AGIDEAS

Trends and Designers


One major trend that I noticed during the 3 day conference at AGIDEAS was the term "collaboration".
Many designers have collaborated with individuals not only from their disciplines, but from all walks of life, including industrial designers, florists, milliners and painters.
I learnt that networking and joining forces with others is a great way to get the creative juices flowing and to bring about new ideas by learning a new way of thinking from people you never thought you would have worked with and thinking in ways that you never thought to think. "Doing fun stuff with other fun people" - Kerrie Stanley
Jeffrey Copolov, who worked on the Royal Children's Hospital rebranding project collaborated with a lot of artists and architects to create a story and atmosphere in a place where people don't normally associate with hapiness. Through understanding the way the building worked architecturally, he was able to devise a set of stories for each floor of the building, working his way from the bottom up. Along with the physical structure of the building, he worked closely with landscapers who look after the exterior of the space. Knowing nothing about gardening, he was able to work with and communicate his plans to make the garden areas of the hospital welcoming and inviting. A place where children can find peace and sanctuary, all while maintaining the look and feel of the story that is happening inside the walls.
Collaborations bring about new opportunities and aim to inspire designers to go off after a project and look at things in new ways. Returning to partnerships that are made through networking can open a whole new set of opportunities and create relationships that are beneficial for all parties involved.

Concept Evaluation
Cindy-Lee Davis is the founder of Lightly. They design 3D works such as light shades, bowls, tableware and ornaments. The pieces are all inspired by the past. "Design is a story telling process". Cindy-Lee tries to convey a story in all her work. She likes to draw on patterns from the middle ages and humanises products through the stories they have to tell.
I feel that her work is very personal and the amount of detail shows that she is very passionate about what she does. Her project with the tea cup saucers took months and a lot of hard work. The concept was to collect old and disused china and porcelain saucers that can be recycled from unwanted tableware to unique and ornate decorations. Where one person sees trash, Cindy-Lee sees a design opportunity. "I am often inspired by the ordinary, and make it extraordinary".
I believe the concept is fresh and different and works well with her corporate culture of playing on nostalgia. These old saucers all told a story about the person who used to use them. They will live on to tell more stories with their new owners in a different function. This is a great way to look at the work that one is doing, to make it worthwhile.
The concept works great and it has proved to be a great success. Pop up exhibitions have come about for Cindy-Lee through collaborating with others on this international project, which again shows this trend to network and make new relationships.
Click here to view the ornate collection.

Sourced Stock Images

IMAGE 1 can be used for an advertisement of the club the logo is being made for

IMAGE 2 can be used to photoshop the logo on the cyclists uniform

IMAGE 3 can be used to advertise cycling as a sport and have the club logo in the corner as the sponsor

Copyright Issues

Fonts:
Fonts can be found from a variety of sources on the internet. There are hundreds of sites where you can download free fonts and use them for personal use (EG making invitations or posters) but as soon as money is made from the creation then copyright issues come into play.


DaFont - This site has thousands of fonts that can be downloaded. On the majority of the fonts there is a disclaimer that says that they are for personal use only. Links are provided to the websites where the full fonts can be purchased. Click here to see an example of this.


Identifont - This site helps to identify fonts that have been seen on publications and other works through the dissection of the anatomy of the fonts themselves. Identifont also doesn't allow commercial use of typefaces unless an agreement is made with Identifont. This statement is on their website, which can be viewed by clicking here along with the copyright statement (click here to view)


FontBook - This is a site where fonts need to be purchased. Prices vary for different fonts, based on the font family. For example, Soho has 40 fonts and costs $2060 for the entire pack, whereas Avante Garde Gothic Pro is only one font and costs $33.50. All the fonts have a User Agreement. To see an example of this, click here for the agreement for Scala Sans.

Terms and Conditions on font usage can be found on FontFont's website. Click here to view
Once fonts have been downloaded onto your computer, the default font program will load and install your font to be used with whichever programs support the font.

Images:
Images off the internet are subject to copyright unless purchased. Using images found on search engines such as Google are technically illegal because ownership belongs to the people who have uploaded the image in the first place. A number of sites exist where images can be purchased and used in any way by the purchaser.

iStockphoto - Generic images are categorized to make it easy to find and purchase using credits bought off the site. Depending on how many credits are purchased determines what type of image can be purchased. Here is a table showing how the breakdown works. Credits purchased in bulk get cheaper the more you buy. Larger files cost more credits.

