July 2008
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Month July 2008

Entries 7 Total

Matthew Dent

Jul 18, ’08 12:04 PM

View Gallery | Visit Matthew’s Website | Print & File [Members] | Return to DG magazine 130

Matthew Dent, a 26-year-old graphic designer, has achieved so early in his career what other designers only hope to do in their lifetime: to make a lasting impact on not only the design world, but to people’s lives in general. Matthew’s design will soon be in the hands of millions of people, used every day, and has the potential to stay in circulation for a very long time. This achievement comes from submitting the winning design in an open competition to design the new reverses on the coins of the United Kingdom. Out of over 4,000 entries, The Royal Mint Advisory Committee selected Matthew’s concept and design because of his respect for the British traditions of heraldry combined with a contemporary, fresh approach to the project.

Courtesy of the Royal Mint.

Courtesy of the Royal Mint.

Beginnings
Matthew Dent, grew up in Bangor in North Wales where he studied art at Coleg Menai, before moving to England to study graphic design at the University of Brighton from 2000-2003.
‘The two faculties were hugely influential on my creating thinking,’ he recalls of his student years, ‘and both instilled in me the importance of an idea at the very forefront of any design work produced.’

The coin design competition
A friend of Matthew’s alerted him to an unusual competition with a remarkable prize: that The Royal Mint was inviting the general public to submit ideas for the first redesign in almost 40 years of the reverse side for six of the United Kingdom’s eight circulating coins. The winning design would feature on the circulating coinage, used by millions of people everyday and an extraordinary brief for any designer: ‘I couldn’t pass up the chance to have a go; it was a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,’ says Matthew.

The design journey
Today’s designers increasingly find themselves branching out into other design disciplines and Matthew Dent is no exception. Having studied both art and graphic design, he was able to envisage how his design for the coin reverses would translate to different formats. After deciding on a heraldic approach to the brief, Matthew chose the Shield of the Royal Arms as the basis of his design, the Shield being a traditional element of the United Kingdom’s coinage. However, the way in which he would be apply it to the coins would be done in a decidedly non-traditional way; for the first time, a single design would be used across a range of United Kingdom’s coins.
Matthew explains, ‘I’d had an idea ticking away about a single design spread over several coins, and whereby arranging them in a certain way might produce a composite image. Since heraldry has been the basis of coinage design in Britain for hundreds of years, I wondered about a heraldic solution. This seemed to work successfully in my mind; coins could be arranged above and below each other, as well as to the left and right of each other, to carry the whole design.’

Matthew began by sketching out his ideas on paper, and cutting out discs of the paper to get an idea of how the designs would translate to the coins’ shape. Although the competition only required drawings in the first instance, Matthew’s submission caught the attention of the judging panel at The Royal Mint – The Royal Mint Advisory Committee on the Design of Coins, Medals, Seals and Decorations – who then introduced him to John Bergdahl, a sculptor with the expertise to help Matthew translate his designs into 3D. These models were scanned into a computer and it was the  following data that was used to create the finished metal coins.
‘This was a fascinating journey to be privy to,’ Matthew recalls, ‘seeing how the designs translated from one medium to the next. The things I learnt along the way will no doubt come in handy in future.’

Courtesy of the Royal Mint.

Courtesy of the Royal Mint.

3 fish in a tree
Matthew Dent is part of the creative team at established design practice 3 fish in a tree, which is based in London. This close-knit team of eight enjoys working collaboratively, and draws its creative energy and strength from working together on projects for their clients. Matthew says that having input from each member of the team on a project ‘means that the result is all the richer because of this pooling of ideas. I love working in this way.’
Matthew counts highly among his influential artists and designers his tutors that he has studied under as well as close friends whom he has worked alongside, who help him to hone the way he thinks and looks at things. His enthusiastic approach to working collaboratively with his colleagues and peers coupled with an instinctive desire to branch out across design media and disciplines are  qualities that are indeed must-haves for the next generation of designers.

The Giraffe was eating his leaves… A story book exploring animal characteristics through typography, developed in collaboration with rooftopillustrations

The Giraffe was eating his leaves… A story book exploring animal characteristics through typography, developed in collaboration with rooftopillustrations, www.rooftopillustrations.net

Matthew is currently completing a series of digitally-printed bespoke books selling a retail space. Bound in felt, the books feature specifically commissioned photography and elegant typography. Matthew says that it’s a project that is ‘pushing the boundaries of not only what I’m used to producing but also what this client is used to receiving.’

