Friday, December 19, 2008

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM DESIGN INDABA

Design Indaba wishes you safe, festive and happy holidays.


DESIGN INDABA CONFERENCE

Experience the fabulous Marcel Wanders, Dai Fujiwara of Issey Miyake, AdamsMorioka’s real message, 5.5’s challenge to the status quo, Javier Mariscal's theatricalities, Dunne & Raby’s technological futurism and Bruce Mau’s vision for massive change… all at Design Indaba Conference and Young Designers Simulcast from 25 to 27 February 2009. Booking and more information at www.designindaba.com


DESIGN INDABA 10x10 HOUSING PROJECT

The first Design Indaba 10x10 house designed by MMA Architects’ principals, Luyanda Mpahlwa and Mphethi Morojele, has been shortlisted for the Design Museum’s Brit Insurance Design of the Year award. On a winning streak, the project received the prestigious Curry Stone Design Prize in September.

Catch up on the latest developments: http://designindaba10x10.blogspot.com/


DESIGN INDABA EXPO

Creativity that knows no boundaries. That's what Design Indaba Expo is all about. Elegant lamps made of ostrich feathers; recycled milk bottle caps assembled together in flower mobiles; funky jewellery made from old-fashioned silverware; sophisticated laptop bags crafted from billboard vinyls. These are just some of the ideas that have wowed the crowds over past years – as well as hundreds of influential buyers from across the globe. Come and see the latest on the catwalks in all-day fashion shows, sample the finest in food and drink, vote for the Most Beautiful Object in South Africa, view the short-film festival, be enticed to buy from more than 250 exhibitors and hobnob with the designers in person. Above all, be awed by the creative spirit of innovative South Africans.The Design Indaba Expo is nearly full, to avoid disappointment contact Beverley Cupido on 021 465 9966 or bev@interactiveafrica.com.


SOUTH

The SOUTH competition submissions from across the country are currently being adjudicated. The SOUTH exhibition of legends and competition finalists will debut at the 2009 Design Indaba Expo. Then it's time to take the message to the world – stand back Milan, London and New York, here comes SOUTH!


ART VESPA 2009: DEADLINE EXTENDED

Some people think that advertisers and designers sit around all day drawing pictures, which doesn’t sound much like hard work at all. Fortunately, Vespa South Africa know this isn’t true, which is why they have announced a deadline extension for Art Vespa 2009. The revised closing date is 15 January 2009. The prize remains, of course, an ultra-stylish Vespa LX150 wrapped in the winning design, which is sure to evoke the envy of less inspired colleagues. Visit http://vespa.co.za/ArtVespa2009 for more info and entry forms.


NAMPAK PACKAGING DESIGN CHALLENGE

Nampak invites all professional design studios, agencies and freelance designers to compete in the Nampak Packaging Design Challenge and be acknowledged for creativity in the area of packaging and graphic design.

Entrants in the professional category can either participate as a group/business or as an individual, while the student category will involve pre-selected packaging design students. All you need to do is register in order to qualify.

The deadline for submissions for the Nampak Packaging Design Challenge is 31 January 2009. Winners will be chosen and notified in February and the final exhibition of winning designs will take place at the Design Indaba Expo from 27 February to 1 March 2009, as well as being featured in the Design Indaba magazine. The first prize is an Apple Macbook Pro and the second prize a Wacom tablet.

Click here to download the full entry form.


WESTERN CAPE FURNITURE DESIGN COMPETITION

The inaugural Western Cape Furniture Design competition has announced its theme: EAT. The theme seeks to inspire a creative take on furniture that forms part of eating environments – tables, chairs, servers or other furniture in a dining room, outdoor, kitchen or other environments. The competition is open to all professionals and students in the Western Cape and R50 000 worth of prizes are to be won. Entries close on 23 January 2009. Visit www.furniture.org.za for more information and entry details.

Friday, December 12, 2008

JAVIER MARISCAL returns to Design Indaba 2009

“Sometimes, the design process enables us to give new meanings to old forms or new forms to old meanings. In this way, we feel that we are advancing in our work, we are innovating, insinuating or inspiring. So that times still change. So that we are not evident.”

When people ask Javier Mariscal what he does for a living, he sometimes says he’s a tightrope walker and other times he says he’s an acrobat – even when he uses the world of the circus to describe himself, he takes on several jobs. In a circus, he would also be the ring manager, he would design the big top and the staging, he would go up on the trapeze and would be most annoyed if he didn’t find time to feed the elephants.

Furniture design, painting, sculpture, illustration, interior design, graphic design, landscape painting, gardening, horticulture and more… since Javier Mariscal’s life and career has been characterised by creative incontinence as vital activity. After wowing the crowds at Design Indaba 2003 with his theatrical multimedia performance, he now returns to the Design Indaba big top. Get ringside seats for Javier Mariscal at Design Indaba Conference 2009, from February 25 to 27.

Download Javier Marsical’s iGoogle theme

Book before 12 December 2008 to make use of the Early Bird and Alumni discounts. Click here to register.

DUNNE & RABY challenge the future at Design Indaba 2009

The shift from thinking about applications to implications creates a need for new design roles, contexts and methods. For Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby it’s not just about designing for commercial, market-led contexts but also for broader societal ones. It’s not just about designing products that can be consumed and used today, but also imaginary ones that might exist in years to come. And it’s not just about imagining things we desire, but also undesirable things — cautionary tales that highlight what might happen if we carelessly introduce new technologies into society.

