threaded method in the madness edition 2008/2009 new zealand $17.00 $12.95 australia
THREADED 7, 2009 06.
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madness
method in the
“Though this be madness, yet there be method in it”. Hamlet Act II, Scene II It’s not Hamlet that says the above line, but the wily old courtier Polonius. He also utters the truisms: “Brevity is the soul of wit” and “To thine own self be true”. There we go again: off on a digression already, before we even get down to cases. But that’s one method you see, to circle a subject warily, to dazzle an audience with tangents and then WHAM! Get straight to the point. There must be method in the madness. And without a measure of madness in the method, where is that lifeblood of all creative enterprises, the inspiration? We’re all mad around here you know, otherwise nothing would ever get done! Some of you may need a night on the tiles, drinking exotic shooters out of a skull, before you face the potential abyss of a blank canvas. Still others of you might need to obsessively sharpen all your pencils and alphabetise your CD collection, before the real work begins. But you all know the drill, it comes down to this: whatever works baby! Rest assured that all the artists assembled in this fine publication have plenty of method, and varying degrees of madness. Where the madness ends and the method begins, you must decide yourself or, as Polonius himself put it: “Reserve thy judgement”. And there we are, back where we started. Well, that’s the method of this particular madness… Foreword by Scott Alexander Young www.youtube.com/scottalexanderyoung
02. THREADED
CONTENTS
PHILIP ROSIEUR
16. Harness
Imag
es W ill D
Call For Submissions
omin ate
ey
n
25.
Ex
hi
io bit
l Al
26.
38.
CONTENTS
PHILIP ROSIEUR
THREADED 03.
Editorial
04.
06.
Pigeon-Hole
Table Of Contents
East to West
Pro ces s
50.
Process n i th Wi
10.
Do Disturb
44.
04. THREADED
EDITORIAL
FIONA GRIEVE
Themes are an odd thing; selecting the right one for each edition can be a challenging process. Past editions of Threaded have drawn influences from a variety of sources ranging from daily realities to global complexities, each one finding parallels between work, life and love. 'Method in the Madness' kind of snuck up on us like a stealth submarine while we were deep in our own madness reflecting on the lifeblood of all creative enterprise: our inspiration. Perhaps we just needed to be reminded that even creative madness involves some artful method and order, as the young playwright William Shakespeare pointed out. Threaded Ed. 6 unpacks the madness and attempts to reveal the methods of a number of talented practitioners. The designers and artists represented in this edition all required a certain degree of madness to be involved and a great deal of method given the collaborative nature of each profile.
Hamlet Act II, Scene II
FIONA GRIEVE
EDITORIAL
THREADED 05.
EDITOR Fiona Grieve
ED.fl
Alt Group's cover and gatefold design have set the tone for this issue and,once again, we are extremely excited to profile New Zealand practitioners and collaborate with guest designers from DNA, Jasmax and Alt Group. All have generously engaged in the spirit of the project and, on behalf of all those involved, I hope you enjoy the method and madness of Ed. 6 as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.
DESIGN Kyra Bradcock PRODUCTION Threaded Media Limited ART DIRECTION Kyra Bradcock Fiona Grieve Alt Group – Cover and Gatefold GUEST DESIGNERS Philip Rosieur Livia Lima Kylie Phillips Lucy Sellars Sarah Kappely Sam Yong PRINTER Alliance Printers Limited PAPER SUPPLIER Spicers Paper Limited PRACTITIONER SHOWCASE Alt Group DNA Jasmax Pauline Bern Alan Preston Mark Braunias Paul Johns PHOTOGRAPHY Toaki Okano Simon Devitt STUDENT SHOWCASE Ilke Gers Kate Dewar Philip Rosieur Storme McGregor Sam Yong Rebekah Robinson Amber Wilson Phillipa Cowdrey Charlene Srhoj Maya Wilson
.. ...
SPONSORSHIP Unitec New Zealand Spicers Paper Limited Trunk Media Limited SUBMISSIONS We welcome contributions and submissions are open for Ed. 7. Please send work on a disc to: Threaded Media Limited PO Box 79 382 Royal Heights Waitakere City 0656 AUCKLAND www.threaded.co.nz No part of this publication can be copied or reproduced in any way/form or by electronic means without written permission from Threaded Media Limited.
