DESIGNTIMES south africa’s monthly creative resource
www.designtimes.co.za
/02 INTERVIEW
IVAN Chermayeff The work of Chermayeff is described as visual images that are graphic poetry. He is one of the top ten logo designers in the world.
/06 PHOTO
ROBIN SCHWARTZ Animals are her passion and the obsession fuels her work. She photographs animals where they share our lives in urban environments.
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MARCH 2008 Issue No.22 R5
/10 ARCHITECT
CRYSTAL ISLAND
Foster & Partners have released designs for the biggest building ever built, Crystal Island in Moscow will be 450m high covering a area half a million square metres.
NEWS
PAGE 02
$300million
Advanced mac books Apple has updated its MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook lines with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, with up to a 2.6 GHz processor with 6MB of shared L2 cache, up to 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory and up to a 300GB hard drive. In addition, MacBook Pro includes the latest NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors, now with up to 512MB of video memory and builtin 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g. Every MacBook Pro now includes a trackpad with Multi-Touch gesture support for pinch, rotate and swipe,
making it, supposedly, more easy than ever to zoom and rotate photos in iPhoto or Aperture 2 or browse web pages in Safari. The illuminated keyboard makes it ideal for dimly lit environments such as airplanes, studios or conference halls and a built-in ambient light sensor, which automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the brightness of the display for optimal visibility. Featuring built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing as well as Bluetooth, analog and digital audio inputs and outputs, USB 2.0 and FireWire these tasty machines just got tastier. www.zastore.co.za
Microsoft has awarded Crispin Porter & Bogusky (the Miami agency, which employs more than 300 people) a $300m global creative project after a competitive pitch against Publicis Groupe’s Fallon and non-shortlisted WPP Group’s JWT and Interpublic Group’s McCann Erickson. Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the ad agency that put the king back in Burger King, will work on developing a global advertising campaign for Microsoft’s Vista and Live platforms. Crispin Porter & Bogusky was chosen, based on their strategic approach, the strength of their creative ideas and the passionate and diverse team of people at the agency, Microsoft officials said in an emailed statement. “We’re looking forward to working together and will share more details on the campaign at the appropriate time.” Crispin Porter’s chief executive officer has said that the firm will work with Microsoft globally to help it meet the evolving challenges in its markets. “The selection comes as Microsoft’s image is suffering and is facing an uphill battle with the adoption of its operating system Vista”, said Rob Enderle (president and principal analyst of the Enderle Group, a San Jose, Calif.-based technology advisory firm). Recently in the U.S. Apple has, in its Mac vs. PC commercials, been poking fun at both Microsoft and its operating system. Good news for Windows users is that with sales not being what they hoped, in the U.S. Microsoft has announced that it will cut the price of Vista by as much as 48 percent to help spur consumers to upgrade. Hopefully, we too may see such a move locally.
Shake it like a polaroid Xsan 2 Xsan 2 Storage Area Network (SAN) file system for Mac OS X. Xsan 2 supposedly makes it easier for first time users to set up and quickly deploy a SAN. Version 2 also introduces MultiSAN, allowing users on a single workstation to access multiple SANs at the same time, is fully integrated with Mac OS X Leopard and Mac OS X Server. Leopard is interestingly now qualified to work with third-party RAID storage. What else is new? Well administration tools have been through a complete redesign. What does it do? Xsan 2 intelligently handles different data types for ideal performance. For example, administrators have the ability to pre-set volume workload settings for optimal streaming of all file types, from very large files, such as uncompressed HD video to small data center files.
Diesel wall Many designers oppose any form of spec work in the form of competitions, but we could not help including this one, a competition offering an opportunity for you to showcase your work on an extraordinary scale, monumental, freestanding vertical walls in the centres of the world’s most important cities. This year the Diesel Wall art contest continues its tour around the world and reaches 4 new corners of the planet, Manchester, Barcelona, Zurich and New York. Any creative, inspired person from any country in the world can submit their designs for the chance to feature in this new edition of the project. www.diesel.com/cult/wall/gallery
Mouse8000
The design of the Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 is futuristic simplicity. Small enough to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand, the mouse’s chrome and black plastic exterior makes it look like a sports car prototype; something Honda or Toyota would produce to model a car that runs on converted water vapor but can still hit a top speed of 120 mph. The ergonomic grips and frictionless feet promise a comfortable working experience, while the simple arrangement of mouse and wireless receiver underscore the Mobile Memory Mouse 8000’s use of technology to simplify the working experience with fewer wires and easy portability. If your computer has Bluetooth, you can even skip the receiver and connect directly with Bluetooth with the flick of a switch. A five-button arrangement with a clickfree center wheel gives the mouse some extra clicking options that are very useful, the mouse also features an LED that turns green when you’re charging the battery and red when the battery is running low. The best feature of the Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 is the charging wire, which uses magnets to connect to both the mouse and the wireless receiver to charge the mouse’s NiMH rechargeable battery. The wire, which fits snugly along with the mouse and the receiver into the included soft carrying case, doesn’t just connect to the charging points it clicks into them. The battery itself is a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) AAA rechargeable battery that comes with the mouse. Charging is fairly quick, getting a day’s charge requires 15 minutes connection to a computer through the charging wire.