Dunne & Raby use design as a critical medium to explore fields of science such as biotechnology and nanotechnology. Evidence Dolls playfully probes the implications of DNA knowledge between lovers, while Designs for Fragile Personalities in Anxious Times continues their obsession with the psychological impact of an atomised society. It celebrates humans as contradictory, complex and psychologically flawed.

Meet the future with Dunne & Raby at Design Indaba Conference, from 25 to 27 February 2009.

    

“As designers we have an unthinking optimism about the future. We automatically assume that what we design is neutral and implicitly good. There is a deeply embedded ideology that the role of design and architecture is ‘to make the world a better place’. But how do we acknowledge our contradictions, our inconsistencies and celebrate a humanness which, if we admit it, is deeply flawed?" they ask.

Book before 12 December 2008 to make use of the Early Bird and Alumni discounts. Click here to register.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Green Tees from Vida

The Green-T Project is an experiment in recycle, redesign, fashion and photography.

Young fashion designers were given old clothes that were donated by customers of Vida E Caffe and they were created into works of art, designers include: Jule Visnjic (Unknown), Marina Geldenhuys (Sew-Sew), Natasha Liebenberg (LiebenCut), Elmin, Ludwich Olivier.

The recycled garments will feature in a series of images created by rising photographic talents that include Brett Rubin, Natasja Fourie, Carey Niqa Wiehahn, Jesse-Leigh Elford and Justin Badenhorst. A cast of musicians and creatives that include Inge Beckmann (former lead singer of Lark), Jeremy de Tolly (lead singer of The Dirty Skirts), Ellenie Eloff (one-person band Catwalktrash), Lauren Fowler (Illustrator/Graphic Designer) and jewellery designer Philippa Green will star in the images.

The complete collection of images will be presented at vida e caffé, Wembley Square, Gardens on Thursday, 11 December 2008 at 19h30.

The fabulous Marcel Wanders at Design Indaba 2009

Image courtesy of Marcel Wanders Studio

There’s very little in design that is bigger than Marcel Wanders. If his Knotted Chair and Crochet Series are his most iconic, then his most notorious must be his Airborne Snotty Vases, and his most anticipated, the new Mondrian South Beach hotel. The hotel is said to be an extension of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale – when we open our eyes after 100 years, everything will look fabulous!

“Throughout the 20th century, architects and designers strived to produce products that could be made by machines and that would help create welfare, equality and a political foundation for democracy. They created works that celebrated the poor possibilities of the available machinery. In this period bending metal tubes and cutting wood with a machine were considered small miracles,” he wrote in the foreword to 21st Century Design.

See, Wanders believes that machines should heed to humans and that we should all live like princes and princesses – and that’s not a conceited statement. We have the technology, we have the imagination, so what’s stopping us?

Liberate your fabulousness with Marcel Wanders at Design Indaba Conference 2009, from February 25 to 27.

Book before 12 December 2008 to make use of the Early Bird and Alumni discounts. Click here to register.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Poster design competition

WORLD BOOK DAY: 23RD APRIL 2009

Prize Money for winning design: R2 000

1. Background to World Book Day
World Book Day and Copyright Day, 23 April, was instituted by UNESCO in 1995. The Centre for the Book acts as the national co-ordinator of a poster campaign involving schools, libraries and bookshops. The poster is to create awareness and encourages events all over South Africa.

2. Theme for 2009
“UNLOCK YOUR MIND, READ BOOKS”

3. Poster requirements
a. Theme to be included on poster
b. 2009 not to be included – only 23 April
c. Image can be photographic or illustrative
d. Conceptualisation to be directly linked to the theme “Unlock your mind, read books.”
e. Poster to be printed in full colour, size A2
f. Only second part of Theme (“unlock your mind, read books”) to be translated into all official languages.

4. Contact
Please e-mail your poster in either pdf or jpeg format to samantha@publishsa.co.za with your contact details.

5. Deadline
Friday, 16th January 2009

Flat-pack Xmas at the KZNSA Gallery

In collaboration with Design Indaba, the Suss't exhibition at the KZNSA Gallery has some fabulous sustainable design options for festive cheer and pressies. I love this self-assembly flat-packed christmas gear cut from birch ply by designers Richard Stretton and Angela Shaw...

KZNSA GALLERY
166 BULWER ROAD GLENWOOD DURBAN
031 277 1703; WWW.KZNSAGALLERY.CO.ZA

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Keep it clean with Design Indaba 2009

Communication through promises, missions, brand DNA and value creation has become relatively risk-free. After all, the medium is the message, right? But in the end, the conglomeration of words and ideas must realise measurable results. So what is the message? AdamsMorioka maintain that a certain level of courage is necessary to produce something real. That courage requires facing fears, but also finding a level of fun. Adams and Morioka approach this with these questions:

  • What is the difference between fearless and foolish?
  • Why do we do this?
  • Where do we want to go?

Beginning as a two-person design firm in the early 1990s, AdamsMorioka have had a meteoric rise in the industry, based on their philosophy of clarity, purity and resonance. Brands such as ABC, Adobe, Gap, Frank Gehry Associates, Nickelodeon, Sundance and the Walt Disney Company will attest to it.

