Wednesday through Friday we attended the conference from about 9:30AM to 4PM each day (some times varied). In between speakers Liz scurried to gather signatures in her book. That's right, we got these massive books filled with the speakers works, and other cool people too. It's huge.
Wednesday night Christina and Beth got to go on studio tours. Liz and I attempted to work on our homework. Time flew by, and once Friday night came around we thought going out for ice cream and chips sounded more relaxing and chill than attending the after party. Plus it was really cold and we didn't want to walk back from the party by ourselves, shivering in the dark. And to be honest, I liked the Semi-Permanent after party because I mostly wanted to hang out with the other students. I don't think I even talked to any speakers at it!
We tried checking out the rooftop cinema, but they were no longer showing movies for the winter season, and the bar was closed due to windy/rainy weather. So we were bummed about that. Luckily Christina's suger rush later in the evening made up for it. She was a hoot and a half!
Saturday we flew back to Auckland. Our plane left at about 6:30pm and arrived in Auckland near midnight. Customs was easy to go through, which we were grateful for. Next we just needed to kill 7 hours before my train came, and their buses came. We got lots of homework done in the Airport food court, while Beth tried so sleep. Luckily there was a subway right next to us that was open 24 hrs.
-----OOOOKAY, here's the boring agideas stuff that I finally finished writing about.
There were 40 speakers, so I can't write about each one as much as I'd like to. I have provided all of their names and attempted to find their personal or company website. Aaaaand yeah...I hope you can find some design inspiration here if you're stuck!
DANA ARNETT
from Chicago, USA. Dana was a lovely opening speaker. He's worked on a wide range of projects with clients like Converse, Cole Haan, IBM, and Harley Davidson. He also likes building/working on bikes as a hobby. Liz really wanted his signature...it took us a while to track him down but we finally got him on the last day of the conference.
"it's good to find something that you like personally"
"form follows emotion"
"balance the love for what you do with reality"
SHAUN TAN
from Australia. Started as a free-lance illustrator. Presented a comic made specifically for the conference to show us a typical day for him...wake up, make coffee, let the iguanas out, start working by 5pm...it was very humorous! Some fun facts about Shaun: he loves illustrating science fiction books (i.e. The Rabbits), his work is entirely solitary as he rarely meets with clients, he gives a lot of importance to small and insignificant things, he wrote a story called The Lost Thing as kind of an autobiography...
"the problem is I don't know if it's going to work until I actually do it. It's a leap of faith."
"if it is personally profound, it will work"
"everything about the world is weird but we get tricked into thinking they're normal because of their repetitive nature"
-illustration from The Lost Thing.
KERRIE STANLEY
from Australia. I call her the hat lady. Because she makes really fancy hats! And they're kind of a big deal. Like people pay a lot of money for them. I think she even made some special hats for the Royal Wedding last year. She was SO MUCH FUN. She really loves her job, or at least is good at pretending. When Liz got her signature she mentioned to Kerrie her photography work...and Kerrie gave her a business card! She said, "let me know if you're ever in Melbourne again and we'll do some photoshoots!" AMAZING. Wouldn't that be awesome if it ever actually worked out? Butterflies in my stomach right now.
Her advice for other designers were: "playtime is important," "find your own yoda," "collaborate...do fun stuff with other fun people," and "experiment!"
-Kerrie's showreel video
JON MCCORMACK
from Australia. Jon opened with a quote: "no design can exceed the knowledge and imagination of its designer." This guy is very interested in machines and computers...and can a machine originate anything? Right now, no. But he believes that someday computers will be able to learn and think for themselves and create. He does a lot on the computer with 3D modeling and animation. He showed us a project called Morphogenesis Series...where I guess he combines different genes in the computer and then generates evolved virtual flora. The outcome is beautiful. And its interesting how he combined advanced computer technology and nature. Yeah.
He has a book out called: Impossible Nature, Computers & Creativity
-Morphogenesis Series #1
ART PAUL
from Chicago, USA. Art is too old now to travel very far, and I can attest that the plane ride from Chicago to New Zealand was NOT fun...so I can imagine why he decided to present via live video feed than in person.
Art's claim to fame is playboy magazine. When Hugh Hefner first had the idea for the magazine, originally named Stag Party, he came to Art Paul for design direction. And it has been said that without Art Paul the Playboy magazine would not be what it is today (Actually I think Ray Bradbury wrote that....RIP dude). Whether that is good or bad, I don't know because I can't say I've ever cared to pick the magazine up or learn more about it. I do know that since Art let the magazine go, he's been disappointed with where it's been heading. So perhaps it had a little more integrity during Art's direction? Not sure.