The company behind everyones favourite snap, wait, and shake announced it was to stop making the film used by Polaroid enthusiasts, because there is no longer a market for it. As a result three factories will close in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands, resulting in 450 job losses. Over the last Two years the company has sadly stopped making the cameras for commercial and consumer use. When asked what lies ahead for the brand, Tom Beaudoin, the firm’s president, said “We’re trying to re-invent Polaroid so it lives on for the next 30 to 40 years”. This reinvention means developing Polaroid-branded digital cameras, and portable printers for mobile phone images such as the very cool Zink printer that can develop wallet-sized photos from digital cameras in 60 seconds.. “Our main product line was in a technologically driven decline,’’ said Beaudoin. “The Zink printers will complete the transformation from analog instant to digital instant.’’ As to availability of film for your camera,Polaroid (which was bought out by Petters Group Worldwide three years ago after they filed for bankruptcy) will make enough instant film to last into 2009. It plans to license the technology to third party companies, leaving Fujifilm as the only remaining supplier of instant film in the U.S. Andy Warhol was probably the most famous artist to use Polaroids, in the production of his silkscreens. So important were they to his art, the manufacturers kept the model Warhol used in production especially for him. Celebrity photographer Rankin is also known for his love of Polaroids. He exhibited thousands of Polaroid images he had taken throughout his career in a series of exhibitions in 2006 and 2007, where he sold each of them for £500. So we say goodbye to another era like we said goodbye to the tape deck and video cassette.
Carchitecture
The Mazda Taiki reflects one possible direction for a future generation of Mazda sports cars . The Taiki further evolves the “flow” theme which visually expresses the atmosphere – called taiki in Japanese – that wraps the Earth in its protective mantle. The basic proportions begin with the stretched coupe form of a front-engine rear-wheeldrive layout, the short overhangs, and the liberating feel of an all-glass canopy. The challenge to create “a design that visually expresses the flow of air” was inspired by the image of a pair of Hagoromo – the flowing robes that enable a celestial maiden to fly in Japanese legend – floating down from the sky. Inspired by Japanese koinobori – the decorative “climbing carp streamers”– the
notion of creating an Air-tube became the concept word for the interior design. From the dashboard and seats down to the door trim, the interior space creates the sensation that the flow of the wind is being visually depicted. Centering around the performance rotary engine sports packaging, technologies introduced for the Mazda Taiki include the next-generation RENESIS (rotary engine 16X), which sets new standards for environmental and driving performance, a front-engine reardrive layout and a 2-seat configuration. The Taiki represents a meeting of design and aerodynamic performance or at least the concept thereof. www.mazda.com/motorshow
50 million customers iTunes Customers Top 50 Million customers. iTunes is now the number two music retailer in the US, behind only WalMart, based on the latest data from the NPD Group. Apple has announced that there are now over 50 million iTunes Store customers. iTunes has sold over four billion songs, with an incredible 20 million songs sold on Christmas Day 2007 alone, and offers a music catalog of over six million songs from all of the major and thousands of independent labels.“We’d like to thank the over 50 million music lovers who have helped the iTunes Store reach this incredible milestone,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We continue to add great new features like iTunes Movie Rentals to give our customers even more reason to love iTunes.”Last month, Apple
launched iTunes Movie Rentals (featuring movies from all of the major movie studios). Users can rent movies and watch them on their PCs or Macs, all current generation iPods, iPhone and on a widescreen TV with Apple TV. iTunes Movie Rentals will offer over 1,000 titles by the end of this month, including over 100 titles in high definition video with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound which users can rent directly from their widescreen TV as long as it has Apple TV.(iTunes Movie Rentals are available in the US only and are $2.99 for library titles and $3.99 for new releases, and high definition versions are priced one dollar more with library titles at $3.99 and new releases at $4.99.) So pat yourself on the back if you have helped Apple make another couple million this year.
DESIGN
PAGE 03
Get out and vote AIGA, the professional association for design, is the place design professionals turn to first to exchange ideas and information, participate in critical analysis and research and advance education and ethical practice. Founded as the American Institute of Graphic Arts in 1914, AIGA is the oldest and largest membership association for professionals engaged in the discipline, practice and culture of designing. AIGA now represents 22,000 designers through national activities and local programs developed by 59 chapters and 240 student groups. AIGA asked designers from across the United States to create nonpartisan posters that would encourage the American public to participate in the electoral process, and to vote for a presidential candidate. There call to action was that “Good design makes choices clear”. One of the most basic, but perhaps least appreciated, tenets of the American democracy is the right to vote. Throughout history, Americans have fought to protect that privilege. And those denied the right have fought to attain it. Yet in the presidential elections, barely half of those Americans who are eligible to vote actually make it to the polls. What are the reasons for voter apathy and lack of civic
responsibility? And can design be used to help solve the problem? The purpose of this campaign is to encourage voter turnout. There is no single message, although the intent is a call to action, motivating people to register and to turn out to vote. The visuals and the text of the message must be nonpartisan—AIGA is supporting the basic democratic premise of citizen participation, not a partisan position on candidates or issues. Messages or images that are likely to offend substantial numbers of citizens are not appropriate, since they would be counter to their intention of developing messages that encourage voter participation through effective use of images, text and ideas. The association is committed to stimulating thinking about design through conferences, competitions, exhibitions, publications and websites. AIGA inspires, educates and informs designers, helping them to realize their talents and to advocate the value of design among the media, the business community, public agencies and the general public. AIGA works hard in communicating the value of design to audiences outside the profession. Designtimes will be featuring a selection of the 230 posters that were entered in the May issue.
