On the other hand, as a designer and observer it pains me to see a disregard for the content within on book cover designs, which could make a potentially iconic work into just another meaningless, dispensable thing. I’ve always aimed to follow the dictum that content dictates style and not ...]]> Jane Eyre is one of the world’s most loved books. It certainly is very special to me. And with the pending film release of yet another adaptation (I’m terrified of seeing it, yet I cannot wait!), there’s been a recent influx of reissues of the classic novel, penned by Charlotte Bronte in the 19th century. New editions of literary classics are a cause for excitement and occasionally dismay – there have been some beautiful redesigns lately, in particular by Penguin. However, I was horrified to to see such classics as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, even Pride and Prejudice, being rebranded as clichéd young adult fiction, which strongly suggests that publishers are trying to cash in on the very loose connection Twilight‘s creator made between her vampire romance series with the aforementioned classics. But hey, if this marketing gimmick gets the kids interested in reading the classics, more power to them.

On the other hand, as a designer and observer it pains me to see a disregard for the content within on book cover designs, which could make a potentially iconic work into just another meaningless, dispensable thing. I’ve always aimed to follow the dictum that content dictates style and not vice versa. Cover designs for YA fiction, indeed genre fiction, are getting, dare I say it, lazy. Genre fiction is restricted by its set characteristics, so by default covers have to follow this logic too; however, I think this homogeneity within genres is so pervasive that now it is very hard to discern one book from the next, which has deeper cultural and moral implications.

So, let’s have a look at what I’m talking about…

HarperTeen’s line of covers of the romantic classics couldn’t be more blatant in their referencing. Good grief, even the colour palette and typography echo the Twilight covers. Got to love an author’s name printed with massive letter spacing!

Tribeca Books’ line-up of covers (below)  bothers me the most – at least HarperTeen tries to include subtle symbolism on each cover. All I see in these designs is superficial beautification. They’re aesthetically pleasing, but distant. Granted, these are stories of a gothic nature, so perhaps that’s fitting. Since when did our modest Jane wear red nail polish and lipstick? What’s the rose for? And let’s not go where those clasping pale hands have been either. Wuthering Heights is less obtrusive, but no less dull. Dark ominous clouds? Check. Dishevelled eyeless beauty in her negligee and random drapery? Check. Originality? Yawn.

Signet Classics’ mind-boggling take on Jane Eyre (left) had me mistaking it for a Jane Austen novel. Where’s the gothic mood? The torment? The passion? Puffin’s interpretation (right) isn’t much clearer. The smoke at least may be alluding to the fire at Thornfield Hall, or passions severed.

To finish off – covers of Jane Eyre that I actually like …

This lovely illustration with its dark palette and thorny flowers and meandering linework has contemporary gothic and moodiness all over it. Click here for more gorgeous designs from White’s line. Wuthering Heights is also a brilliant one. Too bad I couldn’t say the same for the story…

I’d also love to get the illustrated Jane Eyre, with illustrations by Dame Darcy. The scratchy, distorted figures and typography are fantastic.

I also recently got the Jane Eyre paranormal parody, Jane Slayre, which sports a bloody Charlotte Bronte wielding a stake. Zombie classics are in vogue and getting tiresome, but I devour spoofs despite being a purist. Looking forward to sitting down for this one.

For more Jane Eyre cover and illustration love, you’d better go to Jane Eyre Illustrated. Beautiful collection of works – from the pulpy kind to the restrained Victorian!

Luckily for me I was assigned to the latter date, so that gave me a while to collate my ideas together, following my marathon completion of my artist book for my elective unit. In a nutshell, I formulated a new question/thesis, emphasising the merits of ornament over modernism, excess over restraint, maximalism over minimalism. The difference being a lot of me mixed into the concoction. I turned to critical theory and other texts to validate my arguments, and I believe I was able to confidently and convincingly articulate my ideas on, and more importantly my passion for, this subject.