Getty Images - Getty Images works the same as iStock photo in the way images are categorized and presented, however purchasing is done directly through credit card, not through credits. Pricing also depends on the size of the image and the medium that is used. Click here for the terms and conditions.

Bibliography
http://www.gettyimages.com.au/
http://www.istockphoto.com/
http://www.linotype.com/
https://www.fontfont.com/
http://www.dafont.com/
http://www.identifont.com/

My Team Logo

Below are the initial sketches for my logo idea. My Greek myth is Achilles and the sport I have chosen to do is cycling. The reason for this is that a lot of injuries to the Achilles tendon can be attributed to cycling and the repeated motion on the ankle and foot area. I have used Achilles' iconic shield as a component in my initial thumbnails, because it's a simple element and relates to his competitive and warrior status.

Initial thumbnails

Starting refinement

Native American Motifs

The Golden State Warriors


The Golden State Warriors are a professional basketball team from Oakland California. Originally they were known as the Philadelphia Warriors when they were formed in 1945. In 1962 they relocated to San Francisco and became the San Francisco warriors and in 1971 became what they are currently known as the Golden State Warriors.

The original logo was an image of a native Indian. Click here to view. In 1971 the logo changed and the team got rid of the native Indian and became more state and basketball based. The image shows the state they are based in and a large basketball. Click here to view. The image here shows the fourth progression of the logo which goes back to a strong figure that is the more prominent element in the design, however they have not used a native Indian again, showing that they are more culturally aware as the times have changed. The final and current logo, that can be viewed here, goes back to being more location oriented.

The current logo uses 2 colours in the design and goes back to a simple line drawing style. The colours reflect the Warriors' royal blue that has been a consistent theme in their history as well as a bridge that is in the process of being completed in San Francisco, which is the Californian golden yellow colour.
Line and colour are the dominant elements as well as type because the name of the club needs to be there. However, the typeface choice is questionable as it still looks a little outdated.
The only motif that I can identify the silhouette of the bridge. This kind of silhouette is often used to depict cities and identify structural icons. It is used in logos and other design works quite frequently (Click here for an example)
The Golden State Warriors very quickly moved away from the native Indian figures and since the first logo has not used the image ever again. It's clear that the original logo and the name "Warriors" go hand in hand because the current logo doesn't really reflect that they are "warriors".

The design works well with the colours but as stated above, I believe the name and the image don't really relate. The intention to become more culturally aware has been achieved but I think more refinement is needed to achieve a completely aesthetically pleasing design.

Bibliography
http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2010/06/warriors-unveil-new-logo-color-scheme/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_State_Warriors

Culture in Design

Click here to read the article which the below response was written about:

I love these designs and how they bring long standing traditions into the modern day. It's wonderful to see the traditional colours, patterns and vibrance of these cultures. It highlights the need for designers to research and reference different cultural backgrounds to draw attention to their past. They can be really influential and raise awareness for cultures that are on the verge of being lost.

Aboriginal Motifs

Functions and Philosophies

“Protocols are about peoples value systems and cultural beliefs.”

Respect:

When creating a visual art piece, it’s advised that people respect the following points:

• The original inhabitants of Australia were Indigenous Australians, Aboriginals and Torres Straight Islanders.
• The indigenous people have a right to control and own their culture.
• The cultural significance of indigenous arts should be respected.
• Outdated and inappropriate perspectives and terminology should not be used.
• Indigenous cultures are still in existence today.

Communication, consultation and consent:

When communicating, consulting and seeking consent, the following should be remembered:

• Consent is always required when intending to reproduce or reuse indigenous visual arts and crafts especially if traditional designs relating to particular communities are involved.
• Commonly owned material such as ritual knowledge and dreamtime stories may require wider consultation across a number of communities.
• There may be gender divisions of equality that people need to be aware of.
• There may be artists in remote communities that require interpreters.
• Sensitive content may require special consent

Moral Rights and Issues:

• “Existing moral rights are individual rights only”.
• The Australian Federal Government drafted a proposal to amend the Copyright Act to include indigenous moral rights, which proposes that copyright is included for indigenous works and films.
• It means that there will be mutual commitment between the indigenous community and the maker of the film or work.
• There also needs to be acknowledgement of the community’s association with the work.