DON’T VOTE
9 6"/ t -
Good design makes choices clear. This initiative was made possible by the generous support of 16,000 AIGA members in 47 chapters and 150 student groups nationwide; Yupo Corporation, Chesapeake, VA, www.yupo.com; and designers everywhere who believe in the power of design for the public good.
A public service initiative of AIGA and Design for Democracy. For more information visit www.aiga.org and www.electiondesign.org.
Design: Michele Gorham & John Shepard, Hallmark Cards Inc., Kansas City, MO.
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Recognize these logo’s? Meet the man who designed them
20 Years ago people would ask me what I do, and I would reply that I am a graphic designer, then they would ask, What is that? A long explanation would follow. Today it’s very different, when you’re asked the same question, they reply, oh my nephew is studying graphic design.
Born in 1932, London, Chermayeff is the son of the Chechen architect Serge Ivan Chermayeff. In 1940 he moved to the united states where he studied at Harvard, the Institute of Design, and received a BFA at Yale. Whilst at Yale he met Tom Geismar where both designers discovered their shared passion for typography. In 1957 Tom Geismar and Ivan Chermayeff formed Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar with friend Robert Brownjohn. BCG began by designing book covers, album covers and corporate identities and soon won more substantial commissions. In 1959 Brownjohn left the studio and Chermayeff and Geismar continued to work together. By 1960 the duo had started a craze for abstract corporate symbols with designs for the Chase Manhattan Bank, NBC and others. During their years of collaboration the pair have produced over 100 corporate symbols. Chermyeff’s trademarks, posters, publications and art installations have received nearly every award bestowed by the profession. Ivan was the first speaker at the 2008 Design Indaba, we managed to catch up with him just before lunch. 1. What was your first job in the industry? My first meaningful job was at the age of 16. I worked as a movie review writer at the Cape Codder – a local town newspaper. On the way home from work I would deliver the papers on my bicycle. Soon I was commissioned to do a small illustration above one of the regular columns. 2. How much of a role does research play in the design process? It’s very important to find out what your clients do, what they want to do, and who they do it for. Sometimes this can take months. And there are times when the client is wrong. Then it’s up to you to subtly show them the right path. Where do you find your inspiration? For me it’s all about making visual connections. Take for example my collages, its not about art, its about moving pieces of paper and card around, having fun all by myself. I’ve sold 700 pieces, and given away more than double that as gifts.
When it comes to Logo design or developing a corporate brand you make it look very simple… do your clients ever come back with changes? The usual problems are of course, cost implications and the many applications of the logo. You have to be a good critique of your own work and supply 2 or 3 alternatives. It’s a doctor – patient relationship, the client doesn’t sit over your shoulder telling you to move something a few millimeters or change the colours. You’ve designed some household logo’s, do you notice them, do you still have some connection to them? I ALWAYS notice them. I’m always surprised to see them in the most unexpected places. I’m pleased to see when they are applied well. But it’s very unpleasant when they’re applied badly. How do you feel about rebranding or modernizing established logo’s? Rounding the corners and brightening the colors seems to be the fashion. Back in the 60’s I created the Chase Manhattan Bank logo and for 48 years its worked! The Chase logo looked like it belonged to a well established and trusted bank. In one year they destroyed that image by rounding the corners and brightening the colors. If you look at the logo now it looks like it belongs to a bankrupt internet bank. It was amateur night at Chase with over-inflated marketing ego’s. These kinds of decisions from marketing cost companies hundreds of millions, I couldn’t even object to the changes because the guys I did the logo for in the 60’s have all died of natural causes. 8. But didn’t you rebrand/redesign the GREY logo? Good example. Yes I did. The logo for GREY was naturally grey. I proposed GREY to be red, which was preposterous, to my surprise the client accepted. Then I joined the E and the Y together, which serves no purpose, but I had to do something for the money I was being paid. We concluded our discussion over lunch and Chermayeff left me with a copy of his book ‘Watching Words Move’. Mark Rosenberg
PHOTOGRAPHY
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Most popular download This photograph of a child blowing a dandelion taken by iStockphotographer Eva Serrabassa or member name caracterdesign has been downloaded 9509 times and counting. She has she made a stack of cash
which quickly silences those who claim cheap stock photography is a waste of time. In total she has 3537 images on iStockphoto and a very impresive 164480 downloads. www.istockphoto.com/caracterdesign
Denis Tevekov Design spotlight Each month Designtimes will feature one of the designs submitted to iStockphoto. Everyone is welcome to submit their design as long as it incorporates atleast one image from iStockphoto. The design above is called Sunset Breaker and is a personal design inspired by the latest
craze of Americas best dance Crew and Step Up 2 the streets. It was designed and creatively directed by Drew Williams, of Williams Design Agency, as part of a personal project.The design and a selection of some of the photos used for the design are featured above.