But most importantly, AdamsMorioka don’t just talk, they make the message real.

Get the message at the Design Indaba Conference from February 25 to 27, 2009.

Book before 12 December 2008 to make use of the Early Bird and Alumni discounts. Click here to register.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

5.5 question the status quo at Design Indaba 2009

Who can be sure whether green or yellow is the best colour? Whether baroque or gothic is more appropriate? Serif or sans serif? Zig-zags or swirls? Minimalism or maximalism? Whether a designed object is really more valid than its mass produced counterpart? But then, what is design? Is it style or function? Process or end product? Bricks or wallpaper?

Don’t expect to find answers from Paris’s 5.5 design collective – they’ll just riddle you with more questions, invade your assembly line, champion the discontinued product line, mould a cushion from your belly and start a garden in your lounge furniture.

"We ask these questions by designing objects. When you work in a team, it’s impossible to just talk about shape or colour. What has become important for the 5.5 designers is not a question of style, shape, colours or form, but the way that we perceive projects," explains Anthony LebossĂ© on behalf of the group of four – read the whole interview in the latest edition of Design Indaba magazine.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet the 5.5 designers in person at Design Indaba from February 25 to 27, 2009.

Book before 12 December 2008 to make use of the Early Bird and Alumni discounts. Click here to register.

Dai Fujiwara of Issey Miyake at Design Indaba 2009

Just last year, Dai Fujiwara unleashed his debut collection as creative director for Issey Miyake on the Paris runway. Of course, Issey Miyake addicts would have been following the rise of this young textile engineer since at least 1998, upon the launch of the award-winning A-Poc series.

A-Poc is an acronym for “a piece of cloth” and describes Fujiwara’s proprietary software-driven design process, which weaves entire pieces of clothing with no sewing necessary. The technique represents a whole new creative, technological and ecological rapid prototyping proposition to the fashion industry.

And don’t even get us started on Fujiwara’s design wedding project that saw some of the world’s most renowned design companies get involved in the big day of an ordinary Finnish couple…

Rather come hear Dai Fujiwara tell you about that himself at Design Indaba 2009.

Book before 12 December 2008 to make use of the Early Bird and Alumni discounts. Click here to register.

Invite to AAA Expo

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

SOUTH deadline extended until December 8

Enter the SOUTH competition now and stand a chance to win R100 000. What's stopping you? Second place receives R50 000, third place receives R25 000 and all finalists will be included on the SOUTH exhibition, set to travel around South Africa and the world through 2009.

Missed the deadline? Design Indaba are extending the deadline to December 8 so as to accomodate a number of student and professional entrants who could not meet the original SOUTH deadline. All submissions are to be made electronically and finalists will be contacted regarding the final product for exhibition.

Have we mentioned the R100 000?

SOUTH is a multi-disciplinary celebration of what South African creativity really means. We’re not being prescriptive – in fact, we’re asking you what South African creativity is and asking you to embody the answer in whichever creative form you see fit – because it is going to be you that wins the R100 000.

Have we said that already? Let’s say it again: R100 000.

The award is open to all creatives across all industries including advertising, design, film and video, music, performing arts, fashion design, new media, publishing, radio and television, industrial design, visual art, architecture and crafts. That means that entries may be in the form of an advert, design, video, film, song, performance, fashion item, book, radio show, television show, industrial design, painting, sculpture, print, photo, building, craft work or anything else.

Two runners up will receive R50 000 and R25 000 respectively.

SOUTH is the new creative ethos that has emerged from South Africa in the past few years. It’s the zeitgeist of contemporary creativity in the diverse, heritage-rich South Africa. SOUTH defines itself beyond ethnicity, religion, race or language, rather celebrating difference and uniqueness while accommodating the ongoing social challenges of the modern world. SOUTH is an inversion of hand-me-down Eurocentric creativity – turning the world map upside down to find that South is on top and South Africa the pinnacle of the world.

Even if you don’t win a prize, so finalists will still be included in the travelling exhibition – an exhibition that stands to be this century’s most radical visual treat the world has yet seen from Africa. Everyone wins!

What now?

Download the entry form at www.designindaba.com/south.

Send the entry form, pictures of the work, copy of ID and proof of payment to south@interactiveafrica.com.

Deadline extended to: 8 December 2008.

South background

Realising the need to fortify and celebrate the uniquely SOUTH-flavoured creativity that our country has been putting out, Design Indaba have partnered with Creative Circle and The Loerie Awards to form the Creative Alliance who have announced the SOUTH award and exhibition, sponsored by the SABC.

The SOUTH exhibition will celebrate the legends who have pioneered this upswing in a display of the top creative icons of the past few years. In turn, the SOUTH competition encourages everyone to invert their compasses and create something in the spirit of what it means to reclaim the world from the bottom up. The SOUTH competition finalists will complete the exhibition and three cash prizes will be awarded: R100 000, R50 000 and R25 000.

The SOUTH exhibition of legends and competition finalists will debut at the 2009 Design Indaba Expo. Then it’s time to take the message to the world – stand back Milan, London and New York, here comes SOUTH!

Onwards... upwards... southwards... viva!

Monday, November 17, 2008

MASSIVE CHANGE at Design Indaba 2009

What if we could do anything? What if the questions surrounding design turned out to be the big questions? What if life itself became a design project? What if the welfare of the entire human race became design’s practical objective? What if we succeeded?