I’m ...]]> So, it’s the end of June, and I’m halfway into my Honours project—SCARY THOUGHT. If you don’t know what my project is about, you might want to read this post though my objectives have altered slightly as time’s passed. Now is the perfect time to critically reflect on my progress throughout the first semester. We were given the opportunity to present our process and findings in a quasi-formal verbal and visual (poster) presentation on the 10th and 16th of June. (Well, actually, it made up 75% of our total grade, so it’s a bigger deal than I’m making it out to be.)

Luckily for me I was assigned to the latter date, so that gave me a while to collate my ideas together, following my marathon completion of my artist book for my elective unit. In a nutshell, I formulated a new question/thesis, emphasising the merits of ornament over modernism, excess over restraint, maximalism over minimalism. The difference being a lot of me mixed into the concoction. I turned to critical theory and other texts to validate my arguments, and I believe I was able to confidently and convincingly articulate my ideas on, and more importantly my passion for, this subject.

I’m pretty amazed at just how much I bared my soul to everybody (despite my having known most of these people for well over 3 years it isn’t exactly like we’re close chums); I felt strangely bereaved and liberated. Like OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE, NO ONE WILL LOOK AT ME THE SAME WAY AGAIN! And conversely, NOW YOU SEE THE REAL ME; IT’S NOT ME, BUT IT’S ME. JUDGE ME, I DARE YOU. This project is as my blog title suggests a “part observation, part confession”. I stole this quote from one of my research texts, In Flagrante Collecto, but I’m sure this is not an exclusive sentiment.

Essentially this project is all about my love for kitsch. It enriches my social, cultural, intellectual, physical and emotional experience, and I need to—and want to—highlight this sensibility throughout. Of course, this makes my project an extremely self-indulgent undertaking, but I don’t think this makes my project any less worthy of investigation than exploring the history of type design, or designing a nation’s identity, or discovering more effective modes of way-finding in a city space. What these presentations ultimately made me realise is how diverse our interests are, but we are all linked by a genuine keenness to push the boundaries of art, design, sociological and anthropological discourse. It’s exciting (and terrifying!) to consider where we’ll end up 5–6 months from now…

My poster designs, with my observations and (elusive) goals for next semester:

The great part about this presentation is the scope of feedback I received, from both peers, lecturers and guest assessors. At one point we had 6 lecturers, which wasn’t as daunting as I’d imagined it was going to be. As usual, everyone had something to say about it. Egos flew (haha, I wish). I’ve scanned in notes that I found constructive, funny and … not so helpful. I didn’t post all of them here, but perhaps I will.

FYI, I wrote an entirely new essay with new material, building on what I had already argued, so it’s not like I was cheating… Granted maybe I shouldn’t have read my speech but I spoke with inflection and expression, so with that I hope I could engage my audience and not induce them into comatose sleep…

LOL I sound defensive don’t I.

Way to inflate my ego! But that’s just what I wanted to emphasise.

This was very helpful… Thank you ever so much.

Aha, kitsch WILL be taken seriously!

Making a mockery of minimalism has been frequently mentioned by others, so I will definitely consider this…. though I may not commit to that path. I’m not crusading explicitly against minimalism (it’s beautiful in its own right), but marrying the stark contrast into something kitsch completely undermines modernism’s agenda. I like the subversion.

I know this was by Nat, since she said afterwards I ought to “write porn” (her words!) and that she would “totally read it”! So as not to feel mortified (nah, totally amused), I’m reminded of a quote by Australian romance author, Anna Campbell: “it’s emotional porn!”

More like understanding Saturday Night Fever. :P

I don’t know how much more personal I can make an already deeply personal project! But I am very heartened by that last comment.

I have looked at kitsch’s origins for half a year… I should have mentioned this. I did mention it, albeit implicitly… But I like the alignment of kitsch to what isn’t fashionable, that’s basically what happened to Art Deco, and look now, totally chic art style and movement!