06. THREADED
PIGEON-HOLE
world sweet world What happens when two Kiwi designers, hooked on the Make-It-Yourself (MIY) revolution, see the need for a new magazine for creative New Zealanders? They make one themselves, of course. For Thomas Schickedanz and Hannah Gardiner, the beginnings pretty much epitomise the concept of World Sweet World, a Kiwi, alternative indie MIY and lifestyle magazine. “Basically, we like making stuff,” says Hannah, “and we know that loads of other people do as well, but when we looked around for a magazine for makers and creative folk in New Zealand, we were surprised to find that none existed. It’s part of who we are as Kiwis, but seems to be really under-represented in terms of our local magazine fare.” Taking inspiration from 1970s how-to books, with a modern, indie spin, the two have created a magazine that slots neatly
into the gap between high-end design magazines and the more traditional craft fare currently on offer. “We saw this gaping hole,” says Thomas, “There just didn’t seem to be anything around for people who are hands-on creative, that had fun projects with a design aesthetic. The world’s resources aren't limitless, so we wanted to provide people with new ways of looking at their waste and energy consumption. Our projects focus on ‘up-cycling’ things, rather than throwing them away.” Split into two parts, it has beautifully illustrated, step-by-step instructions for making cool stuff followed by fun articles about people, places or things. Since the first issue in March this year, World Sweet World has shown everything from re-upholstering kitchen chairs using old billboard skins and making tumblers out of beer bottles, to constructing a
ABOVE LEFT: WORLD SWEET WORLD COVERS Issues 1, 2 & 3 ABOVE:
CHAIR RE-UPHOLSTERED WITH BILLBOARD VINYL – Project from Issue 1
solar cooker from cardboard boxes, and a greenhouse from an old window. World Sweet World magazine aims to be a swap-meet of creativity, so readers are invited to participate in creating content. Hannah says, “We didn’t start this to be the authority on sustainable living, or the whole handmade thing. We just want to share ideas that other people have, and hopefully provide a bit of inspiration.” It seems they’re on the right track – feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and the stories are pouring in. But as Thomas and Hannah say, there’s always room for more. Check them out online at www.worldsweetworld.com to find out where you can nab yourself a copy.
lol-lies Scott Facer is an object designer whose interest lies in people’s tactile, cognitive and emotional engagement with their surroundings, with particular focus on their relationships with objects. He creates objects that playfully push the experiential potential of everyday materiality beyond mere aesthetics and function. In these cast glass works, Facer exploits found forms, recreating them as a revelation and celebration of beauty, form and texture hidden within the mundane. The Lol-lies range can be purchased online from – http://creamofmatakana.co.nz or email – contact@scottfacer.com Visit – http://scottfacer.com for more.
LEFT:
LOL-LIES GLASS WORKS Available in Jetplanes, Winegums and Mint Leaves
ABOVE:
UNTITLED GLASS WORK Domestic Landscape
PIGEON-HOLE
novo Auckland-based designer Per Dahlgren decided to create something outside his useful freelance work. He was in need of a laptop bag and discovered that a good one was hard to find. The NOVO shoulder bag came from the idea of creating a bag that could protect your precious little laptop while also being a nice shoulder bag. After designing a series of screen-printed geometrical patterns, Dahlgren has created the ideal laptop bag that can be equally suitable as an ordinary shoulder bag.
extra padding to protect your laptop available in two sizes (14" and 15")
The bags are available in a blue or green pattern on the outside with a contrasting colour inside. All bags are padded for extra protection and are available in either small, which fits a MacBook or a larger size for MacBook Pro or similar. The Dahlgren brand will continue to bring out new designs all made skilfully in New Zealand. Look out for more interesting products and information about things to come at www.dahlgren.co.nz - which is currently under construction.
stay ugly Valentin Ozich and Sam Young met at design school and realised that they were both never truly interested in being traditional graphic designers. When they realised that they would rather spend their days scribbling on paper and creating work for themselves rather than for clients they formed the company I Love Ugly.
beauty – ugly is beautiful. Although it is a relatively new company with a passion for clothing (mainly tees and sweatshirts),, illustration and art, and the occasional design job, the future looks bright as they plan for a Zine, and continue to exhibit their artwork and develop their clothing range.
Ozich and Young share the same interests and approach to illustration, art and clothing, and found that any differing stylistic tendencies complemented their process. Enabling them to create something unique and fresh as they strive to produce original graphics and clothing which won’t be seen anywhere else. The collaborative approach to the company is a useful way to work, has been helpful to the pairs individual styles and provides new approaches and ideas.