Art also does illustrations and self-portraits.
"give me the type of work you do on a Sunday morning for yourself. Not what you do for this or that magazine."
-Playboy bunny logo
ANTHONY BATTAGLIA
from Australia.
"without process, we're senseless"
ROSS DIDIER
from Australia. Dude designs chairs. What I liked most from Ross what his praying-mantis chair. It is B-A. Couldn't find a photo for you though, sorry. I enjoyed learning about his process. He gets really deep into the concepts behind his designs. He likes thinking about the project differently and taking entirely new and unexpected approaches.
APEX LIN
from Taiwan. Opened with "every designer must find an image for himself." So what is this guys image? Well...he likes to find things around the world that have the same shape as the country of Taiwan. Then he takes photos of them. He has so many photos of the most random things!!!! Rocks, stains, you name it and he's got a photo of it. He also illustrates post cards by recreating international icons. For example, he took the I LOVE NY image and illustrated it in his own style. Pretty neat.
JEFFERY COPOLOV (BATES SMART)
from Australia. He asks, "what is it about design that makes a difference?....Whatever contribution you make might be around for a long time, they're very hard to get rid of." <----He's referring to architecture, but I think mostly anyone can relate to that.
He then mostly talked about working on the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. The design had to be figured out in 18-20 months. He went through everything! The furniture, the artwork, the outside of the building...etc. How to make it energy efficient? How to make a safer and happier place for sick children and their families. They included a 2 level aquarium, an auditorium, and even a meercat section with help from the Melbourne zoo!
-Here are some photos of the hospital that I stole off the internet...shhhh
DALE HERIGSTAD
from UK. This guy designs for screen space. He talked about passive media verses dynamic media. He talked about the 3 spaces when it comes to screen space: interactive space, surface space, and content space. Here, let me draw you another poorly remade diagram.
Right now we can control what is on the screen through touch screens or remote controls...but what if we could control the interactive space with a 3D interface? He showed a demonstration of this...it was awesome! What if we could control the content? He thinks that once people have control over each space that the world will be a better place. We'll be able to see what we want to see and not be bombarded with advertisements all of the time.
My question is...if everything goes 3D...do we have to wear glasses all the time? Because I'm not a fan.
LIFE AFTER FABRICA
Fabrica is a communications research center in Italy? I think? Anyway, some of the interns who are done working for Fabrica and out in the real world presented what it has been like for them since working for fabrica. The guy I liked the most was Lars Wannop who did advertising for Amsterdam's International Fashion Week....and the project involved snails! 1,500 snails! Gross but soooo cool.
-poster
ADAM CALLEN (MADE IN KATANA)
from Australia. This guy actually worked with Benja Harney (spoke at Semi-Permanent) on the Kylie Monogue pop-up book. It was interesting hearing about the project from each of their perspectives.
JUSTIN ROBSON
from Sydney, Australia. Does body casting.
AUTOBAHN
from the Netherlands. Autobahn likes working with typography. They made multiple alphabets out of things they found at the grocery store like ketchup and toothpaste. They did a project involving stone-carving...where they had someone carve tweets into stone. Could you imagine twitter trying to work in the stone age? Haha, kind of a funny thought.
DAVID BERMAN
from Canada. I really really liked this guy. I can't even explain how much. So I'm just going to attempt to make sense of my chicken scratch notes and throw it on here, just as is.
"There are only two types of design, good & bad" - Ken Cato
"Now that we can do anything, what will we do?" - Bruce MauEco-fonts....dots in the middle to cut amount of ink used by 25%.
redefine what sustainability means ---> prosperity, people, planet, design...?
Bad design = Bush/Gore ballot....gore lost a lot of votes to poor design.
Good design = Canadian stop lights.... accommodates people who are color blind.
"when we design extreme, everyone benefits"
"design for people with disabilities" There are few people who don't have ANY disabilities.
Digital Divide = less than 30% of the world has used the internet.
Did you know 1 coke costs the same as a malaria pill? And coke is advertised EVERYWHERE.
put anti-smoking ads onto cigarette boxes.
He cares about the tigers being endangered!
"The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today." - Chinese proverb"Don't just do good design....do good!!"
-I really want his book Do Good Design. Christmas present please?