Kate McCurdy

View Gallery | Visit Matthew’s Website | Print & File [Members] | Return to DG magazine 130

Further information

The Royal Mint

3 Fish in a Tree

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Matthew Dent – Gallery

Jul 18, ’08 12:04 PM

View Article | Visit Matthew’s Website

Matthew Dent, a 26-year-old graphic designer, has achieved so early in his career what other designers only hope to do in their lifetime: to make a lasting impact on not only the design world, but to people’s lives in general. Matthew’s design will soon be in the hands of millions of people, used every day, and has the potential to stay in circulation for a very long time. This achievement comes from submitting the winning design in an open competition to design the new reverses on the coins of the United Kingdom. Out of over 4,000 entries, The Royal Mint Advisory Committee selected Matthew’s concept and design because of his respect for the British traditions of heraldry combined with a contemporary, fresh approach to the project.

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BMW Museum reopens after total refurbishment

Jul 18, ’08 12:04 PM

The BMW Museum, which stands right next to the world famous BMW Group Head Office Four-Cylinder Building, has reopened after a complete makeover that took two and a half years to complete.

There are now more than 120 exhibits in museum space covering 5,000 square metres. The circular museum will continue to be a landmark and a sought-out destination for car lovers from around the world. The adjacent low-level building now complements the ‘Bowl’, as the circular museum building has been designated ever since it was opened in 1973. This has entailed increasing the available floor space five-fold.

Further information

BMW Welt
BMW AG : History : BMW Classic
The BMW Museum’s kinetic sculpture takes your brain to another dimension – Engadget
Kinetic sculpture at the BMW Museum – YouTube
ART+COM – Opening of BMW Museum

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‘The One’ for BMW

Jul 18, ’08 12:04 PM

View Gallery | Print & File [Members] | Return to DG magazine 130

Jonathan Zawada, Shane Sakkeus and Collider have joined forces to create a new video clip for music darlings ‘The Presets’ that partners the use of the song in BMW’s TVC for their new Series 1 vehicle launch.

BMW Series 1 campaign

BMW Series 1 campaign

The new Series 1 campaign
Since the 1970s, German car-maker BMW has, as part of its sales and marketing campaign, including an Art Cars programme where famous artists have been invited to paint BMWs. Likewise, film directors have been invited to make short films, each featuring a BMW. In a highly competitive global market BMW promotes its products as clever, stylish, sexy, superbly engineered and highly desirable, to a broad buyer profile. Its latest marketing concept on video is an eye-popping, futuristic, roller-coaster of digital engineering. BMW has pushed its own boundaries in an effort to boost its image with a younger, financially-mobile target market for their new Series 1 vehicle launch. By directly seeking relevance with this demographic, BMW hopes to win world wide returns.

This new commercial is a large collaborative project, selecting the best in Australian music, design and creative direction, together with the input of a French remix expert. Are you the one? by Sydney electro outfit The Presets, remixed by Lifelike, was commissioned by Modular People for BMW. Invited on board as creative directors were Jonathan Zawada  – a regular collaborator with The Presets – and Shane Sakkeus, two talented Australian print designers. The Sydney-based design and film collective, Collider, were asked to work with Zawada and Sakkeus to produce the video.

Design in motion
On making the leap from print design to music videos for The Presets, Zawada says, ‘I’ve worked on a couple of their music videos in the part in an art direction capacity, and in my development of their other visual material I’ve always endeavoured to construct a sort of universe to accompany the music that could then give rise to numerous stories within it.’
However, the TVC is not a simple music video – it involves compositing, 3D animation, motion graphics and visual effects – so did this present a greater challenge to the print designer?
‘I think the type of execution we opted for, 3D animation, was a really sympathetic way to ease into direction motion…as the controlled environment it provides allows for a fairly familiar work method,’ says Zawada.

BMW Series 1 campaign

BMW Series 1 campaign

Creating a new universe
Described as ‘optical bliss’, the video takes us for a spectacular ride on highways suspended over a galactic landscape. Traversing through parallel worlds of rainbow moon rocks, pyramids and cosmic clouds, thousands of animated BMWs or ‘The Ones’ navigate the heavens and earth alike.
Zawada and Sakkeus designed the environments which could then be flooded with thousands of moving vehicles.
Zawada explains that the idea was partly inspired by the fantasy worlds of computer games:
‘The idea of recording multiple [car] races and playing them back simultaneously is a feature of an online car racing video game called Trackmania and we really wanted to explore this idea and expand its possibilities into a vast and mythical environment of our own construction.
There seemed to be an almost infinite array of visuals that could be created by playing with the ideas of gravity, inertia and simple physics that became mesmerising and fantastic when massively multiplied.’
He believes that this concept complements The Presets’ sound and image well: ‘The world that The Presets inhabit in all of their artwork has always been a bit mythical and we really wanted to extend that universe as far as it could go in the worlds we created for the cars.’