Agnete Enga

Agnete is part of Smart Design. She established FemmeDen to “save good women from bad products”. It was interesting how she criticised the way products are biased towards the male target audience, when companies ought to place even greater precedence on women, who actually influence 80% of consumer products. She demonstrated the “differences” between the genders through a rather crude experiment—2 men and 2 women from the audience were asked to volunteer to come up stage, and both sexes had to hold hands. Once with the opposite sex, and once with the same sex. They were asked how they felt. I think the all-boy couple said ...]]> Nearly gave up with finishing up this summary, but here I am! This was the last day of the forum, when the enthusiasm is still thriving but struggling to stay awake. Well, for me, it was. I still hadn’t recovered from the previous day’s madness. Who’d have thought sitting down in somewhat un-ergonomic chairs for hours on end would be so exhausting? We had free copies of Dumbo Feather, Pass it On on our seats; I had to make sure I picked a seat with a back issue that I didn’t already have (!).

Agnete Enga

Agnete is part of Smart Design. She established FemmeDen to “save good women from bad products”. It was interesting how she criticised the way products are biased towards the male target audience, when companies ought to place even greater precedence on women, who actually influence 80% of consumer products. She demonstrated the “differences” between the genders through a rather crude experiment—2 men and 2 women from the audience were asked to volunteer to come up stage, and both sexes had to hold hands. Once with the opposite sex, and once with the same sex. They were asked how they felt. I think the all-boy couple said it all with her “erms” and “ahhs”. Despite her emphasis on catering to different mindsets and biology/physicality, I think there was still a certain amount of generalisation in amongst the differentiation that still fails to recognise how diverse we (by that I mean both women and men) really are. It’s why androgyny is the way to go! I also didn’t like how it remained a Eurocentric point of view (I mean, I know the design firm tends to deal with a Western audience), but it would have been interesting to know what Asian, Latin American or African cultural perspectives on gender in design are.

Stuart Campbell

This guy reminded me of Mouse from The Matrix. I don’t know why. Maybe it was his surreal, sci-fi futuristic animation that reminded me of The Animatrix, or his rather youthful, grungy and sporadic mannerisms. Anyway, this guy has an amazing portfolio of motion and interactive graphics, but I love how he collects snippets of elements from his real-life experience and incorporates them into compelling narrative motion work.

Dean Gaylor

There was an arrogance about this man that I didn’t warm to; that said, (ironically) his lighting designs were quite stunning in their simplistic beauty.

David Lancashire

I felt rather humbled by David; his work encapsulates a whole part of Australia that our nation just “conveniently” chooses to gloss over, or worse, trivialise.

Rachel Dunn

While I admire the overall “spirit”/sentiment of Girl Director, it just didn’t seem credible to me as a valid philosophy; I don’t know, what I’m trying to say is there was something cheesy or insincere about it. Plus, my feminist sensibilities sort of flared.

Simon Taylor

I love the landscaping job he did in Kobe, Japan; this man is no Jamie Durie, and quite frankly the way Simon describes his job is exactly how I imagined a landscape designer to be, his personality came off as nothing above down-to-earth (oh, am I dripping with puns today or what). The gardens he designs are the stuff that dreams are made of.

Andreas Uebele

Andreas seemed to epitomise all that is German about German design. Actually, my poor eyesight led me to believe I was watching a copy of Erik Spiekermann, but that’s not to discredit either party! His innovative use of Futura (which he doesn’t even like) through pattern for labelling the various storey/levels of a building was quite probably my highlight.

Rob Galluzzo

Kind of a bizarre way of presentation, but it was engaging for the most part. By the way, this is the man responsible for completely “uneducating” everyone regarding the origins of the Great Wall of China and that entire dynasty in general (Nasi Goreng much?), with the infuriating (but almost endearing) Telstra/Big Pond ads.

Alex Ritchie

Well, this is one architect I could tolerate, but perhaps it was his wee Scottish accent that had me entirely enamoured.

Gerry Wedd

Mambo much? Gerry’s portfolio is really diverse; I particularly liked his ceramics

Sonny Day & Biddy Maroney of We Buy Your Kids

This partnership had me entirely intrigued; I mean, what kind of name is that! Biddy’s personal aesthetic and particularly her inspiration/sources resonated with me, given her love for trashy publications/graphics and kitsch, though I personally was never blessed with a plethora of inherited comics or magazines from my parents (Dad regrets not keeping all his Chinese Communist propaganda pamphlets and ephemera though; so do I!). Their working relationship is clearly a strong one; their strengths lying in not only their work ethics but also

Paul ‘Moose’ Curtis

This guy is phenomenal. What he does is basically “clean up” grafitti to produce new graffiti—he scrubs/bleaches the dirt and grime that’s accumulated over time on public monuments and displays, creating a new layer of meaning or message. Ironically he still gets in trouble for it, though all he’s doing technically is cleaning selectively to make a mark. Some remarkable results ensue.

