We wanted to share a little with you of what we learned and whom we saw speak over the course of the weekend.

THURSDAY 

On Thursday evening, there was an exhibition of the Design Academy – a Saturday programme being run at the University to educate 14-16 year olds about graphic and product design. It is a fantastic initiative, showing teenagers that design exists as a career path and a way of life. It challenges them to think for themselves and find effective solutions to every day problems.

The exhibition was brilliant, showcasing packaging solutions (the students were tasked with re-designing the Fanta bottle), photographic portraiture, editorial design and movie making. There was some really promising new talent and it was fantastic to see what young minds can produce when they are set free on a brief.

FRIDAY

On Friday the main festival began, with a focus on education. This was a wonderful day, encouraging us all to push boundaries, be more inquisitive and not to hold back if we have an idea.

1. Postcard from the Creative Industries

The festival kicked off with a discussion chaired by John Brewer (ex-Brewer Riddiford, now Graphic Design Course Leader at the University of Gloucestershire). The discussion was between Bruce Duckworth of Turner Duckworth (a lovely man), David Hillman (who described himself as “the grumpy old man”), James Goodwin of SapientNitro and one of my personal heroes and good friends, Marksteen Adamson of ASHA.

The discussion was varied, touching on topics such as “how do students get jobs?”, “should we ever work for free?”, “what is the future of design?”, “how can we measure the success of design?” There were some fascinating answers and David Hillman in particular, made everybody laugh out loud. His opinion of the TV show ‘The Apprentice” was that “some 25 year old bimbos designing corporate identities just doesn’t work”! I was so tempted to ask a question at the end and introduce myself as a 27 year old ‘non-bimbo’ who designs corporate identities but decided against it! However, it was clear from the weekend that this industry still consists largely of male directors (and they are very good at it!)

2. Colossal Issues, Simple Solutions

This talk by Simon Kavanagh was immensely challenging. The Kaos Pilots in Denmark is “a self-governing institution comprised of two parts: the school and a consultancy.  The purpose of the KaosPilots is “positive social change through personal growth”.” Students undertake a three year course in which they seek to create design and innovation that will produce positive change.

Simon gave some incredible examples of innovation from his students ranging from creating the first ever Tibetan football team, to creating a business in Africa for recycling Danish bikes to enable people to get water more easily.

Simo Kavanagh asked us to write down our “Big Hairy Idea”, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. We had to listen carefully to the idea of the person next to us and help them build upon it. This was to be the start of ‘making it happen’. I felt hugely challenged to be far more ambitious and to dream bigger dreams. Sometimes when we let ‘work’ get in the way, we become despondent and forget to be enterprising, which can be at the core of what we do, whatever our career path is.

3. Who, How and Woh

This was a talk by royal designer Simon Waterfall, who is incredibly engaging as a character and very passionate about what he does. Despite confessing to an almighty hangover from D&AD the night before, Simon delivered a really inspiring talk about brands and their responsibilities towards what they create. He made people laugh out loud and was really good fun.

At the end of the talk he played this really beautiful tilt shift video of the Rio carnival.

4. Question Time: Is There a Future for Design?

This was an unmissable debate between Adrian Shaughnessey, Simon Waterfall, Marina Willer, Martin Horwood and Simon Kavanagh – chaired by Stephen Marston of the University of Gloucestershire. I was very intrigued to see how each of these characters would handle the topic when probed by the audience.

I have to say, our local MP Martin Horwood held his own incredibly well when posed with questions such as “Please can you comment on the London Shard and Damien Hirst?”

There were some fascinting debates about education and I Was particularly impressed by Simon Kavanagh who is passionate about the subject. A teacher in the audience said that pupils were always asking “what should I do next?” Simon’s response was that this would always be the case if our education system continues to simply feed pupils with ideas and information, rather than encouraging them to think for themselves and discover and solve problems, before chucking them out the other end and expecting them to work out what to do with their lives. I couldn’t have agreed more.

SATURDAY – Design Practitioners

1. An Audience With Stefan Sagmeister

I have to admit, I honestly had no idea what to expect from Stefan Sagmeister. At University he was hailed as one of design’s great eccentrics, which of course, instantly made him a hero in the student realms. Known for engraving a poster in his own flesh, creating weird and wonderful pieces of three-dimensional design and taking a sabbatical every seven years, I have to say, I had taken an instant shine to this refreshingly different character. I couldn’t help but wonder what he would be like in real life.

The first talk was a question and answer time, where  Stefan discussed his working method. I was captivated. Here was a man who was very gently spoken, inccredibly down to earth and yet full of ambition and success. He spoke out about his reasons for not pitching and I felt like giving him a standing ovation, as he spoke the words that few have the courage to utter.