The history of Russian and Soviet photography is complex. For most for the last century the professional practice of photography was at the service of the state. For a brief period, Russian photography and the visual arts were part of the international modernist movement. By the early thirties they largely conformed to a style of “social realism” that glorified the values of communism. The Soviet present was difficult and uncertain. Photographs of tractor-hugging farmers in the fields and
smiling workers in factories were idealized portraits of a communist future. They were meant to inspire the people to sacrifice for a great society to come. Today, some of these photographs impress us as works of art. Still more are only amusing as kitsch. The government didn’t expressly tell artists how to take a photograph, but by the 1930s it was well understood what was required. The consequences for stepping out of line were much stronger than a bad review; imprisonment or disappearance and
death was the likely outcome. Dennis Tevekov is one artist to emerge form Russia. Dennis Tevekov is a professional artist and also teaches painting and composition in Nizhniy Tagil, Russia. His hobby is photography and he is a iStockphoto member. He uses a Canon 400D he does not use professional models only his friends and mainly his wife.
www.istockphoto.com/dpaint
iStockphoto.com | Dreamy royalty-free stock images as low as $1
Once upon a
time. . .
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All in a plate Food is one of the most enjoyable ways of sharing and experiencing other cultural and ethical ways of eating. The etiquette and mannerism in the way we leave our plates hold clues into personalities and moods. Will you leave your plate next time with out a thought, for it to be wisped away emptied and washed or, as you lean back and tap your tummy in the content manner of finalizing a great meal will you think again and wonder how one leaves their plate. Here you will not see the splendors of great decorated plates of food to tantalize your appetite, no the end of the meal your finale
PHOTOGRAPHY your placement of ends. Yes this tells a tail. Here in an authentic Greek restaurant and the plates left behind. Evthimia Nikitidis brings us a very interesting photo project, born in South Africa, schooling at Johannesburg Girls Junior and High School till Standard 8 then completed schooling at Modern Methods a commercial matric. A Greek South African, married with two children, one married and one still at home. Since 1993 she has been working in the traditional Greek authentic restaurant with the family. miatas@netactive.co.za
Robin Schwartz Robin Schwartz is an assistant professor in photography at William Paterson University and lives in Hoboken, New Jersey with her husband, Robert Forman, daughter, Amelia and companion animals. “Animals are my passion,” says Robin, “and this obsession fuels my work. I photograph animals where they share our lives, in urban environments and inside peoples homes.” Robin Schwartz’s photographs are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington, D.C., The San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Chrysler Museum of Art and the Bibliotheque Nationale. They have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, People, Entertainment Weekly, Interview Magazines, The Photo District News and she has worked on assignment for Life and Sports Illustrated Magazines. “Photography has given me the opportunity to explore worlds I have dreamed to enter while recognizing the many unique animals that have come and vanished in my life.” she says. “Amelia is
my priority, my muse, my co-conspirator, my tormentor and my bliss!” Her photographs, often depicting relationships with animals, are drawn from real journeys with her daughter Amelia. Robin explains “The photographs with animals are not documents, but played out fables of a world Amelia and I want to part of. Photographing Amelia is my way of photographing myself with animals.” The Aperture Foundation will publish Amelia’s World, edited by Tim Barber of ‘tinyvices’ in the Fall 2008. www robinschwartz.net
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CONVERGING ART
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Mulheres Barbadas Evolutionary gloop art Artistic evolution would be one way to describe the work of Mulheres Barbadas, a collaborative illustration project by two Brazilian desig ners Henrique Lima Gringo and Julio Zukerman. However they like to think of their particular style as “super-busy”. Julio and Gringo are, by their own definition: two bearded ladies working together. They take turns drawing until they either fill up the canvas or are too tired to go on, whichever comes first. “We like monsters, icky stuff and tender love.” The duo gravitate toward intricate black and white hand drawn illustration, a medium which is, in our modern day, quite often passed over for the more colorful, glossy cg generated work. Their work is heavily influenced by underground comics and graffiti, which is distinguishable in its use of heavy solid lines and few if any colors. The collaboration has attracted the attention of The Coca-Cola Company, Computer Arts Magazine and Clone Magazine (Spanish) to name but a few and of course Designtimes. www.mulheresbarbadas.com
ARCHITECTURE / INTERIORS
PAGE 11
Cape Town convention centre Worlds biggest building Foster & Partners have released designs for the biggest building ever built: Crystal Island in Moscow will be 450m high, cover an area of almost half a million square metres and contain a total floor area of 2.5 million square metres. The structure will house theatres, exhibition spaces, retail and catering businesses, 3,000 hotel rooms, 900 serviced apartments and a school for 500 students. There will also be two public viewing platforms, one at 150m and another at 300m. Crystal Island has already been granted preliminary planning permission in Moscow. It plans to be the spectacular new emblem of the Moscow skyline, located only 7.5 km from the Kremlin, and willl offer panoramic views over Moscow from the viewing platforms.The building’s spiraling form will emerge from a newly landscaped park, rising in converse directions to form a diagonal grid. This distinctive geometry extends throughout the project into the park. The result is that the scheme will be seamlessly integrated into the new park landscape, which will provide a range
of activities throughout the year, including cross country skiing and ice skating in the winter.The internal built volumes assume a staggered formation within the triangulated steel mega frame, extending flush against the sloping facetted glazed outer skin. This terracing is set to create a series of winter gardens, which will then form a breathable second layer and thermal buffer for the main building, shielding the interior spaces from Moscow’s extreme summer and winter climates. A vertical louvre system will sheath the internal facades to ensure privacy for the individual apartments. Norman Foster said:“Crystal Island is one of the world’s most ambitious building projects and it represents a milestone in the 40 year history of the practice. It is the largest single building in the world, creating a year-round destination for Moscow and a sustainable, dynamic new urban quarter. It is a paradigm of compact, mixed-use, sustainable city planning, with an innovative energy strategy and ‘smart’ skin which buffers against climate extremes.”
