Multiplication

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.

John Steinbeck, US Novelist (1902-1968)

 

Reading Week

There were some interesting people about this week:

On Wednesday, it was back to LCC for another installment of the Talking Graphics series, this time with a new twist focussing on an area which I seem to be hearing & learning more and more about – service design:

“At a time when design thinking is reaching way beyond the design profession, it’s time to take stock and ask: Is design thinking the way forward for solving complex ‘wicked’ problems such as security and development? Can designers really design anything they turn their hands to? Are there limits to design thinking and, if so, what are they?”
Speakers & Panel included Derek B Miller & Lisa Rudnick (Security Needs Assessment Protocol, U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research), Daniel Dickens (Southwark Circle – who have been letting me help out with stuff recently), Alison Prendiville (LCC/Cranfield), Joe Heapy (Engine) and the think tank for the 2020 Public Services Trust at the RSA  (read more about that here)

There’s a podcast of the talk somewhere in the Internet -  if anyone’s interested it would definitely be well worth a listen…

Next up was another trip into the D&AD bubble, this time with Paula Scher at the helm:

She is a fascinatingly entertaining woman with mountains of great work to tell stories about, including this lot:

and she said this:

” the goal of design is to improve the expectation of what design could be”…”corporations aren’t bad. they’re just made up of lots of people. And people are difficult.”…”be culturally literate, because if you don’t have any understanding of the world you live in and the culture you live in, you’re not going to express anything to anybody else”

Cine-tastic

I went to see the Cinematic Orchestra last night for a live pop at ‘The Man With A Movie Camera’, plus two new pieces inspired by shorter films of the same era – ‘Entr’acte’ and ‘Manhattan’. Yummy jazz, improvisation, film projections, Roots Manuva, Fontella Bass andthe London Met orchestra.

Wonderful. If you haven’t seen it before, do.

p.s. thanks to jenny for the photo

.

.

“A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.”
Edward de Bono

Going Under…

I apologise if you’ve already heard all about it, but this piece of news nearly completely passed me by when it first hit the headlines almost a year ago. Last year we learnt that plans were underway to evacuate the first islands to be sinking into the oceans as a result of climate change, and now the phenomenon is really happening. The entire 1000-strong popluation of the Carteret Islands, off the coast of Papua New Guinea are being moved to another island as the sea engulfs the land.

That’s not all, though – as temperatures rise, glaciers have melted off the coast of Greenland revealing new islands previously unknown.
(Cheers, nyt.)

And man is left to re-draw his world.

Music to keep

Absolutely mesmerising:

Post-India Thinking

As I’ve mentioned quite a lot recently, I’m currently taking a year out of uni to do a ‘diploma in professional studies’ – a year to do whatever placements/freelance/research I so wish. Ever since the start of applying for the year, I wanted to incorporate some sort of overseas voluntary work into my experience, and India was intended to be just that. Whoops.

Having come back early, I am still mulling over what I saw of the country and how it made me feel – which in many respects was dramatically different to what I had expected.

Firstly, India is said to be enjoying a massive boom economy which is ’shaking up the local communication industry like there’s no tomorrow’ (see Sarah Temple’s Indian Design essay for Eye 66/07). Fathers work all hours of the day far away from home just for their children to be educated – and children get up before 6am to walk miles to school. The country is pumping out 3.5 million ’scientists, chemists and business minds’ every year, and an incredible 75% of the population is aged under 25 years, able to observe our Western mistakes passed and fighting for a better future. And, slowly, things are picking up speed – ’slums are beginning to be cleared, new flyovers and bridges are being erected, and the business people of the world are filling their taxis and rickshaws’ . This can be seen in any of the major cities, and Delhi is a perfect example – new hotels, new roads, pavements, traffic lights, the new metro…