Enter Collider
Once the concept for the project had been developed, Collider were responsible for the technical side of the project. They were able to create the programme effects which could animate each one of a thousand cars in each scene. On working with Collider, Zawada recalls a rewarding learning experience.
‘Collider really were a pleasure to work with. They were really helpful with developing out ideas along the way and figuring out ways to realise what we had in our heads. Not really knowing a great deal about CG animation, we initially approached them with a kind of rough sketch of what we were after in broad strokes, and they helped steer us in the directions of what was possible. The restrictions we ended up with were really due to the fact that the video is only three minutes long and I think we really had worlds in our heads that could have accommodated a half hour epic!’

BMW Series 1 campaign

BMW Series 1 campaign

The result of this creative collaboration between Zawada, Sakkeus, Collider and The Presets is a highly imaginative visual feast. For BMW, its production line now takes on a market of cosmic significance.

Anne Paterson

Further information
The video for the Presets “Are You The One” 1 Serious Remix can be viewed on line at  www.areyouthe1.com.au or the track can be downloaded for free here

The Presets
The Presets on Myspace
Modular People
Jonathan Zawada

View Gallery | Print & File [Members] | Return to DG magazine 130

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‘The One’ for BMW – Gallery

Jul 18, ’08 12:03 PM

View Article

Jonathan Zawada, Shane Sakkeus and Collider have joined forces to create a new video clip for music darlings ‘The Presets’ that partners the use of the song in BMW’s TVC for their new Series 1 vehicle launch.

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State of Design Festival – Gallery

Jul 16, ’08 12:41 PM

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State of Design Festival

The Victoria-wide design event, The State of Design Festival kicks off on Wednesday 16 July 2008 with a host of events to appeal to anyone with an interest in design. Under the artistic direction of Ewan McEoin from Studio Propeller (one of the key organisations that make up the State of Design Alliance or SODA), the festival features four major design arenas: the Premier’s Design Awards, Design Capital, Design for Everyone and Design:Made:Trade.

State of Design Festival
16 – 24 July 2008
Various venues

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State of Design Festival

Jul 16, ’08 12:41 PM

View Gallery | Visit Website | Print & File [Members] | Return to DG magazine 130

State of Design Festival

Premier’s Design Awards: Winners announced Wednesday 16 July 2008
Design Capital: Wednesday 16 – Friday 18 July 2008
Design for Everyone: Wednesday 16 – Thursday 24 July 2008
Design:Made:Trade: Thursday 17 – Sunday 20 July

The Victoria-wide design event, The State of Design Festival kicks off on Wednesday 16 July 2008 with a host of events to appeal to anyone with an interest in design. Under the artistic direction of Ewan McEoin from Studio Propeller (one of the key organisations that make up the State of Design Alliance or SODA), the festival features four major design arenas: the Premier’s Design Awards, Design Capital, Design for Everyone and Design:Made:Trade.

While the Melbourne Museum will become a ‘design hub’ for most of the activities on offer, events will take place at venues all over Melbourne, including the Royal Exhibition Building, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, as well as regional venues across Victoria.

The festival welcomes many international guests as well as those from around Australia, but takes a distinctly Melbourne, and indeed Victorian, focus in its celebration of design talent and innovation. One of the key themes at the festival is the issue of sustainability in design, and that is reflected in the criteria of the Premier’s Design Award, and newly introduced Premier’s Design Marks, as well as the challenges it brings to design and business as shown in Design Capital, how it affects product design in Design:Made:Trade as well as the broad scope of climate change and sustainability awareness of the entire population in Design for Everyone.


The Premier’s Design Awards
A highlight of the State of Design Festival, The Premier’s Design Awards 2008 seeks to recognise excellence in design practice in Victoria. Held biennially from 2008 onwards, the award is judged by a local and international panel and the winner announced at the opening of the festival.
In addition to the Award, the event has recently been redeveloped to introduce the Premier’s Design Marks. These Marks will ‘reward designers and practices that have developed their skills and their creative processes to respond to the new more demanding market conditions, producing exemplary approaches and outcomes that are perceived by the profession, clients and the community as a contribution to a sustainable future’.
The Premier’s Design Marks will be awarded within the following design categories in the divisions of Commercial, Cultural or Self Initiated: Industrial/Product Design, Architecture, Interior Design, Graphic Design, Multimedia Design, Landscape Design, Exhibition Design, Set Design, Textile Design, Fashion Design, Hand Made Objects.

Design Capital 1

Chris Bosse, Designer, Design Capital


Design Capital
As Australia’s first business of design conference, Design Capital, presented by Design Victoria, will bring the realms of business and design together in order to allow them to connect and discuss issues facing both areas such a sustainability, globalisation and also examining the role of design in successful innovation. Participants in Design Capital include leading innovators, designers, business figures, the media and industry who will bring their insights to the table to tackle issues relevant to designing, thinking, process, and the commercialisation of design led products and services from Victoria.

