Yellow Pencils!

The awards is here once more.

The D&AD Awards 2010 are open for entry. To be in with a chance to see your best work in the Annual next year, enter now.

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Wednesday 18 November 2009

An exerpt from the website:

"Yellow Pencils are recognised the world over as a symbol of true creative achievement.

D&AD has celebrated and nurtured outstanding work in design and advertising since 1962. Year on year the D&AD Annual showcases the very best work and continues to provide an unrivalled source of creative inspiration.

D&AD is about brilliant commercial creativity, wherever and however it's produced. Whether you work in Design, Advertising or Digital there is an awards category for your entry."

Visit the website.

KUASA Conference 2009

What a great year for design events in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia. Seeds of a creative economy?

So soon after the landmark event - KL DesignWeek 2009, now here's the next design conference rolling into town on 08-09 Aug 2009, brought to you by wREGA (THE graphic design association of Malaysia).

Event: Design Conference
Theme:
KUASA -- Design Power Asia
Date: 08-09 AUG 2009 (SAT - SUN)
Venue: University Malaya city campus, Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Costs: RM280 (professionals), RM230 (wREGA professional member), RM200 (students), RM180 (wREGA student member). USD100 (Foreign delegates). Workshops (minimal admin fee). Design Showcase/Party (FREE).

Top design minds from Asian region will present their topics for the conference on SATURDAY while SUNDAY is for post-conference student workshops... or any designer who's into "life-long-learning" (who isn't?). Some notable names: Ahn Sang-soo, Freeman Lau, Sudhir Sharma (of Elephant Design fame?), Hermawan Tanzil, Little Ong, Tarek Atrissi (he's Asian??). Details on speakers here.

Heard that the workshops have very limited seats (becos of venue limitations & the fact that all the workshops run concurrently - so you must choose one)... hope there isn't a mad rush for those... no news yet on who the speakers/facilitators/topic for the workshops yet. (heard some good stuff TBC - watch this space).

Also heard that the organisers wREGA pulled all stops in favors big & small from all their associates & suppliers to make the conference very affordable and great value for money. Since wREGA is a "not-for-profit" organisation, rest assured that every ringgit will be plowed back into organising bigger and better design activities/events for the benefit of the local design industry.

Heard some grumblings about the lack of local representation at a few previous local design conferences and this conference is no different as there's no Malaysian speaker on the speakers list. Sigh... maybe the Malaysian designers (there are really quite a few) are still shy to tap into the conference circuit celebrity thing.

But at least there will be a hands-on design workshop conducted by local designers (rumored to be about comics graphic novel production) and also a local Designers Showcase/Art Installation + Party on SUNDAY which will be curated by JayLim & Vivian of Moooving Art / Tsubaki Studios / Miss Hua fame. More on the showcase /party later.

All in all, sounds like a-lot of fun while learning & exploring design matters.
See you all there!

Everyone is a designer. Yes?

by: Thierry van Kerm

Besides the common question about what is design, another is what is a designer or rather, who is a designer? If we are convinced that design is all around us, and that we live in a designed world, then is everyone a designer? And, in that sense, how can a designer make a living or make a difference?

When lecturing I am often asked by designers or companies, who is a designer and who is not. I simply ask the audience, who has a camera? Usually all hands go up because everyone has a camera. Then I ask, who takes pictures? All hands go up again. Why would you have a camera if not to take pictures? Then I ask, who has had images published? A few hands down but most people keep pointing their fingers to the ceiling. We all have published an image in a book, in a newsletter or on a blog, haven’t we? Then I ask, who is a photographer? Only a couple of hands are still up. So, most of us are taking pictures and most of us are publishing pictures. In this situation, how is the professional photographer supposed to earn a living? What does a professional photographer have to do to convince you to pay for his or her services?

Designers face exactly the same problem, how to convince clients who have managed for years without a designer to pay for their services? The answer is very simple. By demonstrating sound strong expertise, skills, knowledge and competences on the one hand and on the other demonstrating that paying for the services of a designer will in the end be a benefit to the client not a cost. Working with a professional designer has to make the difference in terms of return on the client’s investment. It’s not a question of being money-driven or not, its just a question of understanding the client’s concerns.