Ozich has completed some client work for Adidas Originals and Stitch Ministry, and the pair has also just completed the tee for the Vodafone Music Awards. They are currently doing album artwork for an up-and-coming band – keep an eye out as they have more exhibitions in the pipeline, and are expanding their range of clothing into more stockists too. The website www.iloveugly.net is almost ready for launch; feel free to make contact if you want anything cool done. Stockists: slick willy’s Dunedin, LITTLE BLACK CROWN St Kevin’s Arcarde, KRd, Auckland, liquid Brunswick St, Melbourne.
I Love Ugly is about challenging notions of “what is beautiful?” The designers create graphic work that is ugly yet beautiful, through their use of style and composition to challenge assumptions and ideals of
THREADED 07.
Stay Ugly.
ABOVE:
NOVO BAG Material detail
BELOW:
I LOVE UGLY T-SHIRT Valentin Ozich and Sam Young
BOTTOM: ADIDAS ORIGINALS, Valentin Ozich
08. THREADED
PIGEON-HOLE
sisterly love Search ‘New Zealand design store’ on Google and endemicworld.com is at the top of the list. In just under a year, endemicworld.com has cemented its position as the place to go to buy New Zealand products in an accessible, fast, and secure online environment. So far, there are 40+ designers selling their 500+ products ranging from homeware, apparel, publications, paper products and bags, to jewellery. endemicworld.com is a sister company to the design business of Studio Alexander. Directors, brother and sister, Elliot and Kate Alexander have design in their blood. They understand the importance of brand and market positioning. They don’t see their company as simply a retailer. Says Elliot, “We want to help new emerging designers build their businesses and brands. When we take on new suppliers of design products, we listen to their goals and work with them, and help them achieve these by sharing knowledge. Continual refinement and growth in turn grows endemicworld. com’s design community.”
TOP: KINOO T-SHIRT ABOVE: STFYM ART TOYS BY CINZAH MERKENS
endemicworld.com has also made a start on manufacturing its own products under the brand name kinoo. “We appreciate the full product lifecycle from design to
manufacture, selling and fulfilment. And the best thing about that is that we now understand the challenges our suppliers face,” says Kate. endemicworld.com has progressively built a virtual community around its website through networks on Facebook, vimeo, the endemicworld.com blog, their Chatterati newsletter and flickr. Elliot and Kate are building their online platform for the discussion, promotion and selling of New Zealand design. So, what does the future hold? “There are plenty of ideas, but deciding which one to execute first is the challenge,” says Elliot. Apparently you have to sign up to their Chatterati newsletter to be the first to know… For further information, contact Elliot Alexander of endemicworld.com on tel. 09 446 0796 or elliot@endemicworld.com
THREADED SPECIAL OFFER: Join the endemicworld.com Chatterati, by emailing “I love Threaded” to info@endemicworld.com and you’ll go in the draw to win two 100% organic cotton sprout bags by Ooid.
conversations on design Design Assembly #2 is set for 26 November and seats are already disappearing fast. Graphic Designer, Louise Kellerman, felt that there was a lack of local regular industry events for Graphic Designers in Auckland. On Wednesday 27 August, a new event for professional Graphic Designers was launched in Auckland in the Art and Design Faculty of AUT to a full house.