To fulfill its primary purpose, an international convention centre needs to be large enough to accommodate plenary sessions of thousands of delegates, as well as trade exhibitions such as motor shows, while providing all the attendant breakaway and meeting rooms, auditoria, banqueting halls, kitchens, bathrooms and so on. Yet to succeed on an operational level it must also have facilities that can comfortably cater for smaller functions such as weddings, product launches and cultural events.
To tick all the blocks on this checklist of requirements, the architectural association elected to segment the building into manageable parts, each with its own functions, design features and character, and linked by spaces that both enhanced the aesthetics and aided articulation. At first glance, the site itself was not a prepossessing one: a landfill site that had been used for parking in comparative isolation on the outer edges of the Cape Town central business district. Exposure to
Obbligato
Creativity may solve the housing crisis
I owe you? IOU is a Swedish foundation developing, producing and selling environmental friendly garden furniture created by recognized designers. “So whats so different about that?” you ask. Product development, production, distribution, economy, administration,marketing and sale are organized as an educational/training program aiming to help marginalized persons get back into society. The profit is used purely to support organizations working to help marginalized persons and to reduce human suffering.IOU’s
first collection is the creation of Gabriella Gustafson and Mattias Ståhlbom, who run TAF Arkitektkontor. Simplicity with special details and unexpected solutions define Gabriella and Mattias’ design. During the past years they have created plenty of products, furniture and composed architectural exhibitions. The recent series of garden furniture is a timeless Swedish collection that offers quite a diversity of items to be purchased – from tables, chairs and trellis to pieces of planks. www.ioudesign.com
brutal winds was a reality, as was the fact that it is overlooked by a freeway, which cuts the city from the sea, reducing accessibility. As the design concept started taking shape, a different, more positive view of things started surfacing. It became apparent that the site’s position would make this the first convention centre to be built within a city centre in South Africa. The architects responsible for this monumental feat was Van Der Merwe Miszewski Architects. www.vandermerwemiszewski.com
Design Indaba’s 10x10 Housing Project has started on the designated plots in Freedom Park. Launched at last year’s Design Indaba, the 10x10 Housing Project challenged 10 architectural teams to provide innovative and dynamic design solutions for the lowcost housing sector. Ten of the first solutions will be built in this first phase of the project, thanks to sponsorship from PG Bison and Pennypinchers. Said Justin Berry, group marketing manager of PG Bison: “As a leader in the South Africa’s building industry, PG Bison is proud to be part of a project that proposes a meaningful solution to the housing problem in South Africa.”The solution to be implemented is the entry from architect Luyanda Mpahlwa, assisted by Kirsty Ronné. Using an innovative new building system, Ecobeams, which complies with all the rules and regulations of the Cape City Council, fits within budget and fulfils all the requirements with regards to testing and certification of an alternative building system.” To be part of
this project meant a lot in terms of making a significant contribution towards innovative, dignified solutions to the housing situation. I’m looking forward to seeing the final construction,” said Mpahlwa. The design also offers a number of improvements on the standard RDP house. Ecobeams are equal, if not superior, to brick-and-mortar, but cheaper and more eco-friendly. Taking this into account Mpahlwa has increased the size of the house and created a fluid interplay between public and private spaces in and around the house. The house is also built on a framework, making it easy to expand, and involves the whole community in its construction. The design, and those of the other architects from around the world will be distributed as architectural open source. “All of these designs will bring new materials and concepts to low-cost housing, and will be an absolute boon to poor families across Africa,” said Ravi Naidoo, founder of Design Indaba and director of Interactive Africa. www.designindaba.com
Craig and Angela Bax are the brains behind the Obbligato brand, specialist suppliers of prestige outdoor accessories for the discerning decorator. Their unique planters, water features and architectural screens adorn the South African Stand at the 2007 Chelsea Flower Show. As key members of the South African team, their spiral leaf design, incorporating the four elements of nature, helped establish the modern layout for this innovative display stand. From the giant mosaic pots and beaded indigenous plants to the stainless steel water feature and laser cut steel screens. Contemporary, minimalist and modern are the easiest descriptions for the range of planters and functional garden accessories that Obbligato produces. But in situ they become works of art, so simple yet so startling is their complete effect. Handmade in materials as diverse as mild and stainless steel, aluminium, copper, perspex, resins, mosaic and fibreglass, there is a style for every cultivated taste. And bespoke items can also be developed in consultation with customers. The origins of Obbligato are in the signage manufacturing industry where Craig and Angela ran their own company for 20 years. Tired of churning out others’ designs, they resolved to utilize their own creative talents. Craig’s experimental design of plant pots for their new home was given an enthusiastic reaction from their peers, spurring the couple to market the design as a sideline. The distinctive pots received an immediate response from local customers and when they took an order for 90 units for a Dubai Garden Centre, their success was inevitable and they were euphoric. ‘Obbligato’ literally means indispensable and commonly refers to a musical accompaniment that is integral to a harmony. It may be said that Craig and Angela have created a harmony of unique outdoor designs that are obligatory accompaniments to the contemporary garden. www.obligato.co.za