Conrad Bodman

Conrad is curator of the upcoming Tim Burton exhibition to be held at ACMI. I AM SO. SO. SO EXCITED. OK, perhaps mainly it’s because there’s gonna be Batman stuff included, but come on, this guy isn’t overrated for nothing. His madness of vision just sucks me in like nearly no other director (not even Terry Gilliam). We got to be first to see an exclusive preview of the ACMI promotional advertisement for the exhibition. Can’t wait!

Alex Alvarez

By this stage my exhaustion was fully kicking in; mid-way through his (speedy!) speech, I struggled to maintain my attention. What Alex does is highly technical (he certainly made it out to be, anyway) but with incredible results. He showed bits of his involvement in films like Avatar and Star Trek, but he mainly went through his design process, from concept to 3D development to finish, which was infinitely more fascinating and productive, albeit heavy on the technical side, as I mentioned.

Verdict

Overall agIdeas 2010 was insightful, as it usually is, with some strong and inspiring speakers, but with just as weak and asinine ones (OK, so my main issue is from day 1. See corresponding blog post). What matters is what I personally got out of it, which certainly wasn’t nothing.

I’m pleased or not so pleased to say that no one particularly “bothered” me today; it was all generally pleasant… Though you’d think it’d be better to be roused into fury or fangirl delight. I did get Wayne Thompson’s signature on my sketchbook though; I may scan that in later, if anyone cares to have a laugh with me. :P Vincent said (somewhere along the line of) my being easily affected by fangirl tendencies. It’s called passion, and dedication, and yes, some healthy doses of obsession!

Also was able to collect our “free” agIdeas 20th anniversary book. I am so sad flicking through the 2007 speaker list. And I’m always sad about this because CHIP KIDD (The rockstar graphic designer who like, totes loves Batman, even more than me! How is this possible!) attended and I did not go to agIdeas that year. I was in first year; what did I know about design then? Zilch! This book is absolutely a brick, weighing more than ...]]> Day 2 of agIdeas! A somewhat later start, but this gave Liz and I a chance to have “breakfast”, and what better way to wake up than with a large cup of Krispy Kreme’s caramel latte. HEAVEN!!

I’m pleased or not so pleased to say that no one particularly “bothered” me today; it was all generally pleasant… Though you’d think it’d be better to be roused into fury or fangirl delight. I did get Wayne Thompson’s signature on my sketchbook though; I may scan that in later, if anyone cares to have a laugh with me. :P Vincent said (somewhere along the line of) my being easily affected by fangirl tendencies. It’s called passion, and dedication, and yes, some healthy doses of obsession!

Also was able to collect our “free” agIdeas 20th anniversary book. I am so sad flicking through the 2007 speaker list. And I’m always sad about this because CHIP KIDD (The rockstar graphic designer who like, totes loves Batman, even more than me! How is this possible!) attended and I did not go to agIdeas that year. I was in first year; what did I know about design then? Zilch! This book is absolutely a brick, weighing more than 2kg and probably worth more than $100. A great weapon of choice I daresay!

Surface graphics of agIdeas. At least it’s not pixelated like it was in 2008! I’m still holding out for that year being a complete satire on bad design… I have more photos from agIdeas posted on my Flickr. Not a lot though.

Theo Jansen

He initially majored in the sciences (though he had orignally wanted to become a pilot. This was not to be) but he has instead channelled his physics background into producing ethereal mechanical creatures designed to be self-driven via the natural elements. Very intriguing fellow, with a quirkiness that could only become a charming European.