TOP LEFT:
LOUISE KELLERMAN
TOP RIGHT:
SHAUN LEE
BOTTOM LEFT:
WELBY INGS
BOTTOM RIGHT:
KATE ALEXANDER
Kellerman’s initiative of Design Assembly aims to encourage a connected community among the graphic design profession in Auckland and to provide regular injections of energy and motivation throughout the year. At the launch evening, the audience was treated to three speakers. Kate Alexander from Studio Alexander discussed ‘The democratisation of ideas’. She showed us a multitude of websites that allow idea collection and trend-spotting on a daily basis, as well as anonymous creative pitching on an international scale. Shaun Lee from Lee ter Wal Design talked about the psychology
of ‘Message cognition and design’ and a framework for qualifying graphic design. Last up was Welby Ings from AUT who inspired and thrilled the audience with his conversation on ‘Marriage of the impossible: creativity and improbable connection’. He challenged us to reconsider our creative processes and had the members of the audience thinking and talking to each other. The evening was a great success – from the wine served by sponsor www.mychillybin.co.nz and the vodka cocktails served by sponsor www.andvodka.co.nz through to the spot prizes drawn at the end of the night provided by www.gordonharris.co.nz, www.endemicworld.com and www.mychillybin.co.nz For more information about Design Assembly, to speak at a Design Assembly or to come along in November – check out www.designassembly.org.nz
PIGEON-HOLE
locating our feet TypeSHED11’s aim is to raise awareness of typography’s role – socially, politically and culturally. It provides a framework for content, where typography is the thread, leaving ground for the 300 practitioners, students, academics and theorists to take hold and use this opportunity as a forum to tease out ideas and critical thought, and to participate in rigorous debate and dialogue. “Typography as both art and profession,” observes design consultant, Ray Labone, “has undergone immense change in approach and application in the past 50 years, and is currently going through a phase of democratisation and intense technology and new media-driven transformation. As an art form, it is a media capable of lending voice to powerful ideas. As a communication form, it is often poorly understood and interpreted.” Some of the world’s key figures in design and typography, along with some not-so-well-known, are coming to New Zealand to mix with New Zealanders, where serendipity will occur and the unexpected will happen. At least, that’s what TypeSHED11 intends – it is a unique prospect to be exposed to good minds for anyone with a fundamental interest in typography. TypeSHED11 is New Zealand’s first-ever international typography symposium (Wellington, 11–15 February 2009), aimed at graphic design, advertising, photography, film, literature, architecture, music and the visual arts. Described as a “relevant and mind-expanding opportunity” by Tina Barton, director of Victoria University of Wellington’s Adam Art Gallery, the concept of TypeSHED11 demonstrates the “fundamental fact that we live in a designed world”. Barton recalls a comment by New Zealand type designer Kris Sowersby: “We consume type possibly more than any other medium in our daily lives – without the plethora of designed texts that surround us, we would most definitely lose our bearings.” A case in point – Bruno Maag, a speaker at the symposium, of Dalton Maag, the London-based type specialists, was responsible for the design of Latin and Arabic scripts for signage through metro stations in Dubai. Maag’s goal for TransportDubai was to create a “considered and harmonious design that respects both script cultures. Both were developed in parallel to ensure that neither exerts undue influence over the other.”
THREADED 09.
BE IN TO WIN! REGISTER NOW at BY CATHERINE GRIFFITHS
Then you figure that disorientation, losing your bearings, is an experience, too, when letterforms and word-sounds jar. I read a blog the other day by a young New Zealand-based San Francisco designer, who not only complained about TypeSHED11’s pricing, but also expressed her irritation at the (not uncommon) mispronunciation of the surname of the great US artist and typographer, Ed Ruscha, (should be Roo-shay), at a recent design forum in Wellington. Her brief moment of displacement, as a foreigner on foreign soil, snapped to grid, hearing a Kiwi misrepresent an element of her culture.
(www.typeshed11.co.nz/register) and send an email to be@typeshed11.co.nz with Threaded Dalton Maag in the subject line, stating your registration. The first three will win silver sponsor, Dalton Maag's 'Work in Progress' catalogue. Bruno Maag will be speaking at TypeSHED11, and will run a series of font workshops over two days.
TypeSHED11, International typography symposium, Wellington, New Zealand. 11–15 February 2009
Displacement through words and sounds is evident as well, in Vincent O’Sullivan’s text sculpture from the Wellington Writers’ Walk – an excerpt from Driving South with Lucy to the Big Blue Hills: Then it’s Wellington we’re coming to! It’s time, she says, It’s time surely for us to change lanes, change tongues; they speak so differently down here. And that’s just on the road between Auckland and Wellington.
It is typography – letterforms, their combination and sequences – that carries the weight of meaning into our lives. Considered typography must fill that space between content and its audience. As New Zealand works to locate its typographic feet, TypeSHED11 plans to be an infusion of informed commentary to fire up a sense of purpose and expression. With registration for 300, TypeSHED11 (www.typeshed11.co.nz), organised by Simone Wolf, Typevents Italy (www.typevents.com), with Catherine Griffiths, will be a “watershed event for New Zealand design”. Register now! www.typeshed11.co.nz/register
ABOVE: WHILE YOU’RE UP COULD YOU PUT THE JUG ON, 2007. Sarah Maxey. Courtesy Bowen Galleries. RIGHT: SUGGESTIONS Poster, 2007. David Bennewith deals with Joseph Churchward’s suggestions for TV2. Both Maxey and Bennewith will be speaking and exhibiting at TypeSHED11.