But I can’t help thinking that this isn’t a full description of the country I encountered. For the most part, much of ‘our’ India felt a hundred-years behind these big city hubbubs. And it was tough – how could a country like this really be sprinting towards being one of the world’s next superpowers? How could it be proud of these expensive new technologies and architectural builds when millions were unable to escape street poverty? Yes, it’s a socio/economic dilemma that cannot ever be eliminated quickly, but I found it hard to take the power-chat when clearing street families’ homes for the multi-million-dollar commonwealth games or children defaecating by the road is often the Delhi way of life. More frustrating still is the number of people who care about improving the lives of poorer Indians, yet can’t spark a dramatic change as quickly as they’d like because parts of the country can be stuck in ways of the past. It really struck me that there were so many people we met who were preparing for this revolution of modern India, ready to re-define its visual identity, but were just waiting for it all to come together. This is a country where communities are now able to fast-track business, invest in social enterprises and contribute towards global recognition. Yet there aren’t even design standards for the government road signs (something that came up in conversation when I met InfoMen, great visual cliches though the signs are!)

It was interesting upon my return to read reviews of this year’s Kyoorius Designyatra conference in Mumbai. I had half-hoped to go but wasn’t in the country at the beginning of September. Anyway, it seemed to go down a storm with most (despite, so I’ve heard, there being few speakers from the host country). Patrick Burgoyne in Creative Review reflected upon his chairing experience:

“the question on many lips  was ‘What is Indian graphic design?’, or rather ‘What should Indian graphic design look like?’… They are in a country with perhaps the richest indigenous tradition in the world for decoration, colour and texture, but how can they translate that into their work without the results descending into airport kitsch? And should they?”

The answer, as PB goes on to suggest, is that no, there is no logical reason  for us to expect the design of India to look ‘Indian’ – “Why should we expect [the designers] to root their work…in local vernacular traditions when we rarely do it ourselves?”. Indeed many projects to come out of India do seem to somehow hark back to the beautiful rich decoration so particular to their history (InfoMen’s branding for New Delhi bar ‘Magique’ is a perfect example of updating the traditional style, see below) and these do often seem to be successful, understandably attracting the gaze of the masses due to the familiarity in the style. In contrast, the majority of busy streets are awash with big bold american logos (namely Pepsico and Coca-Cola) which took a vice-like hold of a country craving modernity and seem to provide a barrier against original creativity in visual communications, conditioning typical ‘Western’ aspirations into consumers. In many of these busy districts, things all begin to look the same.
And this is what has started to get to me. And even if I’m a few years late to be angry at Coca-Cola, this still applies to their contemporary counterparts.
What right do we have to go and tell a completely different culture what’s ‘good’ and what’s not? It frustrates me when I hear people try to analyse developing countries’ design successes using all the same criteria and terminology as we do in the West. Yes, the India is developing at rapid speed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will become more like us. India has its own way of doing things, which shouldn’t be restricted by the principles we have fitted to our home nations. If anything, we could learn a great deal from their behaviour – consumers seem to be often approached with far genuine storytelling and real humanity than in Western advertising counterparts.

For one, ‘Sustainability’ as we know it is not the issue. I remember speaking with Anna Gerber about this – she recalls workshops over near Mumbai where students were appalled that we would use a brand new envelope every time we post a letter. (Why buy or make a new one when you can re-use?!) It’s part of their culture. People buy local, farm organically and respect new recycling efforts because it makes sense for peoples’ lives. And as for ’social-responsibility’, I’d imagine it must be a completely different ball game, reaching extremes we wouldn’t encounter here. But challenging them with a moral approach which is simply natural.

The juxtaposition between what I’d read and what I saw was jarring. Somewhere along the way I think I forgot a little about the impending culture shock and really did expect to see with my own eyes a country going through a massive change. Impatient and a typical UK student. But once I was able to see past the immediate problems on the doorstep, it as possible to see these sparks of change. Everywhere we went, somebody told us about someone they know either doing business with, working in or exhibiting between India and the UK. It’s a big place with a whole lot of ancient traditions, so of course it’s going to take baby steps to shift the entire country. But it’s getting there, and this huge young population is going to be guiding the way.