Obbligato manufactures exclusive items for both formal and eclectic environments using mild & stainless steel, copper, plastics, mosaic and fibreglass. Choose from our range or have custom items made to suit your space. See product information at www.obbligato.co.za or contact us on +27 31 701 6565
Obbligato Decor cc
T: +27 31 701 6565
F: +27 31 702 0753
E: info@obbligato.co.za
W: www.obbligato.co.za
PO Box 190, Pinetown 3600, South Africa
EVENTS
PAGE 13
World leader Ravi Naido Art fair
Since things have quietened down a bit in Cape Town after Design Indaba 2008, we managed to catch up with Ravi Naidoo, the brain behind Design Indaba and Interactive Africa. We asked him a few questions about the event. Would you attribute the recent skills export boom to the success of Design Indaba or do you think that there are other influences at work? We’ve got some advantage in being the first to actively advocate both design and creativity to the economy, after the 1994 elections. However, there are so many other people who have made this wave of creativity and design sweep across the country – from enterprises like the the Neighbourhood Goods Market , media, educational institutes to the creative fraternity themselves. South Africa is on a trajectory towards becoming a globally recognised creative hub. You’re also involved in a whole host of projects such as the African Carbon Trust, the 2010 Fifa World Cup and Mark Shuttelworth’s space flight. How do you juggle them all and still manage to put on a hugely successful international event like Design Indaba? Some people always make crass remarks about Capetonians taking it easy, and being slower than their peers in Jozi. The Interactive Africa team is testimony of the complete opposite. It is a tough juggle and we’ve worked very hard over the years, but I like to think that we do make a difference and that it is largely due to the gorgeous bunch of people I work with. What and who can we expect for Design Indaba 2009? Design Indaba always tries to capture what is going on in the world right now and for that reason is always changing. The one thing you can be sure of is that we will again be extremely eclectic, drawing from across the globe. Geographic and cultural diversity are very important to us. Sure, there is some pressure to continue living up to our high standard, but there are more than 6-billion people on the planet, many of whom are involved in design and doing cool work. We just need to go out, find them and make sure that their diaries are open for them to come to South Africa! What is really nice
is the growing global reputation of Design Indaba. It has become a lot easier to invite people to come out here because they know who we are. Otherwise we wouldn’t even have been able to get into the office of Paul Smith or Issey Miyake’s Creative Director, Dai Fujiwara – who we’re expecting next year. What has been the worst and best DI moment? My worst moment was last year when SAA pulled their sponsorship with four days to go to the event. It was the single most harrowing and anxious day of my life. All we got was a one-liner fax that said that the sponsorship was cancelled. At that late stage, the problem was that speakers were driving to airports to board planes on these sponsored SAA tickets and when you cancel a ticket at that time of the year, it just vaporises. I worked the phones with my colleagues here for 12 hours - in getting them back onto planes. I got on my knees the next morning thanking the heavens that I got every single person back onto a plane. Hey, these things happen and you will always be tested. What you learn when you do this more often is how to take on challenges and how to sort out the glitches. Still, we said nothing to the media as we didn’t want any negativity attached to the event. Their logos were still on everything we had produced for the event and we didn’t even tell the speakers – we just said “Sorry, the flight has been postponed, or changed, this is your new reservation number. We were calm and positive under fire, although we have subsequently taken them to court. My best moment was when Design Indaba was acknowledged as the best conference in the world in EIBTM’s open category in 2005. That kind of stuff helps. Another high point was the Design Indaba magazine winning the best design and best new magazine at the Folio Awards – the Oscars of the magazine industry – in 2001 in New York. That was the first time a South African publisher had won a Folio. And, of course, not to mention last year’s Loeries where we won a gold for Best Live Event, as well as the Grand Prix with our agency the Jupiter Drawing Room. You’ve been involved with the INDEX: awards. What can you tell us about their initiative? What I particularly like about Index: awards is that its ideals are so close to those of Design Indaba in celebrating designs that improve the quality of life. There are five different categories – play, community, work, body and home. I love being on the jury there because you get to appraise about 1 500 entries from around the world. It keeps me in touch and gives me insight into what is coming out across the world. The experience of working with the other jury members is also fantastic, not to mention the other interesting people that you inevitably share with