes, visual reference and much more.

I took on the role of putting the proposal together, with fantastic assistance from my team members. Although the most important outcome for the proposal was the written content, we all agreed that it was important to present the document with strong visual communication as well. I think the end design of the document and layout of written and visual information has come together really well, presenting a strong identity which can be carried through to our related design applications. 

Some key spreads from the proposal can be found under the Culture Hub Design Proposal page on our group blog.

 



AGIdeas 2008: My top picks
May 7, 2008, 2:11 am
Filed under: Uncategorized

I’ve included some links for some of my ‘favorite’ designers from the conference.

On Friday I was very lucky to meet 4 of them, as they came into the studio where I work to catch up with my boss. It was a wonderful opportunity to talk in person to such a talented group of people – Patrick Thomas, Bruno Monguzzi, Sara Fanelli and Anette Lenz.

Sara Fanelli, Illustrator (London)
www.sarafanelli.com 
http://www.agideas.net/speaker/8-sara-fanelli

Patrick Thomas, Graphic Designer (Barcelona)
www.patrickthomas.com
http://www.agideas.net/speaker/32-patrick-thomas

Bruno Monguzzi, Typographer/Designer (Milan)
http://www.agideas.net/speaker/20-bruno-monguzzi 

Anette Lenz, Typographer/Designer (Paris)
www.anettelenz.com
http://www.agideas.net/speaker/14-anette-lenz 

Christoph Niemann, Illustrator (USA)
www.christophniemann.com 
http://www.agideas.net/speaker/23-christoph-niemann 

Richard Seymour, Industrial/Product Design (UK)
www.seymourpowell.com 
http://www.agideas.net/speaker/29-richard-seymour

Ab Rogers, Interior/Exhibition Design (UK)
http://www.agideas.net/speaker/26-ab-rogers

United Visual Artists, Lighting/Visual Artists (UK)
www.uva.co.uk
http://www.agideas.net/speaker/40-united-visual-artists 



AGIdeas 2008: Richard Seymour
May 7, 2008, 1:57 am
Filed under: Uncategorized
I wanted to keep my notes from Richard Seymour’s presentation as a seperate post…
As the very last speaker for the entire conference, he was also by far the best. Speaking only briefly about his (incredibly talented and amazing) projects and work, Richard was more interested in discussing the human condition, the current state of society, and our role as designers now and in the future. He told some very personal and moving stories and related these back to ‘bigger picture’ ideologies, so that the audience could gain a complete understanding of the messages he was trying to get across. He held the audience’s attention with every word, weaving light-hearted commentary throughout the powerful social messages. Richard’s presentation would have to be one of the most inspiring and motivational speeches I have heard, and if the standing ovation from the 2,500-strong audience at the conclusion of the presentation was anything to go by, then I think it’s safe to say that everyone else in the room was affected in a similar way…
Richard Seymour, Industrial Designer
  • You learn so much more from the things that go wrong
  • Bob Gill: “Seek the mundane in life, the drudgery, the commonplace, the ubiquitous… and replace it with minor magic”
  • Have no breaks, see no boundaries
  • Watching before listening
  • Technology is so far ahead of us that our imagination hasn’t caught up
  • Social networking: A way the world can connect itself to the rest of the world
  • Start at the end; Find the truth
  • People are ready to talk back at the same power as ‘they’ do: via the Internet
  • So where is the future? (It’s behind you…)
  • We have a responsibility that goes way beyond what we think it can


AGIdeas 2008
May 7, 2008, 1:48 am
Filed under: Uncategorized

I was umm-ing and aaah-ing about whether to attend this year’s AGIdeas conference or not, but after my boss told me it was one of the best line-ups to date, I thought I better get myself a ticket.

And I certainly wasn’t disappointed; in fact it was an incredibly inspiring 3 days.

Below I have documented some key points that I took from a range of speakers throughout the conference. They are quotes on design, on the human condition, life in general, and other random thoughts. I am hoping to turn these quotes into a book, as a personal design piece, which I hope will continue to inspire me and perhaps others also…

Christoph Niemann, Illustrator

  • Have a broad vocabulary
  • Fast computer + happiness = $
  • Collaborate with your audience
  • Build on the existing and ‘twist’ it up
  • Do things just for yourself

Ben Frost, Artist

  • Extend your work to different mediums
Mark Seymor, Musician
  • A good idea always comes from a truthful place
Sara Fanelli, Illustrator
  • Develop your own world and your own language
  • Find a personal interpretation of the brief
  • Trying to make sense of the world
  • The whole page is the canvas, including the text
  • Even in a world of colour, there is always black
Anyhow: Dave + Nick, Designers/Artists
  • Everything you learn through the struggles, takes you where you want to go
  • Go against peak-hour traffic
  • Design doesn’t have to come from good taste; bad taste can produce good design too
  • Life’s too short to be one person, so become as many people as you can
Sophie Buttner, Artist/Sculptor
  • Be open to the journey
  • Consider the choices: see where it takes you
  • Feed your creativity; travel; see new things; look at cultures
United Visual Artists: Joel + Matt, Lighting Specialists
  • Make your own tools
  • Collaborate in the creative process
  • Scare yourself
  • It’s ok to make mistakes, but make sure you learn from them
  • Word of mouth it is
  • Look into the past for inspiration for the future
Chris Taylor, Radio Advertiser
  • Luck and hard work
Gabrielle De Vietri, Visual Artist
  • Let your work come from a genuine place
Patrick Thomas, Graphic Designer
  • A good idea should work in black and white
Bruno Monguzzi, Typographer/Designer
  • I wanted to change the world; first with a pencil, then with a fist; but of course, eventually I was changed by the world
  • Objectivity vs. Subjectivity
  • Have the guts to disobey the brief, the rules, the trends
Adam Ferrier, Advertiser
  • Brand: A cluster of cultural ideas
  • The audience is the departure point, not the end point
Peter Lyssiotis, Image Maker/Writer
  • Books: opens up the writer’s head and thus opens up your head and new ideas
  • The end is always a means for a further end
Kate Bezar: Dumbo Feather, Pass it on
  • “What if” is the thing dreams are made of
  • Keeping the childish spirit of curiosity and fearlessness
  • It’s in the willingness to make mistakes that innovation and creativity really flourish
March Studio, Graphic/Interior Design
  • Something new from what we know
  • Stripping objects of their design functionality = new possibilities
  • You can draw something that’s impossible to make, but you can’t make something that’s impossible to draw