2. Stefan Sagmeister on Design and Happiness

The one talk just wasn’t enough. Captivated by what I had previously heard, I simply had to attend Stefan’s second talk, which was sold out completely. This talk was just beautiful. It was all about design and happiness. Stefan talked about the ten years or so of retirement that you get at the end of your career and how he has decided to take five of them and stagger them throughout his career in order to further develop his creativity and passion for design.

Every seven years he takes a sabbatical and travels somewhere new, to try new things. Stefan talked about his recent sabbatical in Indonesia, but also about a really lovely new film he has been making with Hillman Curtis, who, very tragically, lost his battle with cancer very recently.

I wish I could show you the film, which he courageously played us the first section of, as it was really moving. I can, however, show you some of the essence of the talk, a duplicate of which can be found here.

3. Who’s Designing the Future?

Finally on Saturday I attended a debate between Sir John Hegarty and Kenneth Grange – two masters in product design (Grange) and the design side of advertising (Hegarty). This debate was fascinating, discussing the changing shape of culture and how this will affect manufacture and industry, with a particular focus on the future of Chinese manufacture.

Perhaps a slightly more accurate title might have been “What does the future of design look like?” It was a really excellent discussion between both of them and a real honour to hear them speak.

Party Time!

On Saturday evening, I attended a reception for Design Festival Contributors (we, at Pink Sky designed and built the website, mobile site, etc in case you were wondering!) I was particularly excited to be able to wear a pink dress and enormous pink heels, but other than that felt very shy amongst a lot of the speakers and contributors. It was a lovely evening with delicious canapés and drinks from Gusto Deli here in Cheltenham.

SUNDAY – Design Invention

1. From Garden Shed to Dragon’s Den

This was a talk by Mark Champkins, Inventor in Residence at the Science Museum. He also successfully secured investment from Dragon’s Den investor Peter Jones. It is a real shame he wasn’t in the main auditorium, as the talk was completely sold out.

Mark’s inventions are fantastic, ranging from self-heating crockery, to pre-chewed pencils, to tools to help children concentrate at school. All of his inventions are really imaginative and it was very inspiring to hear him talk. He is a very engaging speaker and had the room laughing out loud on many occasions as he told his stories.

2. McLaren: From Racetrack to Road

I have to be honest, I didn’t know if this would be a talk which I would find particularly engaging. I could not have been more wrong. Frank Stephenson is an automobile designer, famous for his designs for BMW (mini), Fiat, Alfa Romeo and McLaren. He grabbed my attention when confessing in passing, that he designed the Fiat 500, a car which I am desperate to own!

The talk was absolutely riveting, discussing the process of designing cars, the history of his career, new techniques being developed for better design, inside the incredible McLaren building and his current design projects which are being inspired by structures found in nature. I think everybody in the room was completely focused from start to finish!

I was delighted to meet Frank briefly at the book signing, he is a lovely man who was very generous with his time.

The Design Festival is about showcasing “Design which makes a difference” so will be featuring some of the most innovative and creative thinkers of our time. Why not join us for a celebration of design which saves lives, design which celebrates human endeavour and design which is sure to inspire?

Speakers include Stefan Sagmeister, Sir John Hegarty, the Kaos Pilots and many others. We hope to see you there!

Sir John Hegarty, Festival President

Spread the word….

What is a QR Code?

QR Code is a trademark which stands for “Quick Response Code”. It is a two-dimensional matrix barcode which has the ability to store different types of data and which has a greater capacity than the conventional UPC (Universal Product Code) barcode.

The QR Code was invented around 1994 by a subsidiary of Toyota, for tracking automotive/vehicle parts in production and manufacture. Since then, with the introduction of smart phones, which enable anybody to scan a code with the use of a simple application,  the potential of the QR Code has increased dramatically.

QR Codes are able to store information such as Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), addresses which can be added to a phone as a V-card, text and personalised information. Therefore the potential application of this functionality is huge.

Many businesses are using the QR Code as a marketing tool. For example, you might go to a restaurant and scan a QR Code, which takes you to a mobile site, where you fill in your details to receive a special offer. The restaurant achieves two objectives here; to capture the attention of, and engage with the customer, whilst also capturing consumer data for the purpose of ongoing communication, interaction and marketing.

Increasingly, QR Codes are being used on business cards. There is no need to keep a complex business card filing system if you can simply scan a code and upload the data to your mobile device.

You might find a flyer which says “Give us your feedback”, with a QR Code. When you scan the code, you are able to compose a text message, email, or fill in a form.

In South Korea, QR Codes are being tested in ‘virtual store’ formats, whereby shopping can be done by the scanning of QR Codes.

Are QR Codes ‘the future’?

There is certainly mileage in the development of the QR Code technology and it is worth jumping on the bandwagon. Here at Pink Sky, we foresee the usage and versatility of the QR Code increasing within the next year or so. However, we would be very cautious about proclaiming that they are ‘the future’. Instead, may we suggest that they are ‘the beginning of a new future’ in technology and the way in which we receive, store and interpret data.