These are just some of the questions why Bruce Mau’s groundbreaking book and exhibition, Massive Change, are nothing short of being a design cult movement. In 2006, Massive Change summed up the progressive ethos that has infiltrated 21st century creativity.

“Design has prevailed as one of the world’s most powerful forces. It perches us at the beginning of an unprecedented period of human possibility, where all economies and ecologies hold the capacity to merge as global, relational and interconnected,” announced Mau.

Don’t miss Bruce Mau at Design Indaba 2009.

Book before 12 December 2008 to make use of the Early Bird and Alumni discounts. Click here to register.

AN EXHIBITION OF SUSS'TAINABLE DESIGN

Presented by the KZNSA Gallery in partnership with Design Indaba. Opens Sunday 16 November 2008 at 4pm with a performance by the South Jersey Pom-poms.

The inaugural SUSS'T exhibition, which takes place at the KZNSA Gallery in Durban for two months from November 16, 2008, is the result of a partnership between the KZNSA and Design Indaba. Curated by Brenton Maart, the exhibition catalogues and exhibits the broad wealth of design and creativity inherent in South Africa, most of whom regularly participate in the annual Design Indaba Expo. Exhibitors and objects have been selected based on their relevancy to sustainability (the concept from which the exhibition derives its name).

In showcasing the best of local sustainable design, the exhibition functions as an illustration of how design is capable of saving us from ourselves. Sustainability has long carried the stigma of inferior quality and being overpriced relative to the market. Additionally, the many elements of sustainability have been derided by neoclassical economists as economically inefficient. But the very definition of efficiency is radically changing as its measure shifts from profit to units of carbon, methane and social stability. With that shift, everything changes. And with new technologies and innovative approaches to materials and design, sustainability has lost its stigma. In fact, it's starting to sparkle and shine.

The exhibition adopts a multi-pronged definition of sustainability:

  • Environmentally and ecologically sustainable products, including Koop’s alien wood furniture by Richard Stretton and Angela Shaw, a minimalist range that packs up into a box.
  • Sustainable growth through skills development and application, including Ardmore Ceramics, whose depictions of indigenous animal and plant life, and visual interpretations of Zulu mythology, have seen them win major awards and their work housed in significant international art collections.
  • Sustainable economic growth through network development, including the Soda project, which is a best-practice model of collaboration between the country's high-end fashion industry and its skilled rural crafters.
  • Sustainable development, including the Hillcrest Aids Project (the makers of the gorgeous Little Travellers) and the Monkeybiz Project (who employ thousands of people in and around Cape Town to develop and produce the wacky beaded animals that have seen them gain international fame).

There are four key components to the exhibition:

Industrial and product design occupies the Main and Mezzanine Galleries, with signature work by Andrew Roberts, Andrew Walford, Ardmore, Avoova, Carla da Cruz, Cetsile Mbongosi, Chris de Beer, Colwyn Thomas, Daley Ntanzi, Elaine Woodbridge, Gillian Gerhardt, Fikile Makhanyazi, Gerald Bedeker, Give-It-Bag, Haldane Martin, Heath Nash, Hide, Hillcrest Aids Project, Khumba Mpanza, Kwakunzemnyama, Lindelani Ndinisa, Liv, Koop, Monkeybiz, Ncani Shaya, Ronel Jordaan, Sibongile Gina, Siya Frank, Simply Sam, Sonto Twala, Strangelove, Xavier Clarisse, Zenzulu, Zulu Bead Project and Zulu Lulu.

Fashion and jewellery design occupies the Mezzanine Gallery, with signature work by Amanda Laird Cherry, Black Coffee, Icon, Leigh Schubert, Lunar, Nic Bladen, Phillipa Green, Skermunkil, Soda, Springleap, Strangelove, Two and Veronika de Greef.

Books on art, design, fashion, music and culture, along with a selection of bound sketchbooks and diaries, occupy the new Glass Box Gallery. Editioned artists’ prints, drawings and sculptures are installed throughout the galleries, and include work by Andrew Verster, Claudette Schreuders, Colbert Mashile, Cameron Platter, Conrad Botes, Daniel Hirschmann, David Koloane, Judith Mason, Michael Croeser, Nhlanhla Xaba, Nils Eichberg, Oliver Schildt, Penny Siopis and Robert Hodgins.

Over the period of the exhibition there will be a number of special events including talks and demonstrations by artists and designers, performances, book launches and readings by authors and poets. Please watch the press for details.

Exhibition closes 11 January 2009.

KZNSA GALLERY: CONTEMPORARY VISUAL CULTURE 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, Durban 4001 Tel: +27 (0)31 277 1703 Fax: +27 (0)31 201-8051

Email: curator@kznsagallery.co.za Web: www.kznsagallery.co.za

Please contact the gallery if you require further information, additional images, or wish to arrange to interview the artists and designers.

Friday, November 14, 2008

EXTRA MUROS: Architectures of Delight

Blooming around Johannesburg…

(Drill Hall, Market Photo Workshop, Alliance Française, Roka and 6…)

From 13 November to 12 December 2008

“Extra Muros, Architectures of Delight” is an exhibition originally produced and designed from a catalogue of photographs and criticisms of contemporary architecture, co-ordinated by the CitĂ© de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine/Institut Français d’Architecture.