Right then. Those are my thoughts. Sorry if they were a bit rambly and opinionated – do challenge me if you so wish. But I can’t wait to go back.

Oh, and here’s that lovely work by InfoMen:

India part xii. – Picture Post!

India Gate, Delhi

The Taj Mahal, Agra

The walls of the Pink City, Jaipur

Views of Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

TucTucs

The prettiest bins ever? The Rose Gardens, Chandigarh

The Rock Gardens of Chandigarh

Pinjore Gardens

The Golden Temple, Amritsar

The Toy Train to Shimla

Look familiar?..

Hills and prayer flags in Shimla

The best coffee shop view I have ever had

India part xi. – final days in delhi

Tuesday 13th October

Yesterday, following the suggestion of one of my tutors from LCC, I travelled into South Delhi to meet InfoMen, a studio set up by two ex-LCC students who are now well known for their distinctive information design. Carlos, Aman and Nitasha really are extremely talented, focussed and friendly people, and I ended up spending the day with them! It was so interesting to quiz them about why they work in both the UK and India (opportunities for such a variety of projects and concepts), how their creative approaches have to differ for the different countries’ clientele (so much so that they have now set up another division specifically for India, InfoNauts) and their current initiatives (I was particularly interested in their work towards the idea of social business).
 It was a great day, and I may well find myself returning in the future (they are currently looking for interns, get in touch if you’re interested!) 

It’s quite peculiar being alone here now. I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts together on what have been 3 manic weeks. It’s a shame that things didn’t go as we had expected, but leaving early does not make this a failed trip. I have seen and learnt an incredible amount – about the Indian way of life and way of working – it takes a while to adjust!
It’s been incredibly inspiring, challenging, colourful and humbling all in equal measure.

That said, I cannot lie – I am looking forward to returning to London for a while!

India part x. – shimla

Thursday 8th October

In a flurry of decision-making, we have arranged to return to London just over a week early. It means that we can make the absolute most of the next few days and that Jess and Suz will be able to go straight into placements in London. It’s a  shame we’ve had to cut the trip short, and I’ll definitely be back when I have more time and less worry about work experience! I’m also going to meet up with some ex-LCC students who now work together in Delhi, which I’m really looking forward to.

Back to the trip in hand, though:

As I write this, I’m on the ‘Toy Train’ to Shimla, a slow but stunning trip up to the famous ex-Brit-colonial Hill Station, passing through a total of 102 tunnels, 988 bridges and 917 curves, and reaching an altitude of 2075m above sea level! We’ve been on the go for a total of about 20 hours now from amritsar, but these breathtaking views make up for it – river valleys, maize terraces and orchards as far as the eye can see. I’m by the window and the mountain breeze is a welcome smack in the face!
I was hoping to visit McLeod Ganj too, but alas there will not be enough time. No matter, though, I’m sure these silver-green silhouettes of the Himilayan Shivalek Range will more than suffice for a taste of life in Himchal Pradesh.
As we approach the city, the sun starts dropping, bobbing  like an egg yolk behind the tree-topped peacks, and a pink haze is thrown over the view. Soon it’s dark, with only the flicker of tiny white and gold lights indicating the townspeoples’ houses.  It’s cold!

Friday 9th October
We awoke today wearing all our clothes and 2 duvets – it really is cold here! But you can see for miles from our room – miles and miles of hills and houses – even more stunning in the crisp light of dawn. I like this place, it reminds me of the Lake District, except for even more hills, monkeys everywhere and the rupees… Today we’re having a final scout around the bazaar (it’s so calm here compared to anywhere else!) And then pizza (they have dominos!) and real hot showers that actually work. Yippee!

Saturday 10th October
Jess left this morning. I’m by myself now for the next few days, but it’s quite a nice feeling. I have been sat drinking coffee and writing postcards for far too long, though. Trying to gather energy to walk up to the museum – it’s 1.3 km out of town and up a very steep hill! My bus leaves for Delhi tonight. I’m starting to look forward to a little bit of normality in London…