AGIdeas 2007 wrap-up
Monday, April 30, 2007
AGIdeas is the biggest international design event in Melbourne. I've been going since I was a Swinburne design student some ten years ago. It was this event that introduced me to many of the great designers of today. I still attend with excitement in anticipation of the great creative ideas I’m going to learn all about.
This year I was sitting in my chair way at the back of Hamer Hall. In front of me was a young thankless student listening to his iPod so loud I could practically sing along. I sat watching the last ten minutes of Paula Scher. This was one of the few opportunities I had to be able to get away from my work commitments and I'd been looking forward to seeing Paula speak for ages.
She must have spoken about her commercial work from Pentagram before I got there. I know her work fairly well, it is bold and intelligent - I could talk about it more but I won't. Instead I'd like to talk about her map paintings which she does in her country home three days a week.
In the example on the left, the postal codes differ from reality. Postcodes for affluent areas are placed over the slums and vice versa. In others, countries seem out of shape and names out of place. It's pretty clear that the importance is placed on the act of documenting the information rather than on the geographical accuracy.
These images seem so interesting to me as they intentionally invite ambiguity. The tension between the map as a tool to describe 'the truth' and the clear abstraction of the information is the very thing that makes these maps great. I like that Paula in an ‘Alla Prima’ style, can so comfortably (and proudly) document the 'greyness' of her own knowledge. I like it even more knowing that she could so easily edit herself and yet she chooses not to.
There were of course many other great speakers at AGIdeas. I managed to see Chip Kidd who was very entertaining. In true L.A. fashion his clients included a hot list of musicians, directors and authors.
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This year I was sitting in my chair way at the back of Hamer Hall. In front of me was a young thankless student listening to his iPod so loud I could practically sing along. I sat watching the last ten minutes of Paula Scher. This was one of the few opportunities I had to be able to get away from my work commitments and I'd been looking forward to seeing Paula speak for ages.
She must have spoken about her commercial work from Pentagram before I got there. I know her work fairly well, it is bold and intelligent - I could talk about it more but I won't. Instead I'd like to talk about her map paintings which she does in her country home three days a week.
I imagine that her maps are her reprieve. Mostly geographical, they give little credence to accuracy. They make some degree of sense but the information is jumbled.
In the example on the left, the postal codes differ from reality. Postcodes for affluent areas are placed over the slums and vice versa. In others, countries seem out of shape and names out of place. It's pretty clear that the importance is placed on the act of documenting the information rather than on the geographical accuracy.These images seem so interesting to me as they intentionally invite ambiguity. The tension between the map as a tool to describe 'the truth' and the clear abstraction of the information is the very thing that makes these maps great. I like that Paula in an ‘Alla Prima’ style, can so comfortably (and proudly) document the 'greyness' of her own knowledge. I like it even more knowing that she could so easily edit herself and yet she chooses not to.
There were of course many other great speakers at AGIdeas. I managed to see Chip Kidd who was very entertaining. In true L.A. fashion his clients included a hot list of musicians, directors and authors.
His work for Francis Coppola’s Zoetrope magazine pictured on the left is stunning. It incorporates a series of photographed 40’s pulp dioramas. He has also designed book covers for one of my favorite authors James Ellroy and the record cover for Paul Simons. It was reassuring to hear him say that even he gets it wrong sometimes as he relayed instances of presenting work that didn’t hit the mark until the second or third presentation.
Like all good things AGIdeas has come to an end. We’re all back at our desks working away but more interested than ever in design.
Like all good things AGIdeas has come to an end. We’re all back at our desks working away but more interested than ever in design.
Tim Kotsiakos, Creative Director
Labels: Design and Usability, Reactive
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