This exhibition has been specifically tailored for a worldwide presentation, focusing on architecture in tune with current urban situations, territorial or programme-related issues that are relevant throughout the world.

Through a critical mass effect, the 40 projects presented say that “good” architecture is not as rare as it seems, and that if we do not see it, surely it is because it is not where we expect it, also because it’s simpler, more modest or simply less preoccupied with its durability than we imagine.

“Extra Muros, Architectures of Delight” gathers exceptional photographs of master architects’ buildings (Jean Nouvel’s Justice Court, in the French city of Nantes, for instance) as well as anonymous constructions that, in the end, make of the exhibition a visual tribute to diversity, freedom, a certain taste for adventure, generosity, integrity, lightness and forms of enchantment.

With the intention of proposing a new and fresh look at architectural delights, the exhibition will be presented for free (of course!) in different locations of Johannesburg.

The Drill Hall and the Market Photo Workshop, in Town; the Alliance Française, in Parkview; Six Bar, in Melville; Roka Lounge Bar, in Millpark, will each host “a piece” of Extra Muros, giving the public an opportunity to look differently on these different areas and, at the same time, each stopover affording the public a new playful mobility within Joburg’s architectural delights.

“Extra Muros, architectures of Delight” will be extended to the academic field with an exceptional one-week architecture workshop entitled “EUNIC Architecture Studio 2008”, co-ordinated by the French Institute on behalf of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC).

Taking place between the 17th and 22nd of November at the Drill Hall, “EUNIC Architecture Studio 2008” will invite a panel of international architects and “thinkers of the environment” to work around the idea of low-cost housing along with Gauteng’s architecture students and young professionals.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Art Vespa 2009 ­– deadline extended

Some people think that advertisers and designers sit around all day drawing pictures, which doesn’t sound much like hard work at all. Fortunately, Vespa South Africa knows this isn’t true, which is why they have just announced a deadline extension for Art Vespa 2009.

The revised closing date is 15 January 2009, which means that entrants can design their dream Vespa at their company end-of-year bash, during Christmas dinner, while lying on the beach in Plettenberg Bay or anywhere far away from the pressures of deadlines and client demands.

The prize remains, of course, an ultra-stylish Vespa LX150 wrapped in the winner’s original design, which is sure to evoke the envy of their less inspired colleagues.

Visit http://vespa.co.za/ArtVespa2009 for info and inspiration and submit to artvespa@vespa.co.za before 15 January 2009, with your name, surname, mobile number, agency and your designation.

The winning entry and two runners-up, as judged by an international panel from Piaggio in Italy, will be displayed at the Design Indaba in Cape Town from 27 February to 1 March 2009 for all to admire.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Bookend Design Competition

Submit for SOUTH next week!

One week to go...

Submit for SOUTH next week!

The overall winner receives R100 000.

Second place receives R50 000.

Third place receives R25 000.

The award is open to all creatives across all industries including advertising, design, film and video, music, performing arts, fashion design, new media, publishing, radio and television, industrial design, visual art, architecture and crafts.

The SOUTH exhibition of legends and competition finalists will debut during the 2009 Design Indaba. Then it’s time to take the message to the world – stand back Milan, London and New York, here comes SOUTH!

Submissions will be received between 13 and 15 November 2008, at the collection centres listed below. Centres will be open from 8am – 5pm.

The closing date for entries is 15 November 2008.

Submission centres:

Cape Town Cape Peninsula University of Technology Cape Town Campus Faculty of Informatics and Design corner of Keizersgracht and Tennant streets Zonnebloem Cape Town 7925

Durban Durban Art Gallery Second Floor City Hall Smith Street Durban 4001

Johannesburg Vega Brand Communication School 444 Jan Smuts Avenue Bordeaux Johannesburg 2194

Port Elizabeth EPSAC Community Art Centre 36 to 38 Bird Street Central Port Elizabeth 6001

If you are unable to make it to a submission centre, you may enter via e-mail: south@interactiveafrica.com. The deadline is 15 November 2008.

Entry forms are available to download from www.designindaba.com/south

For more information please contact Michael Purdham mikep@interactiveafrica.com

Onwards... upwards... southwards... viva!

DESIGN INDABA CONFERENCE EARLY BIRD NOW OPEN

Click here to play video

GET 10% OFF YOUR DESIGN INDABA CONFERENCE TICKET
when you take advantage of our Early Bird offer before 12 December.
Click here or go to www.designindaba.com.
Design Indaba Conference and Young Designers Simulcast: 25 – 27 February 2009.
Expo: 27 February – 01 March 2009.
Cape Town International Convention Centre, South Africa.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Designer surfboard auction in Cape Town

Wavescapes Surf Art Exhibition and Auction

VEO Gallery in de Waterkant - TEL 021 421-3278

26 November to 3 December

Featuring some of the hippest young artists in SA: Kim Longhurst, Konradski (Conrad Botes), Leonora van Staden, Mak 1, Motel7, ND Mazin, Ross Turpin, Scott Robertson (Dirty Sanchez), Trevor Paul, and Willie Bester.