Nathan Drabsch

I love watching motion graphics reels; they’re just so mesmerising and surreal. The ABC3 channel graphics and shorts were mind-boggling. As a child I don’t know I would have appreciated all this digital flurry; what happened to the good ol’ days? Have we really grown up that fast?

Fay Plamka

I was looking forward to hearing her speak. Oh, the glamorous world of a court artist (and not the Velazquez kind!). It was riveting to hear Fay describe her experiences rendering the faces of some truly nasty criminals, and the legal entanglements she got caught in; she had much more to say I’m sure, but there just wasn’t enough time!

Amanda Henderson

There were some interesting “spectacles” in her company’s designs. I liked the rococo/baroque-esque interior created for one of the racing festival venues; they were merely facades—tiles of a massive image arranged onto a frame so as to deceptively give an overwhelming feeling of opulence and grandeur. Fashion parades are all about the façade too.

RESN

I wish I could design interactive interfaces like these guys! The website experience would be a whole lot more worthwhile.

Ghostpatrol

I’m still kind of mesmerised by his rainbow Lucifer T-shirt. Quite the oxymoron. He wasn’t particularly inspiring per se; I suppose he let his evocative imagery do the talking. At least now I know who did the street art on the very street where Classic Comics is! (It was Miso, Ghostpatrol’s partner).

Dan Formosa

Smart design indeed! These are the designers who leave you in awe, because what they do is ingenious and socially responsible at the same time. Also he validates my need to constantly check the internet for opinions on new products (from books to tech gadgets to music)

Peter Biggs

What can I say? I think I hate advertising executives for their (natural) self-congratulatory pomposity. I can’t believe in year 12 I wanted to enter this industry. Probably because I was such an ignorant twat. That’s not to say he didn’t have anything invalid to say; I rather thought his emphasis on pursuing the “dangerous edge” to be a good philosophy, though it’s hardly a new concept. Also amused that nearly every creative tends to quote T.S. Eliot’s Wasteland.

Wayne Thompson

The first Australian type designer to have sang a song about fonts? Quite possibly. But whether it was good is another question, though there was something very daggy and endearing about this guy. Liz pointed out it’s because he’s a dad, and I think that certainly rings true. It was interesting to contrast his fonts to say that of the classical masters, namely the Dutch and Swiss, or that of Tobias Frere-Jones.

Brendan Dwyer

Shoes, shoes, shoes!

Australia Project

Very relevant and meaningful undertaking in defining Australia’s identity as a nation, a multicultural society, a people. I would definitely like to participate in some way.

Rico Lins

Rico has a really diverse folio of poster designs. He also mentioned a ‘Labyrinth of Passion’ film poster, describing it as kitsch (see, I am extremely aware of anyone uttering this word at any time now!). I want the poster; and I want to watch the film now.

Tribute to Les Mason

I suppose it’s blasphemy that I’d not heard of Mason until this conference (but I was not of this generation! In fact, I’m like 3 generations away), but now I do, and having heard various accounts of his life and career, it’s plain to see his obvious influence on people, and a wry wit about him too. His widow described him, upon their first meeting at some night club/discotheque, as Don Draper (Mad Men).

Javier Mariscal

Even though we were running well overtime, I’m glad I stayed back. Javier was really delightful; he went through one of his latest projects, an animated feature film called “Chico and Rita”. It’s set in Cuba during the 1940s (at this I’m already falling in love with it) and it’s a narrative simply teeming with passion for love, for music, for glamour, for life, for despair. It looks spectacular, and the soundtrack and set designs are sensational. I am so looking forward to watching this when it’s released in cinemas (goodness knows when in Australia though!).

I may post pics of their works later, but for now Google is your friend. Or check out the agIdeas website for an overview of the speakers list.

Michael Mabry

A great prologue to the conference. Michael introduced his talk with a lively video using primitive but delightful animation techniques of all his “friends”, including Milton Glaser, Ella Fitzgerald and the President and Mrs Obama. There’s a warmth and humanity to his illustrations; he also showed us his process into making the “collagey, textural” look for one of his illustrations for Land of the Nod.

Richard Ferlazzo

Chief designer of Holden. Had  a perky kind of manner of speaking which was engaging and enlightening. Form may follow function but there’s a balance between the two somewhere round the middle, for what’s wrong with beauty in life if it is possible?