10. THREADED
PROCESS WITHIN PROCESS
DNA
AUTHOR’S NAME DNA
PROCESS WITHIN PROCESS
THREADED 11.
12. THREADED
PROCESS WITHIN PROCESS
DNA
DNA
PROCESS WITHIN PROCESS
THREADED 13.
14. THREADED
10:31/> 0:31/> / IItt w was
hard for me to begin with…to feel like I was making a contribution. It was frustrating and I needed to realise that even though it was my first job, my opinion and perspective were still important in the process.
PROCESS WITHIN PROCESS
/ I had this 0:36/> //10:36/>
idea that you finish Uni, get a job and everything is then sorted but in reality this is a myth.
work differently from other designer s. I have my own method/process… everyone does.
/ >Conntext is 3:10/> /13:10/ everything.
/13:12/> 3:12/> / We’ We’re W ’ not
/13:19/> 3:19/> / DDon’t on’ think hi k
important to hang on to what you love and what you believe is right as the industry has a tendency to try and mould you into what it thinks is good design.
design bitches.
No, I need them. It’s a bit of an obsessivecompulsive thing I have going on – with systems, organising things and being methodical.
/14:44/> 4:44/> / >I was in i a
/15:14/> 5:14/> / YYep, ep quality li
/ It’s 5:16/> 15:16/> /1 It s a
is way more important than the time it takes to produce it. The work should be the best it can be rather than struggling to fit into an unrealistic time schedule.
revealing meaning, playing with physical layers of paper, paying attention to detail and always adding an element of surprise in what I do.
/12:19/ 2:19/> / >I fin fi d that h
/14:40/> 4:40/> / DDon’t on’ you
think designers are often seen as a little weird?
when I started working that I really had to claim my space within the agency.
/12:15/> 12:15/> / It’s really
/ W 3:50/> /13:50/> 13:59/> 3:59/> / I like h I fill iin /1 When Whe lik grids. id my occupation on the New Zealand arrival form, it’s great that I can finally say I’m a designer.
/1 10:51/> 0:51/> / I fou found
/11:38/> 11:38/> / I lov /11:33/> 1:33/> / I walk love walk along l the street and all I see is bad kerning.
/ > It’s’ OK to 2:11/> /12:11/
DNA
café and saw an old stack of newspapers on the floor. I could see this amazing pattern of colour from the way they were stacked and I just had to take a photo.
love, hate thing… sometimes it can be a burden as you take it with you everywhere.
experimental work doesn’t seem to be recognised as much. But I feel this is where the good ideas come from so I keep playing, keep experimenting.
you will get stuck into a project straightaway – it took me quite a while to have my own project as you’re often finding your way, learning about the company and helping the senior designers out before you can get your teeth into something decent. This is normal when you’re new.
/14:45/> 4:45/> / YYou ou know, k
I soon learnt that you need to voice your opinions to earn respect from colleagues. I really think you have to be confident in your own ability and then people will respect you. If you don’t agree with a certain direction, you need to say so. It’s OK to not agree and state your case as long as you have a good rationale, a good reason for why you want to do it your way.
/ Yep 0:51/> 10:51/> /1 Yep, I
needed to respect my own process. Of course, it’s natural that everyone has their own process: the way they do things. Some people like to mock things up, or print things and others sketch. And just because you work in a studio it doesn’t mean you should change your process and how you approach a project.
/12:25/> 2:25/> / It’s a bit bi off
a cliché but I think it’s important to believe in yourself, believe that you are good then have the courage to push hard for what you believe in. I need to believe I’m a good designer as sometimes no one else will tell me I’m good.
/10:58/> 10:58/> / I felt f
/ >Th 1:02/> 11:02/> /1 The
/ Mag 1:40/> /11:40/> Magazines,
/11:5 11 1:51 1/> /> / Andd then
/1 12:26/> 2:26/> / >I don d don’t ’
//>IIt’s’ hhardd 2:48/> 12:48 /1
like I was learning from scratch all over again. It was like going back to school and basically learning what the agency systems were.
books, everyday life, galleries, travel, people watching…gather and connect ideas from a variety of resources, filter them and then use them as stepping stones to an idea.
know what to say. I am going around in circles at the moment!!! One of these days…
/13:21/> 3:21/> / Lots of
the critiquing I had while studying helped me at DNA. Being critiqued often has enabled me to critique others and say what I think.