The boards are on auction on Wednesday 3 December, proceeds to NSRI and Shark Spotters

Monday, October 27, 2008

get your music video seen by Michel Gondry

Babelgum’s talent-scouting continues. The free, independent Web TV platform today announced the launch of its brand new “Babelgum Music Video Awards” ™, in partnership with Music Nation. Following the success of the Babelgum Online Film Festival, which showcased the work of gifted independent filmmakers, Babelgum has now created a special contest focusing solely on music videos.

The Web TV company has launched this new competition to seek out and reward talented musicians and video directors, with a focus on indie artists. Once again, the audience vote will be crucial in picking the finalists, together with the professional jury consisting of Michel Gondry, David Ford and additional celebrity judges soon to be announced.

The competition offers bands the chance to win one of three prizes:

• The Grand Prize, a record development deal with Universal Music UK, will go to the final winner selected by the professional jury, announced on February 6th 2009;

• The “Performance Award”, an opening slot at a gig at one of MAMA Group’s live music venues, for the band with the most audience votes at the end of voting January 27th 2009;

• The “Mobile Award”, promotion in a Babelgum application for mobile devices, will go to the 40 semi-finalists.

Submissions are open now through the 16th November. Screening and voting will start on 17th November on the Babelgum TV platform, and will continue for around 2 months.

Babelgum CEO Valerio Zingarelli commented “This is a great opportunity for young musicians and video makers to expand their audience and find a new route into the industry. Today’s web users can’t get enough of new, non-mainstream music acts, so the Internet is an excellent place to present strong musical talent and an original vision to a vast audience. Building on the success of the Babelgum Online Film Festival, Babelgum is keen to expose new artists and help them overcome the obstacles of a system that’s still controlled by the majors”.

Details on the voting and prizes and full terms & conditions can be found on Babelgum and Music Nation.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

If you're in New York...

...Design Indaba's friend Frederico Duarte has invited us to the D-crit.

Do drop in our behalf!

School of Visual Arts MFA Design Criticism Open House
Saturday, October 25, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
136 West 21st St., New York, 2nd Floor

D-CRIT is up and running with 15 stellar students, an all-star faculty, and a feature article on the program coming out in the next issue of Surface magazine.

Find out what the fuss is about first hand at our Open House taking place on Saturday, October 25. Students will be there to talk about their experiences so far, such as what it's like to produce a podcast for Kurt Andersen and the "Studio 360" team or why architecture critic Karrie Jacobs has them reading John Ruskin in preparation for a visit to Times Square. D-CRIT Chair Alice Twemlow will give an overview of the program, its goals, structure and its philosophy. Faculty members Russell Flinchum, Steven Heller, Karrie Jacobs and Leital Molad will talk about what students can expect from their classes.

This is your chance to meet and mingle over drinks and snacks and find out more about D-CRIT. We look forward to showing you around!

Click here to register online or contact the department for more details at dcrit@sva.edu or 212.592.2228. For more information about the D-Crit program--its faculty, courses and Lecture Series--please visit: http://dcrit.sva.edu.

The 2010 Lecture Series

Spaceships, Urban Design & Context for the 2010 Stadium

“At the outset we said that we do not want a spaceship…a foreign object landing arbitrarily on the historic Green Point Common. A stadium could easily be that. The 2010 Green Point legacy stadium had to be viewed as just one part of a much bigger picture.”

2010 Lecture Series guest speaker, Henri Comrie of Comrie & Wilkinson Architects & Urban Designers is a local architect and the lead urban designer of Cape Town’s 2010 stadium. The balance of the team is made up by members from Jakupa Architects and Urban Designers and OvP Associates. The team had to ensure that the immovable and enduring presence of the 2010 Stadium is sensitive to its urban context -- the concern is with both 2010 as an event and with delivering a world-class legacy precinct for Cape Town.

Planning the entire context for the Stadium -- from the exact location on Green Point Common “off-axis” to the right from the city approach route” to its spatial design in relation to the City, Waterfront, surrounding developments, the mountain and the ocean, Comrie and his team have been working closely with Stadium Architects and with OvP Landscape Architects whose job it is to ensure that the entire Green point Common beyond the stadium precinct, is re-developed as an apt setting for a world-class stadium as well as a series of significant public spaces.

Come and hear Henri Comrie speak about the urban design of this legacy stadium at the Green Point Stadium Visitor Centre. Johan von Papendorp of OvP Associates will also be present to give an introduction to the evolving design of the Urban Park, which will be the presented in more detail at a future lecture.

The 2010 Lecture Series is a bi-monthly series of lectures by speakers who are integrally involved in the planning and implementation of national projects towards 2010, whose views are of special interest to the public.

DATE: Wednesday 22 October 2008
TIME: 17H30–19H00: 2010 Green Point Stadium site walk & Presentation
VENUE: Green Point Stadium Visitor Centre, Vlei Road, Green Point
COST: R100
RSVP: Lana Paries on 021 430 0410/9

Monday, October 20, 2008

DESIGN INDABA OCTOBER NEWS

DESIGN INDABA 2009

Design Indaba Conference will run from February 25 to 27, 2009, and the Design Indaba Expo will follow, opening on Friday February 27 and running until March 1, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.


DESIGN INDABA 10X10 SOLUTION WINS $100 000 HUMANITARIAN DESIGN PRIZE

 
MMA Architects’ principals, Luyanda Mpahlwa and Mphethi Morojele, have won the inaugural Curry Stone Design Prize of $100 000 for their ingenious solution to the Design Indaba 10x10 low-cost housing challenge. The annual international prize recognises breakthrough design solutions with the power and potential to improve our lives and the world we live in.