The smart phone has revolutionised the mobile phone market, but it is constantly being developed. Apple ran a campaign when the iPhone 4 came out which said “This changes everything. Again”. This sentiment is always true of technology. The latest advancement changes everything… Until the next one.

What is NFC and does it conflict with the QR Code?

There is a system in place called NFC (Near Field Communication). This technology was developed as a set of standards for smart phones, to establish radio communication with each other when in close proximity or touching. This technology has already been used for applications such as contactless transactions and data exchange.

In a very basic form, this system removes the QR Code itself (although you may choose to have a graphic to indicate the presence of the system) and the process of scanning using an application. The device in the initiator, called a “tag”, lies dormant until activated by the mobile device which is held beside it. Two-way communication is also possible if both devices are powered (gaming between mobile phones for example).

Applications such as Google Wallet, which allow users to store credit card information in an application, could change the way in which we pay for things. You could pay purely by using your mobile phone in close proximity to a PDQ machine. We may have said that ‘chip and pin’ was the future, but again, only until the next big thing.

NFC works at a short range of usually 4cm or less. It can be used for sharing data and files, social networking, identity systems or key cards, potentially for replacing the process of connecting to wifi networks (swipe your phone here to connect to our wifi?) or pairing with other devices.

What does the future hold?

It is impossible to say exactly what the future will hold, but, due to the nature of human endeavour, we will continue to develop technology to make it smarter, faster and stronger. The design of the future is a balance of science and creativity, working in tandem with one another.

It would cause any creative great distress to call their design work ‘formulaic’, but usually the purveyors of such a question are really asking, “how much is this all going to cost me?”, which is perfectly reasonable.

However, it can be frustrating when people ask, “how much do you generally charge for branding?” It isn’t dissimilar from walking into a haberdashery shop and uttering the immortal phrase, “how much will a pair of curtains cost me?” The befuddled tailor replies that he cannot possibly know, without some idea of what fabric is required, the length and breadth of the curtains, the lining, the finish (tabbed, eyelets, gathered?) or indeed how many curtains you require for your window.

It seems that many people think that in the spirit of wild creative madness, a finger is placed in the air and a price accumulated by chance. Many would prefer it if we could work to a daily or hourly rate, as if fixing a car. In a sense, we do, but even with a car, there is a separate cost for the parts. You will find that a VW part costs more than a readily available Ford part. The labour might cost more, because it is more difficult to fit. You wouldn’t get away with stating that “a clutch is a clutch” when it comes to mechanics.

You can, of course, buy designs packaged/boxed, off the shelf, for a standardised price. If this is the approach that best suits you, then this is what you should do. However, this is not the approach that we offer and this is why…

Behind design practice is a complex set of rules. The art and science of the designer is to work out which rules should be kept and which should be broken. These ‘rules’ include:

The rules of consumer engagement and psychology
Colour psychology
Grid layouts
Proportions
Application (where will the graphic appear? Will it fit in every context?)
Kerning and good typographic practice
Line and letter spacing
‘Negative space’ between letters
Legibility
Graphic format
Colour matching (screen/print)
Complimentary colours
File formats for different applications
The perils of strap lines
Creating an identity not just a ‘logo’
How the brand may and may not be used
Which fonts may or may not be used with the brand
Balance between visual elements
Abbreviated Logo format
Graphic devices
Typographic hierarchy
Graphic style and medium (drawing, vector art, photography, etc?)
Brand extension (looking forward)

There are many more elements to be added to this list. This is the ‘process’ or semi-conscious ‘formula’ of design. This all relates to assembly and the creation of visuals and artwork. However, there is an area of design that cannot be contained within a box or a formula and that is the concept/idea.

This is the area that can be considered when the cat jumps on you and wakes you up at 3am, or whilst sitting in a coffee shop sketching on a napkin. This is the result of hours of research and reflection and cannot be bound by time or package, as it varies from client to client. It is, if you like, the car part which needs to be sourced before the ‘labour’ can take place.

Much like the car part, we charge a fee for the conceptual part of the process (to charge an hourly rate for the generation of an idea that has not yet been thought of is impossible!) followed by a daily/hourly rate. However, there are different levels of engagement, depending upon whether we have a junior, middleweight or senior designer working on the project, how many designers it will take, how many meetings and consultations occur, how many sets of amendments etc. This is a bit like going to a hair salon and asking for the junior, middlewieght or senior stylist – you will achieve different results and finishes for different prices based on skill level and experience. There are also more clearly defined costs for elements such as imagery (do photographs need to be sourced?) printing, mock-ups etc.

Design is a delicate balance of art and science. We hope that this helps answer a few questions!

Pink Sky have worked alongside the University to develop an identity that is fresh, fun and engaging for students, but which also encourages staff support and participation.