/14:11/> 4:11/> / FFor or me
there is something quite special about the tactile qualities of an object; exploring format, manipulating paper, playing with scale and trying new binding techniques and then paring it all back to enhance the work without overpowering it. It’s about the subtle skill of craft.
/1 15:21/> 5:21/> / I’ve got
to say, getting your first business card is pretty damn cool.
/14:17/> 4:17/> / Ah Ah, yes.
Being thick skinned is definitely a prerequisite to being a designer. Criticism comes with the job and you soon become open and even receptive to it.
/1 14:49/> 4:49/> / I get really ll
important thing about Uni is it taught me how to come up with ideas. You learn how to research, to conceptualise, to strategise – this is vital in the industry.
there are times when ideas will come when you least expec t them – in the shower, driving, dreaming, in bed, at a café, while talking to people…
to constantly be creatively challenged at work. I’ve found it vital for personal development to keep working on personal projects or freelance work that allow you to express yourself fully. You can be tired after work but it’s still really important to keep this discipline up.
/ The thing 4:19/> 14:19/> /1
is to be proactive about a project. I try to take the initiative and then exceed what is expected from my agency and the client. I like to see their reactions and hope they’re pleasantly surprised. It’s a good feeling.
angry when other people don’t get excited about design (laughter).
/1 15:24/> 5:24/> / YYet I
need constraints sometimes to be creative.
/ I lov /15:25/> li llove lines.
DNA
/ RResearch 1:05/> //11:05/> h es
is really important to me – I want to know what is going on in the world and to be aware. It’s good to be informed.
//11:56/> 1:56/> / Uni U i is i a
journey in itself. I used it as an opportunity to do what I wanted: to explore with no restrictions.
/ I like 2:52/> //12:52/> be lik to b
in front of the client as much as I can – getting to know what it is that they really want. No one else can sell an idea better than the person who created it.
//13:25/> 3:25/> / It’s IIt ’s not n all ll
perfect…we’re not all perfect.
/1 11:06/> 1:06/> / Wh When Whe
working in a studio, I’ve found there is often little time for research (client, product, service, competitors…) but I‘ve been trained to research so it feels wrong not to. I try to keep it up as I know research will make a difference to the idea. Beyond that, I am credible when presenting my ideas. Research feeds into the big idea and the more you feed your brain, the more ideas you get. It’s that simple.
/ CColo 12:53/> /12:53/> Colours:
Silver – LL. Brown and Gold – KP. White – LL/ KP/LS. Black – KP. Pastels – LL/KP/LS. Back Section of Pantone Uncoated Swatches – LS/KP. Muted – KP. Fluro – LS.
/1 13:36/> 3:36/> / AAny brief
I get now, I try and make it as creative as it can be and push the boundaries of what is required even if this means being prepared for an uphill battle.
/14:22/> / 4:22/> / It’s I ’ ttaken k
/ >HHaving 4:23/> /14:23/> avi a
/14:55/> / 4:55/> / Fini Finishes: Fi i h
/15:03 5:03/> //>AAlthhough,
a while but I’ve learnt not to accept everything at face value. Now I ask why and constantly challenge the brief.
White on White – KP/ LL. Black on Black – KP/LL/LS. Foil – KP/ LL/LS. Overprinted Varnishes – KP/LL. Open Spine Binding – LL/LS. Exposed Stitching – KP/LS. French Folding – KP. Die and Laser Cutting – LS/KP. Screen Printing – KP/ LS. Embossing and Debossing – LS.
good project is like having a baby – you nurture it, you want to see it do well and you get precious about it. It is an obsession and you want no one else to touch it.
the good thing about working in an agency is that support is always available if you need it – like from other designers, client service and production.
/ >I rea 5:28/> 15:28/> /1 ll really,
really like Pantone books. No, I don’t think you get it, I really like them. I’ve even been known to take swatches to a bar… just to admire colour combinations.
/11:10/> 1:10/> / Typ Typefaces: Archer – LL/LS/KP. Baskerville – LL/KP. Feijoa – LL. Gothic – LL. Glosa – LS. Mrs Eaves – LS/KP. Trade Gothic – KP.
/ I’I’ve 2:02/> 12:02/> 1 l I ve always
got something to learn. Within myself I know there is room for improvement: to constantly be that little bit better. I am a firm believer that you can learn a little bit from everyone – the good and bad. I think it’s also about admitting your weaknesses and being humble. Yeah, you don’t know everything.