The Design Capital conference has been structured over three days according to key themes affecting business and design. These themes complement each other as well as work to stimulate debate among the participants.
Day One’s themes are ‘Designing Identity’ and ‘Place Making’. ‘Designing Identity’ examines how design is generated and shifts the identity of individuals, products, brands and places; and particularly looks at how when they work well, design solutions can provide a double dividend: a return on investment and a return on imagination, creating iconic, strategic outcomes for business. ‘Place Making’ looks at how urban renewal and development creates environments and new opportunities for business and community, acknowledging how architecture and urban planning are crucial to shape the way of the future.

‘Designing Experience’ and ‘The Opportunity of Crisis’ are on the agenda for Day Two. The former analyses the how our ‘experience economy’ harnesses design as a way to ensure consumer engagement. ‘Opportunity of Crisis’ canvasses the obligation of designers to respond to the imminent challenges of climate and society, and also motivate change as they create the products, environments and opportunities of the future.

Design Capital 2

Nendo, Design Capital

Day Three takes a global view with the ‘Convergent World’ and the ‘Commercialisation of Ideas for Export’. ‘The Convergent World’ observes how a new generation of design service systems, products and production methodologies are emerging to challenge social, environmental and consumer expectation. This theme makes particular reference to how technology-based design processes, digital networks and sustainable manufacturing are all innovation led business arenas worth watching. The ‘Commercialisation of Ideas for Export’ expands upon these themes as three innovative Victorian exporters describe their pathway to market, illustrate the commercial potential of design and manufacturing fed from research, and products rich with design.

The State of Design Festival Artistic Director and Conference Curator, Ewan McEoin, says that this conference is a ‘strategic event, looking towards a competitive, innovative future for Victorian design and Victorian business’. Design Capital will be facilitated by Oliver Freeman, director of the Neville Freeman Agency, and has been strategically designed to build a picture, across six diverse yet connected themes, of where Melbourne and Victoria sit in a competitive global market, and predicts new opportunities for design-led business from Victoria and Australia.
Design Capital will run from Wednesday 16 – Friday 18 July 2008 at the Melbourne Museum.


Design for Everyone
Design for everyone proclaims that ‘Design is a Verb!’ The driving force behind this event is to make design appear as accessible and appealing as possible, that ‘it’s about doing, being, making, crafting, thinking, shaping – a process not an object, design is for everyone!’
The involvement of not only the venues across the city of Melbourne such as Melbourne Museum, ACMI, the State Library of Victoria, RMIT University and the National Gallery of Victoria, but also regional centres from Horsham to Castlemaine to Bendigo – making this a truly accessible event at the Festival.
In designing these events, program curator Fleur Watson has helped bring together the design community, giving the designers unique opportunities with a space for design in all its guises to interact directly with the public. With events ranging from exhibitions to public talks, design experiences and iconic design statements, Design for Everyone makes its message clear.

Design for Everyone 1

'Propogating Fiction' for 'Winterlights' - Tracy Sarroff, Mars, Design for Everyone


Design:Made:Trade
Complementing the business realm of Design Capital and its opportunity for leading businesses to network and forecast, Design:Made:Trade adds an essential commercial aspect to the State of Design Festival. This trade event brings together 40 of Australia’s most talented designers from a wide range of design disciplines including lighting, textiles, fashion design, furniture, industrial design, and graphic design, and aims to give exposure to this showcase of forthcoming products and material trends to local and international markets.
Housed in the Royal Exhibition Building, Design:Made:Trade is the perfect location to attract key buyers, design professionals, design makers, manufacturers, decision makers from national and international creative industries, as well as design conscious members of the public.

Design:Made:Trade also makes an effort to engage with the current trend of sustainability in design by giving exhibitors the opportunity to transform a design box to showcase their design talent. The boxes are provided by Visy, are constructed from recycled cardboard and will be recycled at the end of the event.
Design:Made:Trade has been compared to the designers block concept in London as well as 100% Design Tokyo events, and aims to present innovative work in an environment  focused on attracting designers and trade visitors with a creative young and fresh approach.

Design Made Trade

Zema Designs, Design:Made:Trade

The State of Design Festival has been made possible by the Victorian Government, the Design Victoria program, the State of Design Alliance (SODA) as well as commercial partnerships. SODA is a joint venture made up of Australian Exhibitions & Conferences, Winslow Solutions and Studio Propeller.

State of Design Festival
16 – 24 July 2008
Various venues

View Gallery | Visit Website | Print & File [Members] | Return to DG magazine 130

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