CARINE THEVENAU
from Australia. Grew up in Perth. Now in Sydney. Worked for Frankie and Vogue magazines. Great photographer. Go check out her stuff, for real.
"If you want to be extraordinary, then you shouldn't be taking advice from ordinary people."
VLADIMIR CHAIKA
from Russia. This guy didn't talk. Just showed a video/slideshow of his work. Apparently what he does is very secret...or sacred? and it shouldn't be spoken about out loud? It's called HEstory. But shhhh, don't talk about it.
Also, a lot of people didn't like it so they walked out or started talking during it. So I wrote in my notes: "It's amazing how rude people get when they're around something different."
ALEX STITT
from Australia. Put together Stitt Autobiographics book.
"the problem with a book is that it doesn't have sound"
created characters/concept for the animated t.v. show: Life. Be in it.
Thinks research is important, "the more you know about the subject, the more likely you are to have a new idea rather than a cliche one." Agreed, sir, agreed.
-Stitt Autobiographics
-Life. Be in it. Logo
JOHANNES KUHNEN
from Australia. Works with metal. Makes armrings, broaches, pendants, tea and coffee pots, and spectacles. Talked about his process of designing the perfect spectacles.
JENNY GRIGG
from Australia. Book cover design. Works mostly with paper because its "cheap and easy." Has done covers for Peter Cary's Collected Works. She showed us a bit how she's worked with tissue paper by folding it, layering it, and using light.
"being too careful eliminates spontineity"
MADE THOUGHT
from UK, these guys showed us a lot of work that they've done which was nice to see. They talked mostly about two of their clients: Established & Sons, and GFS Paper Company. I liked how playful and they were with some of the projects, adding a bit of humor to some of their projects. For example they made invitations for one of Established & Sons opening shows, and then the venue unexpectedly burned down. So rather than printing new invitations (because that is a waste of paper and money), they just printed over the old ones, which looked surprisingly cool. And that's how you take advantage of a bad situation.
Advice for other designers: Learn how to balance, be consciously brave, we are not artists, have fun!
CLAIRE HEALY
from Australia. Installation artist. Interested in housing, comfort, security, lifespan, and how our possessions define us. Cool concepts.
MARTIN YANG
from Taiwan. For one of his projects he was interested in using indigenous Taiwanese patterns in his concept. It was cool seeing the process and final product.
PORAS CHAUDHARY
from India. Self-taught photographer. Won first photography award in 2005, 2nd award in 2006. He loves vibrant, colorful, images and enjoyed photographing the Festival of Colors in India, "the only problem is that you should take good care of your camera or they'll take care of it for you." He loves encounter with religion.
Advice to photographers and designers: The 3 P's
1. Preparation - know your tools, know what you're doing
2. Possibilities - exhaust the possibilities, go extreme, try again & again
3. Patience - waiting gets good photos, have a good atmosphere
-Holy Feet, India
RUSSEL HOWCROFT
from Australia. This guy talked about being a salesman and how to sell your idea to your client. Here are some of his main points:
-have an opinion about your ideas and be able to articulate why.
-celebrate the buyer (an idea doesn't exist without the buyer!!)
-be PROUD to be a salesman: "what an amazing opportunity to sell something that doesn't exist"
-without salesmanship, the world stops
-Good ideas are: scary, expensive, risky, outrageous, difficult, silly...
-convince your client that the risk is worth it
-"You know how you should walk in their shoes? Yeah. Wear their clothes."
-never denigrate the buyer
JOACHIM SAUTER
from Germany. Discussed design's change of direction. What is new? What are the trends? From 1988-2008 the new and exciting designs included monitors, projectors, and screens. What comes now? Go back to physical. What about choreographing physical objects with electronics?
Watch this video to understand more of what I'm saying. It's an installation for BMW.
MAURO PORCINI (3M)
from Italy. Works for 3M which is out of St. Paul, Minnesota (yeah! represent!) I'll just write down some bullet points of what he spoke about.
-Thinkers are dreamers.
-design is NOT just about styling
-we design experiences
-the emotional flow: 1: seeing/purchasing, 2: interacting/using, 3: re-purchasing/recommending,
-customer satisfaction is important, listen to your end users but don't believe them.
CINDY-LEE DAVIES (LIGHTLY)
from Melbourne, Australia. Makes homeware, often out of recycled materials.
"good ideas sell themselves."