/ BBut 3:40/> /13:40/> i k ut pick
/11:14/> 1:14/> / I ha had h d an
amazing lecturer at Uni and that made a huge difference… he was more like a mentor and he kept pushing me harder and harder. He knew I could do better. It was tough at the time but this relationship was really important and it helped establish the type of designer I am today.
/13:01/> 3:01/> / >I thin think hi k
you need to take inspiration from outside of books. Get out there. It comes from everything and anything. Inspiration is everywhere. It’s about seeing the beauty in everything, and not taking things for granted.
your battles.
/14:26/> 4:26/> / AAll tthe time /1 14:31/> 4:31/> / I jus jjust love l I am questioning myself. Should I be a designer? Am I good enough? Especially when more experienced designers seem to have dismissed my ideas from the start. But I have to keep telling myself that this is what I should be doing and my ideas and my voice are still valid.
/1 15:38/> 5:38/> 5 38// >It’s I ’ llike ik that h quote “I’m a lucky person. The harder I work, the luckier I get.” It’s so right.
THREADED 15.
PROCESS WITHIN PROCESS
/ It’s 1:21/> 11:21/> /1 /1 11:16/> 1:16/> / It’s It s not a I ’ training i i yourself to see everything with a child’s eye.
party. You can’t just cram in study the day before. I was constantly working… you had to be prepared and superorganised.
/ TThe more 12:05/> /12:05/>
//12:07/> 2:07/> / I often ofte
/1 13:01/> 3:01/> / YYeah Yeah, I
/ II’I’m not 3:02/> 13:02/> /1 n
you design, the easier and faster the ideas come.
c ollect rubbish.
/13:42/> 3:42/> / HHaving avi to
design and adapt to other people’s design styles or using existing brand guidelines that you haven’t created can be really difficult. Sometimes you don’t agree with what has been done but have to use it anyway. That’s hard.
the smell of freshly printed ink on paper. It’s so good.
question myself: am I even supposed to be a designer, especially when my ideas are shot down or ignored before they even get to the client?
always creative; some days the ideas just don’t come. I’ve realised that’s OK too.
/13 //13:4 3:45 5/> / It’s /> I ’ rreally
ll bad. I eavesdrop all the time (laughter).
/1 14:37/> 4:37/> / SStock: toc
Uncoated – KP/LS/LL. Newsprint – KP/LL. Flocked – KP. Brown Box Board – LS. Transparencies – LL/ KP. Fabric – KP/LS. Recycled – LS.
/1 15:10/> 5:10/> / I wa was taking ki
//>Theere’s 4/> 15:14 /15:1 /1 15:13/> 5:13/> / Thi This design d i
//15:41/> 5:41/> / I alw always l
/1 16:07/> 6:07/> / EEvery ver day d
photos in the plane [of the lights, the seat in front of me, out the window and that sort of thing] and I was sure people were thinking that I’d never been on a plane before.
ask, is this the best it c an be?
thing, it’s a 24/7 job. I think I never really stop seeing. I pretty much see in design.
is different. With all method there is no madness, rather method celebrates the madness. Without it you won’t be able to get to the madness.
definitely less time, but more pressure when working on a brief.
k y /key. process reality inspiration attitude obsession study random
EXHIBITION ALLEY
XHIITIO LLEY
26. THREADED
ILKE GERS
LEFT: Reading Congress
Computer code used in a similar way as it was in the film The Matrix, inspired the typographical strategies employed in Ilke Gers Reading Congress project. The design intention is to promote the World Reading Congress through the concept that literacy brings clarity to confusion, showing that literacy and reading ‘enlightens’. RIGHT: You Buy
The intent of the revolving booklet You Buy is to combine three texts to reveal two sides of the paradox 'less is more’. The meaning in the texts is sourced from the poem, Andrea Del Sarto (The faultless painter) in which Robert Browning coined the term ‘less is more’, the anti-consumerist film Fight Club, and extracts from the film THX 1138, which is about an authoritarian, dystopian future, where the point of existence is consumption and economic efficiency. BOTTOM: 3D Type Book
3D Type Book documents research into typography and a desire to explore the new meanings that can be created when language is constructed in three-dimensional space, with physical materials. – ilksgers@hotmail.com
EXHIBITION ALLEY
ILKE GERS
THREADED 27.