and learn from. You’ve been called a “world leader” in design and innovation. Do you feel like a world leader? I don’t feel like a leader and I’m certainly not a design politician. Design Indaba is famously not aligned. As independents, we don’t belong to any design body or any kind of organisation. We just do what we need to do. South Africa doesn’t have a national design council or any other authority on design, which needs to be addressed if design is to become a viable force on the South African economy. What I’m all too often disappointed by, is that a lot of our associates only have lever arch files filled with minutes of meetings to show for their efforts. I really think it should be an industry more orientated towards doing things, and not just talking about it. So yeah, I try to lead in my own way through the Design Indaba, but we are not running for office. Mark Rosenberg
The first-ever art fair devoted exclusively to art from Africa was held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg this month. On sale was the largest collection of African and South African contemporary art ever, covering 5000 square metres of gallery space. “The Joburg Art Fair will establish South Africa as an essential stopover on the global contemporary art buying calendar,” says Ross Douglas, director of Artlogic, the company behind the fair. There are 22 galleries in the fair, from New York, London, Germany, the UK and obviously Africa. Contemporary African art showcased at the Joburg Art Fair ranged from R1000 to R5 million. The Joburg Art Fair will include a specially curated show entitled ‘As you like it’ by Simon Njami, chief curator of the highly successful Africa Remix exhibition, as well as the Africa pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale. Njami will be choosing works by artists from across Africa who will not be represented by galleries at the fair, and all these will be on sale. Douglas says Njami’s participation is a stamp of approval on the continent’s first art fair and will set the tone for what will be an annual event. www.joburgartfair.co.za
Volume 1
For her début solo exhibition, Jacqui Stecher has composed a series of paintings that evoke themes of otherworldliness, watching and being watched, the charge of interior spaces, and the interaction of power and vulnerability. The works carry a subtle intensity in that their images are at once familiar and unfamiliar. Originally sourced from found images, these paintings of children’s heads against stark colour fields are ghostly presences, characters from Stecher’s imagination that also seem quite eerily appropriate in ours. www.whatiftheworld.co.za
Kelvin Colour Today Color is playing an increasingly significant role in global visual communication. It is being used more than ever to give design projects, campaigns and brands their own distinctive style. Surprisingly, however, very little has so far been published that investigates today’s evolving perception and application of color. Color, or more precisely color temperature, is measured in a unit called the Kelvin. The book Kelvin shows some of the effects of the deliberate use of color. Each chapter in Kelvin starts with an essay or interview. Kelvin investigates today’s evolving perception
and application of colour. Structured into chapters that each focus on a single colour, the book documents some of the effects of the deliberate use of colour in recent top quality design work. Alongside images of clear and distinctive colour allocation, Kelvin also includes more intricate and playful examples that illustrate contemporary colour combinations. This ensures that the reader is introduced to the subject of colour in an instructive as well as an associative and experimental way. It is available at Biblioteq in Cape Town. www.biblioteqbooks.com
Pamela Stretton Her artwork deals predominantly with the female body, focusing on issues such as beauty ideals and the body’s relationship with popular culture, fashion, health and food. Inspired by print, most of my work takes the form of digital inkjet prints, usually combining photographic images and text. The methods used to create the finished work involve re-working the print, in order to produce a visually appealing surface texture. These methods are often rather painstaking, commenting on the obsessive control exerted on the female body in terms of eating disorders. The use of square formats, grids and pixels are used to highlight the notion of conformity, aided by the tight cropping of close up images of the
body (an essentially rounded form). Soft padding is used in much of my work to comment subtly on the notion of womanly curves, as well as to give organic dimension to what would otherwise be flat prints. Other notions pertinent to my theme involve scale, scrutiny and fragmentation. Since graduating in 2002, Pamela Stretton has been a finalist in Spier Contemporary 2007, Absa Atelier 2003, 2006 and 2007, Brett Kebble Art Awards 2005 and winner of Sanlam Vuleka 2005. Stretton’s work is represented in the following collections; Katrine Harries Print Cabinet (Michaelis school of Fine Art), Hollard Insurance and UNISA. Her exhibition will run form the 2 to 26 April 2008 at the Joao Ferreira Gallery 70 Loop Street, Cape Town.
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DIRECTORY ANIMATION
COMPUTER EQUIPMENT
Atomic Visual Effect Last year we built 3 cars, 2 trucks, 2 helicopters, 2 factories, 4 skyscrapers and landed a space shuttle in the heart of Cape Town, and we never left our office. Contact: Amira Quinlan Tel: +27 (0)21 461 4995 Fax: +27 (0)21 461 5411 Email: amira@atomic-vfx.com www.atomic-vfx.com
Access International Authorized Apple reseller, Authorized Adobe reseller, specialist sales and support for the design, advertising & photographic industries. Contact: Maggie Smith Tel: +27 (0)21 424 0772 Email: mail@accessint.co.za www.accessint.co.za