Eamo ...]]> So it’s that time of the year again—a week without classes so that we can attend agIdeas! But erm, that’s not why we go, right? Last year I started to write a summary post on my opinions on each guest speaker but that was too ambitious for me (!!!). However, I am determined this year to get it right. Just some brief words on all.

I may post pics of their works later, but for now Google is your friend. Or check out the agIdeas website for an overview of the speakers list.

Michael Mabry

A great prologue to the conference. Michael introduced his talk with a lively video using primitive but delightful animation techniques of all his “friends”, including Milton Glaser, Ella Fitzgerald and the President and Mrs Obama. There’s a warmth and humanity to his illustrations; he also showed us his process into making the “collagey, textural” look for one of his illustrations for Land of the Nod.

Richard Ferlazzo

Chief designer of Holden. Had  a perky kind of manner of speaking which was engaging and enlightening. Form may follow function but there’s a balance between the two somewhere round the middle, for what’s wrong with beauty in life if it is possible?

Eamo Donnelly

There’s an affectionate devil-may-care personality that he shows in his speech but always underlying this is a passion born out of his nostlagia for childhood and the things he loves (word: drawing!). That’s really admirable, especially in a competitive, and as he put it, isolating, world of illustration. Love his colourful, psychedelic palettes and compositions crammed with imagery and motifs.

Dylan Brady

Now I have a score to settle with Mr Brady. Initially he had piqued my interest with his diverse portfolio of architectural facades, but during the time he detailed his process doing the signature facade of the Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Centre, he made a casual, derisive remark about how Chinese labourers (and I am not quoting by word, only by his implication) are all too eager to do menial work. The context being that he had made a change in one of the designs of patterned tiles which meant there needed to be rebuilding. There was a hushed tremor of mortification in the audience, which I’m sure no one missed. Now for all intents he may have meant nothing derogatory by that statement, but it seems to underpin a certain bias, ignorance and indeed arrogance I continuously observe among Westerners in regards to well, anything and everything about China. Certainly the mass media is VIRTUALLY NO HELP WHATSOEVER. Yes, Chinese labourers ARE desperate for work, because in the world’s most populous country, at a staggering 1.3 billion people, I  imagine it wouldn’t be so easy as pie to head to your local recruitment agency for instant, gratifying work. The pay for construction workers is pitiful, but they do it because they need to survive. They’re happy to do these jobs, yes; it’s far better than working in a mine, that’s for sure.

What I loathe more is that Western corporations take advantage of this desperation, to put it crudely, and then spit back into China’s face for its so-called horrendous human rights record, or its gargantuan carbon footprint, or what have you. And it’s not just land/property developers, it’s the recycling industry, the printing industry, by golly, every damn industry in the world benefits from China’s open market! Hardly anyone has not been touched by the Chinese in some way. Got an item “Made in China”? Yeah, I bet you have a whole house full of them.  If these labourers started developing their own unions and speaking out for higher wages and better working conditions (not that these organisations do not exist; they are growing, albeit slowly) I’m sure the fat cats would start sweating some. Every big company ought to realise they owe big to China, for all its faults, since it’s still a “developing” country—that’s arguable, given its phenomenal economy, but as a nation coming to grips with the end of the darkest Mao years and embracing a new era of modern consumer capitalism, it has a long, long way to go. Innovation, morality, sustainability, political systems, the works. So, can you entirely blame China for its shortcomings? Change comes with time. Without severe capital punishments acting as deterrents society would be strife with social instability and the massive demands of a growing Chinese consumer society cause unprecedented problems: carbon emissions and other environmental impacts. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I do not defend China’s faults; however, equally I believe there are great things about China that Westerners must acknowledge. (And hey, when Ken Cato showed us the photo of the 20 year anniversary Design is Difference catalogues being delivered to the VAC, there was the ubiquitous CHINA SHIPPING tank. GO FIGURE.) And this brings me back to what pissed me off today about Brady. His suggestive passing off that his being involved in this design project was doing these labourers a great favour, a holier-than-thou benevolence, if you will, was arrogant, presumptuous and inappropriate, which is unfortunate because I thought the the final structure Brady produced was an impressive feat, but I could not get the offensive remark out of my head.