It sounds easy but it doesn’t always work out that way would be the usual answer from designers. It is not easy not because what I said was wrong but because they may have not been taught in terms of expertise, skills, competence and knowledge. Designers may have gained some of these capabilities through their education or careers but it may never been given its due priority. Therefore, they may not be able to demonstrate to clients or potential employers a designer’s added value.

As we see, the key is education, whether in school, college, university or lifelong learning. Educators have a major role to play helping designers acquire appropriate skills, competences and knowledge. They can make a difference by proposing projects in terms of conscious skills, competence and knowledge development, by assessing skills, competences and knowledge development as well the aesthetics of the projects. And, they can help students evaluate their projects against a clear predefined brief and test the outcomes against real world values.

Of course, the next question is, what are the relevant skills, competences and knowledge that are required, and how can students and graduates gain these capabilities? Good questions for a future debate.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
article source: EDTI (European Design Training Incubator)

illustration by Jonathan Puckey, a graphic designer based in amsterdam who creates work that borders on art and employs technology in new ways.

Panel Discussion: Examining the Aesthetic Choices of our Urban Environment

Galeri Petronas,
Suria KLCC.

09 May 2009 - SAT,
4:00pm

Bringing a range of perspectives from architecture to design, the session will explore a range of issues concerning the development of our urban environment, from the selection of public sculptures to urban planning and architecture as well as the relationship between urban communities and the space that they inhabit.

Panelists: William Harald-Wong, Kevin Mark Low and Azhar Ahmad
Moderator: Sharaad Kuttan

FREE. Open to all. Find out more here.
Interests: architecture, art/sculpture, design, local/urban culture

This forum is held in-conjunction with the art exhibition "Cadangan-cadangan untuk Negara Ku" (Suggestions for my Nation) by Liew Kung Yu.
Inspired by the monuments and public sculptures found in Malaysia, artist Liew Kung Yu has created eight new works that offers the viewers of what Malaysia could look like in the future. The sculptural works comprise a Photoshop montage of various public sculptures found in the country such as the giant Pitcher Plant at Dataran Merdeka and the concrete tigers at Zoo Negara. Kung Yu's works are playful, theatrical, extremely kitsch and strangely beautiful.

Living abroad? Study shows you’re likely to be creative

SINGAPORE, April 24 — Living abroad helps people expand their experiences and also their minds, according to an international study into the link between moving to another country and creativity.

The research, published by the American Psychological Association, consisted of five studies involving students at Paris’ Sorbonne University, at INSEAD, a business school with campuses in France and Singapore and at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the United States.

Researchers said that although the studies show a strong relationship between living abroad and creativity, they do not prove that living abroad and adapting to a new culture actually cause people to be more creative. “This research may have something to say about the increasing impact of globalisation on the world, a fact that has been hammered home by the recent financial crisis,” said the study’s lead author, William Maddux, assistant professor of organisational behaviour at INSEAD.

“Knowing that experiences abroad are critical for creative output makes study abroad programmes and job assignments in other countries that much more important, especially for people and companies that put a premium on creativity and innovation.”

In one study, MBA students at the Kellogg School were asked to solve the Duncker candle problem, a classic test of creative insight in which individuals are presented with three objects on a table placed next to a cardboard wall: a candle, a pack of matches and a box of tacks. The task is to attach the candle to the wall so that the candle burns properly and does not drip wax on the table or the floor and the correct solution involves using the empty box of tacks as a candleholder, and then tack it to the wall.

The solution is considered a measure of creative insight because it involves the ability to see objects as performing different functions from what is typical and the results showed that the longer students had spent living abroad, the more likely they were to come up with the solution.

The findings appear in the May issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association.

— Reuters

Defining the design arena: Join the ‘design umbrella’

article source: EDTI (European Design Training Incubator)
Recently, at design innovation, we were looking for new trainers to talk about the different design domains. My first question to the candidates was, who is a designer? Only half raised their hands. To my surprise, apart from artists or art historians, the others who kept their hands down were graphic designers, fashion designers or interior architects, people we assume to be designers.

It means that designers themselves do not know they are part of the design business. I’ve heard many times designers complaining about clients who don’t know what design is. How do we expect a client to know what design is if designers themselves don’t know? How therefore can we expect someone to buy design services or expertise? This confused situation has direct economic impacts in terms of clients not using designers.

Defining design domains does not mean restricting creativity. It just helps outsiders to apprehend what design is, who to call and for what services. It helps design businesses and client satisfaction. Health-care (designers love comparing themselves to doctors) is a huge area of expertise: doctors, surgeons, paediatricians, dentists, anaesthetists, general practitioners, orthodontists and many others. We, as clients, know which door to knock at if we have a cold or a broken leg. We are aware there are different doors but we know they are all doctors. Why can it not be the same with design? All designers should know they are ‘designers’, and they should know how to position themselves on the design map. This should be communicated to clients to understand the scope of design.

While developing the EDTI surveys, we faced the question of listing design domains. It sounded easy and obvious but it ended up in lengthy debates. The question was not that easy. Nevertheless, we finally came up with a list of 7 main design domains, some 40 sub-domains and close to 200 sub-sub-domains. Is this the final list of design domains? Most likely not but it might become a standard or a foundation for a future standard. Comments on the list are invited.

All designers, design schools, design associations and design organisations could gather under a common ‘design’ umbrella and use a common language and organisational structure for design disciplines, design domains or design categories. This would be a huge step towards the development of the design and creative industries. At an individual level, it would be a huge step forward in each designer’s career development.

Thierry Van Kerm
EDTI co-ordinator

+ + + + + + + + +
Be proactive -- join wREGA (wakaf Reka Grafik) Malaysia, speak up and make a difference on things that matter to you as a designer.

Wonderful Market + 1st Pipiteer Gathering

1st Designer Hand-made Creative Market

03 May 2009 - SUN
11am - 8pm

Level 7, Berjaya Times Square, KL (near Theme Park entrance)

> click here to see some of the latest cool artsy designer products that will be available at the market.

Enquiries: Mike (Pipit)

Scandinavian DesignLab talk

29 April 2009 -- WED
10:00am – 12:00pm
Jesper von Wieding, strategic Creative Director and Founding partner of Scandinavian DesignLab from Denmark will be giving a lecture at Dasein Academy of Art.

FREE - all welcome.

Venue: Dasein Academy Of Art
3A-12-G, Jln Wangsa Delima 10, Desa Wangsa, Setapak, KL
For more information: email Shanli or call Mdm. Lim +603-4142 2990

Call for Entries - Work your guts out

Hong Kong Asia Design Awards 2009
Take part in this multi-disciplinary design competition for the Asia Pacific region.

Organised by the Hong Kong Designers Association (HKDA), the HKDA Awards has been a who’s who of design excellence in Hong Kong and Asia in the last 34 years. It is a comprehensive, multi- disciplinary award for professional designs in the fields of graphic, product, spatial and new media.

(click on pix to view Call for Entries Poster in full size)
The last HKDA Awards 07 received more than 1,700 entries, collected from 36 destinations in the region including Mainland China, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taipei and Hong Kong.

Submission deadline
30 MAY 2009

Submission details

Art and the marketplace

by: Victor Chin
For 20 years or more, if you were a Malaysian artist, not in the popular line-up, yet one of those lucky ones with your artwork in the National Art Gallery’s (NAG) collection, you’ll probably have a quibble with NAG because you can’t find any of your works on display in the premier art institution. Why?

There could be many reasons for this distressing situation. One was that there was simply no deliberate policy, in the past, to display a sample of ever artist, past and present, old and young, of the 3,800 artworks in their collection, for the public to get an overview and judge for themselves what sort of artistic talents we have in the country.

But thanks to the current Director General of NAG, Mohamad Najib Ahmad Dewa, many things have changed. Read all about this in Victor Chin's article in TheMalaysianInsider.com.

Victor Chin is a Kuala Lumpur-based artist and photographer.

Mad about Bamboo

Recently, Heath Nash, that brilliant designer who turns recycled plastics into lighted works of art, marveled & raved about the range, diversity & complexity of local Malaysian handicraft during his design workshop during the KL Design Week.

I had thot, oh great, another gwei-lo getting inspired by the most mundane trinkets found in our craft markets, reminding us of our rich heritage in craft & design. What does it mean - that these crafty achievements has gone unnoticed by Malaysian designers fed on a diet of foreign design superiority. So, from now on, I will also blog on Malaysian handicraft news into kakireka's radar in the hope that it will bring about more awareness & subsequent creative collaborations between designers & handicraft producers.

As a start, there is bamboo, a woody grass(!) found growing all over Malaysia. I was told that in Java, indonesia, bamboo is treasured as a resource and used so efficiently that a normal family can sustain itself economically making bamboo-derived products with just 4 clumps of bamboo growing in their backyard. From building houses & furniture to household utensils, handicraft & toys for sale. Whereas in Malaysia, bamboo is just treated like grass or at best, merely decoration in a pot or landscaping. FYI, Malaysia used to be in the forefront of bamboo "technology" & research. China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh are way ahead of us in this field where bamboo is seen as a viable, eco-friendlier alternative construction material compared to timber/wood by using latest engineering tech for reinforcement & durability. In the US alone, there are 4000+ registered patents on inventions using bamboo. (info updated from Bamboo Forum speakers).

What can you do with BAMBOO?
Find out at this event. For Architects, Product Designers, Interior Designers, Artists, Handicraft producers, etc.

MACRI Creativity & Innovation Week - Exploring New Possibilities
15 - 21 April 2009 // Pusat Sains Negara, Bukit Kiara, KL.

MACRI (Malaysian Association of Creativity & Innovation) has planned a week of programs, workshops, seminars, activities, all designed to bring out the creative and innovative spirit in us. While the overall theme of this year’s Creativity & Innovation Week is bamboo, there are many parallel events that cater to everyone. Here are some items that may interest Designers:

15 - 21April 9am - 5pm daily
Bamboo Expo – unique showcase of all kinds of products and crafts made from bamboo. Highly recommended for secondary and college students, and entrepreneurs.

18th April SAT 9am ~ 4pm
Bamboo FORUM – Material of the New Millenium // The anchor event of the entire week. Come and hear experts and speakers talk about bamboo and its vast potential. Targeted at entrepreneurs, innovators, members of government agencies, the corporate sector, and the academia. Participation fee is RM25 per person for members of the public, and RM10 per person for students (including lunch and tea breaks). Free for participants from MACRI, FRIM, PSN, MOSTI, YIM, MARA, OUM, MENSA. full programme - below.

19th April SUN 9am ~ 5pm
Bamboo Design Workshop // Led by staff and students from ALFA International College, this is a one-of-its-kind workshop that imparts creative skills through the use of bamboo. Targeted at youth from colleges and universities, and also at young entrepreneurs. Limited seats.

21st April TUE 10am ~ 12pm
Seminar: Forging a Thinking & Innovative Organization // Targeted at the representatives of any corporate organization, the seminar examines the crucial role Creativity and Innovative can play to help meet today’s many challenges. Middle and Senior Management staff will find this seminar very useful. Facilitator is none other than Dato’ Ghazi Sheikh Ramli, Malaysia’s foremost Innovation Evangelist.

Bamboo FORUM – Material of the New Millenium
09.45am -- BAMBOO – HOW MUCH DO WE KNOW by: En Abdul Razak Othman, Senior Research Officer, FRIM
10.15am -- Tea Break
10.45am -- BAMBOO FOR HEALTH, by Dr Marzalina Mansor, Director, Biotech Division, FRIM
11.15am -- ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN WITH BAMBOO by: Assoc. Prof Puan Sri Nila Inangda, Dept of Architecture, Universiti Malaya
11.45am -- BAMBOO FOR SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS by: Prof Dr Jimmy Lim, Alfa College
12.15pm -- A SHOWCASE OF THE LATEST BAMBOO PRODUCTS by: Dr Wan Tarmeze Wan Ariffin, Senior Research Officer, FRIM
12.45pm -- COMMERCIALIZATION OF BAMBOO PRODUCTS by: Assoc. Prof Dr Razak Wahab, School of Tropical Forestry, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
01.15pm -- Lunch
02.00pm -- SPECIAL BAMBOO MUSICAL RENDITION
02.30pm -- PANEL DISCUSSION – BAMBOO, MATERIAL OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM moderated by: Dato’ Ghazi Sheikh Ramli, Founder/President, MACRI
04.00pm -- End of Forum

>> More info at MACRI, or call Ramesh at 017-8828 302

Some designs using bamboo found online...

Computer Vision lecture

Study Adelaide will host a lecture on "Computer Graphics, Computer Vision and Image Processing" by: Prof. David Suter (University of Adelaide - Computer Science) who is doing cutting-edge research on computer vision. List of Publications.

18 April 2009, 3pm
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, KL.

The lecture will highlight how current trends in research and technology could change our lives.
FREE admission. Email booking or call Brian 012-2975613 to register.