Design Indaba’s 10x10 Housing Project challenged 10 architectural teams, composed of handpicked South Africans paired with international alumni of previous Design Indaba conferences, to provide dynamic design solutions for the low-cost housing sector on a completely pro-bono basis.

The objective was to come up with affordable, attractive, innovative responses to the urgent need for housing the urban poor. Sustainable design, construction and operation principles were to be incorporated.

 
   
The first solution to the Design Indaba 10x10 challenge, MMA’s design for a single-family home leveraged a modest budget by borrowing elements from indigenous mud-and-wattle building techniques. The design forgoes traditional brick-and-mortar foundations in favour of a two-storey frame of timber and sandbag infill construction, which is both energy-efficient and requires little to no electricity or skilled labour to construct.

By the end of the year, Design Indaba will oversee the completion of 10 such houses in Freedom Park, a township in Greater Cape Town, with volunteer help from local women in the community.


DESIGN BECKONS SAFFERS HOME

The Design Indaba stand at the Homecoming Revolution event offered a freshly dynamic take on South Africa to expats living in London. Having run since 2004, the Homecoming Revolution aims to encourage and facilitate the return of South African skills to their homeland and speaks to over 12 000 people. Design Indaba’s presence at the event was heralded as a great success, with most of the design-ware sold on the spot, and moreover thousands of people sensitised to the cutting-edge creativity inherent in South Africa.

The likes of Peet Pienaar, Tsai Design, Ronel Jordaan, African Salad, MMA Architects, Michael Mxakasa, Derrick Senteni, Daan Samuels, Clementina van der Walt, African Magpie, Heath Nash, Streetwires, Thys Carstens, Jefter Mwazha, Mandela Park Mosaics, Cape Originals and Johnno du Plessis were all featured on the stand.


DESIGN INDABA FILM TO AIR

 
United States filmmaker Rob Nilsson’s short film Frank Dead Souls debuted at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October. Made through a Design Indaba workshop in Cape Town, Nilsson improvised the script with non-actors. The film follows the staff of a magazine on a team-building bus trip. Poised to re-create itself as a more relevant interpreter of modern South African life, real life seems to get in the way as the motivational exercise unravels.


WESTERN CAPE FURNITURE DESIGN COMPETITION

The inaugural Western Cape Furniture Design competition has announced its theme: EAT. The theme seeks to inspire a creative take on furniture that forms part of eating environments – tables, chairs, servers or other furniture in a dining room, outdoor, kitchen or other environments.

The competition is open to all professionals and students in the Western Cape and R50 000 worth of prizes to be won. Entries close on January 23, 2009.

Visit www.furniture.org.za for more information and entry details.


NAMPAK PACKAGING DESIGN CHALLENGE

 
Nampak invites all professional design studios, agencies and freelance designers to compete in the Nampak Packaging Design Challenge and be acknowledged for creativity in the area of packaging and graphic design.

Entrants in the professional category can either participate as a group/business or as an individual, while the student category will involve pre-selected packaging design students. All you need to do is register in order to qualify.

The deadline for submissions for the Nampak Packaging Design Challenge is January 31, 2009. Winners will be chosen and notified in February and the final exhibition of winning designs will take place at the Design Indaba Expo from February 27 to March 1, 2009, as well as being featured in the Design Indaba magazine. The first prize is an Apple Macbook Pro and the second prize a Wacom tablet. 

Click here to download the full entry form.


LAST CHANCE TO ENTER SOUTH

 
Don’t miss the opportunity to enter SOUTH, a travelling exhibition sponsored by the SABC and launched by the Creative Alliance, a collaboration between Design Indaba, the Creative Circle and the Loerie Awards. SOUTH is a celebration of the gloriously positive, ridiculously naïve and relentlessly spontaneous creativity inherent in our country.

Prizes to the value of R175 000 are up for grabs. Submissions for SOUTH are open to creative practitioners of any genre over 21 years of age. Selected centres will be receiving work in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth between November 13 and 15, 2008.

For entry forms and more information please visit www.designindaba.com/south.


LAST CHANCE TO SUBMIT FOR EMERGING CREATIVES AND FILM FEST

 
The Emerging Creatives Programme, sponsored by the Department of Arts and Culture, gives young or up-and-coming designers the opportunity to exhibit at the Design Indaba Expo.

The Design Indaba Expo film festival showcases the best South African short films, music videos and animations. The festival is a curated programme and there is no fee for participation. Film screenings should not exceed 12 minutes in length and all submissions need to be in mini dv or high-resolution Quicktime (uncompressed or pal).

For more information or to submit your work, please contact Beverley Cupido on Tel: (021) 465 9966 or bev@interactiveafrica.com 

Deadline: 31 October 2008.


EXPO BOOKINGS

 
Book your stand by 31 October 2009 to ensure your inclusion in the Design Indaba Expo buyers guide. The Design Indaba Expo 2009 takes place at the Cape Town Convention Centre from February 27 to March 1.

To make a booking, please contact Beverley Cupido on bev@interactiveafrica.com or Tel: 021 465 9966

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Month of People's Photography

It's the Month of People's Photography in Cape Town with little exhibitions popping all over the place. Here's a couple from Design Indaba magazine contributors...