Okay, rant done (for now). You may think I’ve taken a tiny sentence way out of context, but this is what I believe, and what I believe needs to be said.

Robyn Beeche

I saw that a lot of her subject matter resonates with the neo-Baroque tendency; especially when she mentioned Vivienne Westwood’s New Romantics and David Bowie and Boy George. Fashionable kitsch.

Ali Vazirian

I’m sure I would have found this much more illuminating if I could just understand what he was saying half the time! I struggled. The great lyrical poetry of Islamic art and design was touched on though. Islamic calligraphy is so beautiful and sensuous.

Jacques Reymond

What a lovely, lovable man! Ah, these Frenchmen. Easy talkers and easy lovers. Oh wait, that’s Italians isn’t it. Never mind, Jacques was a real delightful charmer with an equally charming life story to tell. I want to go to his restaurant now.

Annabel Dundas

A great portfolio of motion graphics, but what I loved more is Annabel’s personal collection of chairs. Though my own collections don’t run so far and expensive as furniture—the sentiment is the same, and utterly relatable.

Dean Poole

I think Dean is quite possibly the strongest and most engaging speaker out of today, though you wouldn’t immediately think it, given his natural wry, deadpan delivery. He has a great folio of conceptual work, including an ingenious law firm identity, making an industry quite burdened by the pretentious stigma into a witty and approachable identity

Andrew Rogers

His sculptural projects are ambitious indeed. With the help of locals, Rogers crosses over to the deepest and most remote parts of the earth to build massive sculptures that speak of spirituality and humanity. I love the rock formation of the Tibetan (?) religious motif in the Himalayan mountains best.

Nicola Cerini

I’m on her mailing list! Her prints bring a real earthiness and liveliness to home decor; I don’t think I could actually use the bags. They’re artworks in themselves.

Michel Bouvet

For a second I thought it was Weird Al Yankovic. What an awesome portfolio of poster work! I’d love to do theatre and opera posters; his working process is interesting—it’s very methodical but obviously effective for him. He loves his cats too. Very adorable “homages” in some of his posters. ;)

Other noteworthy things

• I know I heard the word “kitsch” twice today used by Richard Ferlazzo and Jacques Reymond. I was much pleased.
• Lunch was at NGV International! On a Tuesday! Have you been inside NGV International on Tuesday? No, bet you haven’t, because NGV International is CLOSED on Tuesdays! It was like being among VIP guests, albeit 5000 of them or sommat. I think there was something off about the salmon (I felt nauseated afterwards), but I liked the idea of everyone getting a cardboard lunchbox, and a pink lamington for dessert!
• I has an Uppercase Magazine, thanks to Mag Nation! The first time I saw this on the net, I’ve been coveting it ever since! A gorgeously designed publication with the type of aesthetic sensibility that I simply cannot resist!

Meanwhile, I’ve decided to go for a general pop culture and kitsch theme, but with a slight emphasis on personal opinions and evocative and unique collections. But there are still streaks of mainstream thought within all that indie-ness. My mind is still befuddled. It’s past midnight, damn it.

NB: You can make 2 votes!

Hmm. I will get down to updating about my agIdeas antics. Eventually. Hopefully the memories are still preserved in the short-term bank of my brain.

Stefan Sagmeister opened up. Garson Yu finished. It was 6:30pm.

I’ll get round to adding more juicy details later…

I finally caved and bought a Rorschach action figure—the cheapest I could find was at the Moonee Ponds store. Will photograph close-ups when I next find spare time. They definitely have the action figures and most comics cheaper there… Good grief, why do I keep going to Minotaur (Then again, prices differ for various things. It pays to shop around)? Also got Catwoman #27 and an X-MEN: First Class special issue dirt cheap. Very pleased with my self-restraint. *cough*

Am curious to read more Green Lantern after the reading a good preview of Chuck Dixon’s newest take on the Emerald Guardian. At least, I think it was Chuck Dixon. I can’t remember at top of my head, but it was good! And that’s the most important part! ...]]> Mmm, it was that time of the year again on the first Saturday of May. When we celebrate all that is good and nerdy—FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, YAY. I and my good mate Andrew went traipsing around north-west and inner Melbourne devouring any freebie in our wake. Victoria only has 2 participating stores: Trading Cards Australia in Moonee Ponds and Classic Comics in Bourke St, City.