PAUL MARCUS FUOG
from Australia. 3 things:
1. PLAY, don't be fixated on the outcome, experiment, in intuitive, be positive. Let chance influence the outcome.
2. SHARE, collaborate and learn from others.
3. EXPLORE, remove yourself from comfort every now and then. comfort = laziness = mediocrity. New environments encourage new ways of working.
STORMIE MILLS
from Australia. Spent much of growing up being homeles in Perth.
"when have you last sat in silence that was so loud it was deafening?"
-began painting graffiti
-first show in 1999
"if I wanted my paintings to really say something, I'd have to use the designs of others."
-signed as character names
-interested in art therapy and the significance of color, scale, and composition
-what do YOU think of the color black?
-attended "night school": painting walls by night "working until small hours."
-today he paints more personally
-often as an adult he still feels lost...."a common feeling for everyone," he says.
DOMENIC DI GIORGIO
from Australia. He worked on Pan's Labyrinth...one of my favorite movies! Worked for the creature technology company and recreated giant walking dinosaurs for a How To Train Your Dragon exhibition. WOW.
MARITA LEUVER
from Australia. Graphic Designer. Strong believer that talent doesn't take care of itself. "Talent needs dedication, passion, and commitment. And creativity."
HUGO DAVIDSON
from Australia. Industrial designer. "The more radical the marketing, the more radical the feedback." Had some risky ads out for knog. SEXY CITY BIKE. Got in trouble for a native american ad that complainers said was culturally insensitive. Tried removing offensive material while maintaining humor and playfulness.
FELIPE TABORDA
from Brazil. I like this guy because he entered the stage dancing! He does design workshops for students, often with bad backgrounds or limited schooling. He showed us some environmental posters that were made 20 years ago and are still relavent today.
"today the world has changed a lot, for worse."
He feels that nothing has been done for the environment except for awareness. People too much want instant results.
LINDA JUKIC
from Australia. Had 10 main points to her presentation, and made a short video for each one, which I thought was very cool.
-Find something that flicks your switch
-A career is a garden
-Eat words for breakfast (a brand should have a voice. Be able to articulate what you want)
-A day feels like a game of ping pong (feel your way through the game)
-Match a little, Mix a lot (deliver best creative outcome for client)
-Between here and there (enjoy the ride)
-We all are human (sometime we make a mess. Let's design for other humans!)
-It's not about you, it's about it (it's not just for your portfolio)
-From the inside out ("people follow because they have a reason to believe")
-To be continue... (never stop learning & making new things. Maintain relevance)
JIM SINATRA
from Australia. Landscape architect. This guy talked a bunch about some of his landscaping projects, he was also really funny and had a lot to say! He is older, so he's been in this business a long time and know the ups and downs. "You have to have a thick skin to be in this thing...having a think skin allows you to develop things you wouldn't have thought of before (when your clients don't like what you like.)" I was really touched when he talked about traveling around Australia. "There are so many stories, there is something special about Australia. You gotta travel to understand. This place is alive." He mentioned that he has watched the movie Avatar 13 times. He likes the special relationship between humans and the natural world. "Nothin is boring about nature." Rock on, Jim Sinatra!
REE TREWEEK
from South Africa. Works with "The Blackheart Gang" and "Shy the Sun". They make super cool animations on youtube. (See The Tale of How) They've made commercials for United Airlines, Bakers Biscuits, and a Beatles animation for Rock Band.
-United Airlines Commercial
-The Tale of How
http://youtu.be/EiVddY3LdtI
NED CULIC - BRUCE WEATHERHEAD TRIBUTE (1939 - 2011)
"computers are nice, but conceptual thinking must be done with a pencil!"
"don't neglect the importance of reference"
ASH KEATING
from Australia. This guy does cool projects like drawing the ocean on a billboard, and then every week he paints of a section and makes it look like its drying up until it is just a deserty and dry landscape. He also had a "rubbish monster" project wear people wore garbage costumes while doing normal, everyday things.
MARIAN BANTJES
from Canada. Christina LOVED this girl. She does very detailed illustrations. She also writes poetry. She likes designing and sending valentines to her friends. She doesn't really have a process to how she does her work, she just does it. She talked about an awesome magazine cover she designed for Western Living. The magazine rejected her cover even thought it was so AWESOME. "I still put it in my portfolio so fuck them." hahaha. She's interested in sustainability, in the future, and in death and memory. She draws over old postcards to revive them or give them a new meaning, and then sends them to people.
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