Friday, October 17, 2008

Don't miss the Kudzanai Chiurai exhibition...

(pssst.. you might just cameo in the new Design Indaba documentary)

Friday, October 10, 2008

Design Indaba 10x10 solution wins $100 000 humanitarian design prize

MMA Architects have won the inaugural Curry Stone Design Prize for their ingenious solution to the Design Indaba 10x10 low-income housing challenge.
 
MMA Architects’ principals, Luyanda Mpahlwa and Mphethi Morojele, received the $100 000 prize, administered by the University of Kentucky College of Design. The annual international prize, which comes with no strings attached, recognises breakthrough design solutions with the power and potential to improve our lives and the world we live in.

“MMA’s ideas are exactly the kind that the Curry Stone Design Prize hopes to promote and encourage in the broader field of design – because now, more than ever, the world needs them,” said David Mohney, prize secretary and Curry Stone Chair in Design at the University of Kentucky.

Initiated by Design Indaba, The 10x10 Housing Project’s aim falls in line with the organisation’s fundamental mission to “create a better future, by design”. The project seeks to stimulate wider debate and creative thought around the delivery of low-income housing, a very pressing issue internationally, while at the same time benefiting some of Cape Town’s most impoverished families directly.

Design Indaba’s 10x10 Housing Project challenged 10 architectural teams, composed of handpicked South Africans paired with international alumni of previous Design Indaba conferences, to provide dynamic design solutions for the low cost housing sector on a completely probono basis. The objective was to come up with affordable, attractive, innovative responses to the urgent need for housing for the urban poor. Sustainable design, construction and operation principles were to be incorporated.

The first solution to the Design Indaba 10x10 challenge, MMA’s design for a single-family home leveraged the modest budget by borrowing elements from indigenous mud-and-wattle building techniques. The design forgoes traditional brick-and-mortar foundations in favour of a two-storey frame of timber and sandbag infill construction, which is both energy-efficient and requires little to no electricity or skilled labour to construct. By the end of the year, Design Indaba will oversee the completion of 10 such houses in Freedom Park, a township in greater Cape Town, with volunteer help from local women in the community.

Jurors commended MMA, one of the few black-owned architecture firms in South Africa, for creating an easily scalable prototype that can be built with unskilled labour from the local community. These elements are especially pertinent given the need for an additional 350 000 new homes for greater Cape Town’s swelling population over the next few years.
 
Juror Michael Speaks, dean of the University of Kentucky’s College of Design, said the winning project is "a symbol for the way a family can develop a future". Other jurors included journalist John Hockenberry, architect David Adjaye, designer Renny Ramakers and prize founder Clifford Curry.
 
"It means a lot to us to be recognised for what we thought was a small project, which means that the decision we took to embark on a humanitarian project was a right one," says Mpahlwa. MMA Architects will be using the award to research more alternative design solutions and to expand its scholarship program.

For high resolution images please contact:
Deborah Weber
+27 (0) 21 465 9966
deborah@interactiveafrica.com

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

CNMA 2008 STUDENT WINNERS

The CNMA student winners of 2008 were off to the UK where they interned for 4 weeks at 3 reknowned design agencies. Read what they wrote about their adventure: Slugging suitcases, exited faces and underground mischief, is only some of the great off-time experiences three students from the North-West University ‘s Potchefstroom Campus experienced on their internship month in London during their July break. Leana de Beer, Carla Erasmus and Gert Schoeman all three overall student winners of this year Construction New Media Awards hosted by the Design Indaba embarked on an opportunity of a lifetime to intern at two prestigious agencies and one major design magazine.
On arrival, the beckoning London sun shone down on the three talented pups as they fought their way through the new environment, minds ablaze with the sheer size and experiences this world city has to offer. And in true traveler voyeurism, with larger than life attractions around every single corner, the three students started to prepare themselves for the work at hand: Leana was posted at Poke Digital, and worked on major brands which one included designing skins for the telecommunications company, Orange. During this time Leana also became like a family member at Poke and Simon Waterfall was really impressed by Leana’s work ethic and professional attitude. Carla on the other hand was mincing words for Marks&Spencer and had a blast thinking about her future prospects in the digital arena at the prestigious Digit in London under the creative hand of Daljit Singh. Gert was dealt the publishing card at the Creative Review Magazine, and made sure that he got onto Patrick Burgoyne’s guest lists, as Gert was invited to almost every shindig, and received so many opportunities to work closely with the one person who knows the bizz of the worlds creative industries. After almost a month in London the students returned very reluctantly to the freezing temperatures of the North-West Province to eagerly share their experiences with all of us at the University. The Construction New Media Awards is such a valuable awards program, especially for the opportunities it poses for young digital creative’s to find their feet within the “global village” but inherently, it also celebrates the best digital South African talent that is on the rise amongst the already established traditional advertising and media industries. The students would like to thank in particular Caryn of the Design Indaba, which without her extremely proficient organizing skills this trip most probably would never have happened. Also, thanking the three agencies, Poke, Digit and Creative Review for allowing these three students the opportunity of a lifetime, and for being so welcoming and forthcoming. As always, we look forward to the produce of 2009 and cant wait to see who pushes the pixel boundaries further and double clicks faster.