In your face: contemporary graphic design 5 Aug - 5 Nov

Image: Steve Scott

"Intelligent, irreverent and witty, Australian graphic design is out there making its mark globally. For this major exhibition of contemporary Australian graphic design, sixteen unique case studies unravel the creative process as they are juxtaposed against works from the Powerhouse Museum’s 20th century Australian graphic design archive.

Featuring alternative and mainstream design for new media, motion graphic, animation, music-video and web design, as well as large-scale super graphic and billboard design, comic, poster, book, magazine and character toy design, and even tattoo art, the exhibition is a sweeping look at graphic design in action.

Designers in the spotlight are Fabio Ongarato Design, Vince Frost of Frost Design, Steve Scott, Soap Creative, Josh Roelink of Tatudharma, Chris O’Doherty (aka Reg Mombassa), Carby Tuckwell, Voice, 3 Deep Design, Nathan Jurevicius, Boccalatte, Deuce Design, Qube Konstrukt, Crumpler, kwp! Advertising and Streetwize Communications."

You can also read some of these designers' profiles online.

W: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/inyourface.asp

Workshopped exhibition - till August 19

Images: TL - Nicholas Karlovasitis' 'Loose Change' chair, TR- Eric Siu's 'