BFi 24th November

The final presentations for this year’s onedotzero_cascade took place at the BFi on the 24th November. This year, the two most innovative entries were presented with £1000 by Ideastap to develop their ideas further. FdA Course Leader, Derek Yates, was on the judging panel for this prize and took part in a panel discussion that followed the presentations. The two ideas that were chosen were produced by Puzzle who proposed a series of installations to create positive messages around London using discarded free newspapers and If who proposed an online network to entertain Londoners as they travel around the city.

Wayne Hemingway then kicked off a discussion into how we can nurture new design talent with a presentation that was funny, controversial and heartwarming all at once. Wayne questioned whether conventional degrees are able to build qualities like resourcefulness and problem solving and Derek Yates offered him the opportunity to come to Camberwell to discuss how this might be done better. In the discussion that followed James Hilton, co founder of AKQA questioned whether students are put under enough pressure at college and other areas addressed were the difficulty in removing poorly performing lecturers, 18 month long degrees, closer industry collaboration, self promotion, the importance of s***ting yourself and whether design apprenticeships offer a worthwhile alternative.

The Persuaders

Second year FdA Graphic Design students have been working on a project with Tara Hanrahan from ‘Thinkdo’ Studio and Sophie Thomas, one of the founders of Thomas Matthews. The project involved students working in small groups to create communications strategies aimed at having a positive effect on people’s behaviour. In just a week students organized tea parties on the Circle line, campaigned to raise awareness of hygiene issues related to IT equipment, created an online space to share overlooked places and organized activities designed to encourage students to log out of Facebook for a week.

The tea party on the Circle line prompted Julie Carr, head teacher of a Primary School in Wiltshire to send us this Email: “I was on the tube yesterday coming home from a conference. I don’t usually work in London and never look forward to the tube journey. However yesterday was different! Your students were a real credit to your organisation. What a fabulous idea-my cup of tea was most welcome and the idea of getting people to talk to each other was great! But it was their charm, their fabulous manners and the creativity that so impressed me."

Milltag

Milltag was started in 2010, by FdA Graphic Design alumnus Ed Cowburn and Pete Kelsey. Milltag began by producing bespoke, limited edition, high quality cycling jerseys designed in collaboration with leading artists and designers from around the world. Having quickly established themselves in the marketplace and built up a loyal and dedicated following, Milltag now offers more than just jerseys. They can now offer a full range of creative services specific to the bicycle industry through their design studio. From print to online environments, they have previously worked for some of the world’s leading companies across a diverse range of industries and are now focused on working with like-minded people on purely cycling-related projects.

Milltag have recently collaborated with street artist INSA on a series of “super” limited cycling jerseys. Only 3 of each colour way have been produced and can be purchased from the Milltag website.

onedotzero_cascade 2011 – Final Presentations: 24/11/11

As mentioned previously in this blog – Derek Yates, FdA Graphic Design Course Leader has been involved with onedotzero_cascade since it was launched in 2008. ‘Cascade is onedotzero’s award-winning education platform that aims to develop a new model for creative collaboration and innovation across diverse disciplines to foster personal and professional development.’ This year 40 creative graduates participated in the 5 day workshop led by some of onedotzero’s most innovative partners, creators and featured artists: Kin design, Mother, the Spring Project and Guardian Digital. The final presentations for the programme will take place on Thursday 24th November at the BFI Southbank as part of the ‘onedotzero_adventures in motion’ festival. This year two of the groups will be awarded a £1,000 fund from ‘IdeasTap’ to go towards the development and creation of their idea and Derek will be present to provide his input in to the decision as to which two ideas would make most value out of the funding. The event will be hosted by Wayne Hemingway – founder of Red or Dead and Linda Relph-Knight – Design Consultant and writer and the presentations will be followed by a panel discussion with the audience.

Thinkdo Studio and Sennep visit Camberwell

Two friends of the FdA – Tara Hanrahan from Thinkdo Studio & Matt Rice from Sennep will be talking at the Wilson Road, Lecture Hall, Camberwell College of Arts on Wednesday 23rd November starting at 11am. The talk is part of a series of lectures from practitioners invited by staff at Camberwell. Tara and Matt were invited by FdA Course Leader, Derek Yates – a description of the talk is below.

'Designing to inspire, educate and provoke change – A talk on how communication and interaction can be put to good use. All design jobs are to some extent social, but there are some that have the opportunity to change how people think and act in relation to helping with, or raising awareness of, social issues. Communication designer Tara Hanrahan (of think/do and formerly of thomas.matthews) and interactive designer Matt Rice (of Sennep) will discuss a range of their work; from projects that generate simple positive actions, to far-reaching campaigns that influence policy. We aim to show that this needn't be an overly worthy or style vacant area of design, but an exciting space to explore how the right mix of graphics, materials, technology, interaction and play, can engage and persuade.'

Critical Tension

Second year FdA Design/ Illustration students presented their ‘Hashtag Manifestos’ last week at the ‘Critical Tensions’ conference at the St Bride Library. Course Leader, Derek Yates, introduced the project as an example of learning that redefines conventional definitions of vocational education and work based learning. Popular perception draws a distinction between vocational and academic learning, between the practitioner and the educator, between industry and education. This view says that the sort of research that enables innovation and new ways of thinking is distinct from activity that improves employability. The term ‘vocational’ is thought to imply a short-term fix, associated with passive thinkers and technicians only able to work under instruction. A more contemporary approach sees creative thinking, innovation and employability as intrinsically linked. According to Sir George Cox, former Chair of the Design Council, ‘Creativity – the base for innovation – has never been more important. For business, it holds the key not just to success, but to survival.’

At the conference Derek called for a re-evaluation of the relationship between creative education and the employers it serves in order to instigate research that has resonance outside the academic environment. Demonstrating how projects like this investigate the potential of partnerships with the creative industries that encourage an exchange of ideas that has genuine benefits for both parties.

The conference is featured on Eye Magazine blog and more photographs of the event can be found here.