ILLUSTRATION
Frontosa Suppliers of PC Hardware, wholesale prices direct to the public. Contact: Eddie Pio Tel: +27 (0)21 551 4411 Fax: +27 (0)21 552 6172 Email: ftlp@telkomsa.net www.frontosa.co.za
MULTIMEDIA
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Eiledon Solutions Professional & affordable Web Design & Development solutions. Free Quote online at www.eiledon.co.za! Contact: Simms Tel: +27 (0)21 701 8060 Fax: +27 (0)21 976 7530 Email: info@eiledon.co.za www.eiledon.co.za
SolidPDA Post-production, design and animation. Specializing in character animation! Contact: Brad Tel: +27 (0)83 456 3098 Email: brad@solidpda.com www.solidpda.com
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Incepta Online One of the UK’s largest online marketing agencies. Specialists in online advertising, digital relationship marketing, web design and online investor relations. Contact: Sarah Kelly Tel: 0207 535 9805 Fax: 0207 535 9801 Email: sarah.kelly@inceptaonline. com www.inceptaonline.com Mindscape Advertising Graphic Design, Events, Promotions, Web Development and Strategic Planning. Contact: Carien Kruger Tel: +27 (0)51 436 8266 Fax: +27 (0)51 436 8260 Email: info@mindscapeonline.com www.mindscapeonline.com Purpleberry Advertising, graphic design, magazine design, web/internet and intranet design, annual reports, corporate communications, product launches, packaging and promotional campaigns. Award winning first class results. Contact: Vanessa Bolton Tel: +27 (021) 424 2330 Fax: +27 (021) 424 4297 Email: boltonv@purpleberry.co.za www.purpleberry.co.za
CD AND DVD DUPLICATION AND REPLICATION Avomedia Specialises in the supply and production of cd-rom and cd-r media. We offer cd-roms, 8cm round minicd’s, cd-business cards and more. Contact: Avomedia Tel: +27 (0)21 422 2227 Fax: +27 (0)21 422 2223 Email: capetown@avomedia.co.za www.avomedia.co.za Digital Direct Digital Direct has been providing high quality duplication and replication services to countless South African businesses and professionals. Contact: Burger Tel: +27 (0)21 554 2577 Fax: 086 502 9840 Email: burger@digitaldirect.co.za www.digitaldirect.co.za VNG Bulk cd and dvd duplications. Bulk video and audio duplications. Showreel editing. Transfer of all formats. Standards conversions. Contact: Noel Tel: +27 (0)21 424 7501 Fax: +27 (0)21 426 2285 Email: noel@vng.co.za www.vng.co.za
Electric Fire Graphic design and marketing. Contact: Nadeem Petersen Tel: +27 (0)21 422 0842 Fax: +27 (0)21 422 0940 Email: nadeem@electricfire.co.za www.electricfire.co.za Kreatif - Code and Design Kreatif Code & Design is a full-service design studio offering creative, professional graphic design, website design and development services. Contact: Kristoph Kunze Tel: +27 (0)21 555 2371 Email: studio@kreatif.co.za www.kreatif.co.za Morrisons Locally designed and fashioned fine jewellery. Contact: Peta Morrison Tel: +27 (0)82 4616 100 Email: info@morrisons.co.za www.morrisons.co.za
OFFICE SPACE Creative professional tenants wanted. Offices from 12m2 to 100m2, or “Hot desks”. Rent Includes communal receptionist, boardrooms, kitchens, printers, fax, copier, ADSL, VoIP.1/2Gig of bandwidth, phone rental, electricity. Contact: Mika Email: miki@rafikis.co.za
PRINTING Digital Colour Centre 62 Strand St, Cape Town colour/b&w laser printing/copying; encapsulation/mounting; scanning; binding; business cards; large format printing; typesetting/design/finishing; Contact: Shane Tel: +27 (0)21 425 0990 Fax: +27 (0)21 425 0992 Email: info@digitalcolour.biz Print Active Copy Centre We offer the following services: colour/ b&w high volume copying, scanning, binding, design, and finishing. We offer business packages consisting of letterheads, business cards and compliment slips. Free delivery and collection. Free quotations. Contact: Jo-Anne Tel: +27 (0)21 419 0734 Fax: +27 (0)21 419 0800 Email: jvmuller@theactivegroup. co.za
Sparx Media The most extensive online listing of illustrators in South Africa. Tel: +27 (0)21 422 0283 Email: info@sparxmedia.co.za www.illustrators.co.za
Dieter Fourie Multimedia Design-Web, Flash, CD Rom’s, Print. Contact: Dieter Fourie Tel: +27 (0)73 1713 029 Email: drone_74@hotmail.com www.go.to/Drone_74
PHOTOGRAPHERS Guy Stubbs Photography Stock library with over 50 000 social and environmental images. Contact: Bev Griffiths Tel: +27 (0)21 667 3939 Fax: 086 672 2273 Email: marketing@guystubbs.co.za www.guystubbs.co.za Neko-Lime Photography, photo retouching, graphic design & DTP Contact: Anthea Davison Tel: +27 (0)21 434 0704 Email: anthea@neko-lime.co.za www.neko-lime.co.za
TRAINING Access International Apple Mac / OSX Training. Certified Adobe Training Centre: Photoshop / InDesign / Illustrator / Acrobat. Macromedia: Dreamweaver / Flash. Final Cut Pro (video editing). Contact: Maggie Smith Tel: +27 (0)21 424 0772 Email: mail@accessint.co.za www.accessint.co.za Business School of South Africa Providing accelerated training courses, products and expert consulting services to individuals and companies alike. All in-house training may be combined with team-building activities. Contact: Tash Govender Tel: +27 (0)12 347 5670 Fax: 086 653 7232 Email: tash@business-school.co.za www.business-school.co.za CityVarsity Certificate and Diploma courses in Film and Television, Acting, Animation, Multimedia Design, Sound Engineering, Motion Picture Makeup, Production Design, Professional Photography, and Journalism. Tel: +27 (0)21 488 2000 Fax: +27 (0)21 423 6300 Email: info@cityvarsity.co.za www.cityvarsity.co.za
FILM AND VIDEO PRODUCTION Media Movers, Inc Full service localization company offering services in dubbing, subtitling, voiceovers & production in Asian, Indian & European languages. Contact: Lawrence Vishnu Tel: +27 (0)11 866 2008 Fax: +27 (0)11 866 2008 Email: info@media-movers.com www.media-movers.com
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