THX IS IN A STORE. HE BUYS A
You buy BRIGHT
furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you’re satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you’ve got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you’re trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you u s e d t o own, no w COLORED
THREE-DIMENSIONAL
HEXAGON
PAYS FOR IT WITH HIS LEGAL BADGE PLACED IN A MACHINE
they
own
yo u.
YOU ARE A TRUE BELIEVER. BLESSINGS OF THE STATE. BLESSINGS OF THE MASSES. THOU ART A SUBJECT OF THE DIVINE. CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF MAN, BY MAN, FOR MAN. LET US BE THANKFUL WE HAVE COMMERCE. BUY MORE. BUY MORE NOW. BUY MORE AND BE HAPPY. Their works drop groundward, but themselves, I know, Reach many a time a heaven that’s shut to me, Enter and take their place there sure enough,
FEATURING
There burns a truer light of God in them, In their vexed beating stuffed and stopped-up brain, Heart, or whate’er else, than goes on to prompt This low-pulsed forthright craftsman’s hand of mine.
You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis. You’re the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. We’re designed to be hunters and we’re in a society of shopping. There’s nothing to kill anymore, there’s nothing to fight, nothing to overcome, nothing to explore. In that societal emasculation this everyman is created. THX ENTERS THE KITCHEN, NOTICES THE HEXAGON, AND PLACES IT INSIDE THE PRODUCT CONSUMER - SMALL, OVEN-LIKE APPLIANCE THAT DESTROYS IT INSTANTLY. HE MOVES SLOWLY, TRYING TO KEEP FROM BECOMING SICKER. HE OPENS ONE OF THE KITCHEN CABINETS, PRESSES SOME BUTTONS INSIDE, AND SITS DOWN AT THE TABLE. HE IS SHIVERING UNCONTROL L ABLY AND BREATHING HARD.PRODUCED TO BE CONSUMED!
EXPLORING VISUAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ILKE GERS
28. THREADED
EXHIBITION ALLEY
KATE DEWAR
KATE DEWAR
A Proposed Set Design for, 'Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'. At Tapac Theatre, Western Springs, Auckland TOP: Constructed sloped oor & discolouration guide, MIDDLE: Overview of the audiences seating area, BOTTOM: Scene Four, "The Shady Pie Consumption" Kate Dewar is able to speak about her practice as being one that involves critiquing existing conformities of spaces within the public realm and then transferring the language and rituals of other typologies such as the theatre and art galleries into these spaces. One would describe her interior aesthetic as a hybrid of performance and commerce.
Her projects have a tangible and experiential nature to them, whereby she sets up conditions of performance arenas which compel the visitor into a performance role whilst inhabiting the space. The visitor’s behaviour is subsequently guided by the spatial narrative she has created within the interior. She is always aiming to create spaces that orchestrate an
experience and encourage the use of one's imagination in order to create a sense of novelty. Kate has a high regard for confrontational, all-encompassing theatrical spaces such as those employed by the theatre group De La Guarda. luv_catzz@hotmail.com
PHILIP ROSIEUR
EXHIBITION ALLEY
THREADED 29.
while whi w whil hile h ile hi i le l e you y ou yo u are aar e going goin go oin i g mad... mad. mad m ad. ad d . .. ..
PHILIP ROSIEUR TOP & BOTTOM: Tom Waits' Song Excerpts from the Tom Waits song, Once Upon a Time There Was a Poor Child, influenced the narrative within several of Philip Rosieur's illustrations. In turn, Waits had taken and interpreted ideas from the play Woyznik. Rosieur's intention was to present a metaphorical interpretation of the song's lyrics, not necessarily accurate word for word, but playing on an intuitive and emotional sensibility.
while whil wh whi w hil h il e you y u are yo aarr e going go g o ing n mad... ng mad. mad ma aad. d ... with th tthe th e smell smel sm ell o off night, night nigh n h you have hav e gone gon m mad... ad... d... d ..
Personal links and narratives drive much of Rosieur’s designs; themes, which exist beyond the boundaries of social ‘normality’ such as violence, madness, overt sexuality and the bizarre, fascinate Rosieur and are often explored within his work. MIDDLE: While You Are Going Mad They Are Out Dancing This work is a tongue-in-cheek Freudian analysis of a dream he had. In the dream, lesbians steal his girlfriend while he subsequently turns mad. Rosieur employs forms from childhood illustrations to express an array of unsettling adult desires and utilises a sense of nostalgia or real life to create a connection through the recognition of reality. – philip.rosieur@gmail.com