I finally caved and bought a Rorschach action figure—the cheapest I could find was at the Moonee Ponds store. Will photograph close-ups when I next find spare time. They definitely have the action figures and most comics cheaper there… Good grief, why do I keep going to Minotaur (Then again, prices differ for various things. It pays to shop around)? Also got Catwoman #27 and an X-MEN: First Class special issue dirt cheap. Very pleased with my self-restraint. *cough*

Am curious to read more Green Lantern after the reading a good preview of Chuck Dixon’s newest take on the Emerald Guardian. At least, I think it was Chuck Dixon. I can’t remember at top of my head, but it was good! And that’s the most important part! ‘Sides, Green Lantern is HOT. I dunno, there’s something about Hal that reminds me of Bruce … Plus Chris Pine (of new Star Trek fame) is said to play Green Lantern in new film soon to be in production in Australia. Huzzah!

It’s also agIdeas Design Week, but I’m going to be attending the agIdeas Design Conference, which kicks off tomorrow for 3 days. 3 days non-stop of design! With the likes of Stefan Sagmeister and Tobias Frere-Jones speaking, will I live through it all from sheer awesomeness? Watch my blog for posts in the next few days.

OK enough with the third person, I will tell you now that the current brief for my studio folio is packaging (both primary and secondary, ie. the bottle and its container) for a leisure pack for 4 wine PET bottles (No glass, I know, it’s a preposterous thought!), targeted to Generation Y (so, that’s the 18-30 year old market). I’ve got most of the technical considerations done, but now I’m struggling with choosing a brand name—hypothetical, of course. ;) Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. *I will tell you also that this wine of mine is non-alcoholic, so purely 0% alcohol. Would your opinion have changed if you knew it was non-alcoholic? (Although considering they’d be placed in the aisle next to the soft drinks in the supermarkets, you’d think you would know, wouldn’t you? Don’t think too much on it!)

Would appreciate your comments/opinions! Or just tell me I’ve gone batshit crazy! If I don’t get ...]]> Yes, Jen is alive, struggling to keep afloat but alive. And she would love for you to help her fill this poll so she can find some direction in her life. TRULY!

OK enough with the third person, I will tell you now that the current brief for my studio folio is packaging (both primary and secondary, ie. the bottle and its container) for a leisure pack for 4 wine PET bottles (No glass, I know, it’s a preposterous thought!), targeted to Generation Y (so, that’s the 18-30 year old market). I’ve got most of the technical considerations done, but now I’m struggling with choosing a brand name—hypothetical, of course. ;)
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
*I will tell you also that this wine of mine is non-alcoholic, so purely 0% alcohol. Would your opinion have changed if you knew it was non-alcoholic? (Although considering they’d be placed in the aisle next to the soft drinks in the supermarkets, you’d think you would know, wouldn’t you? Don’t think too much on it!)

Would appreciate your comments/opinions! Or just tell me I’ve gone batshit crazy! If I don’t get enough responses or there are too many ties, I will probably follow up with a second poll to narrow answers down. Thanks so much! :)

Bendigo is a lovely city. Clean, vintage and with friendly people. And there was a Katies store that was closing down with the cheapest clothes! $5 a piece for most garments, zomg! Not even DFO can compare!

I sort of splurged on the gift range… The bag is beautiful and cute however, and well worth it.

Now I wouldn’t be a true type fan without noticing the amazing signage around this historic city! ‘Total Abstinence Society Inc”—well, that’s one way of putting it, eh? I love the little flourishes and the Nouveau/Deco typefaces.

The flourish in the ‘AND’ is beautiful! But I love the little stencil someone grafittied on top of the sign. It completes the set. ;)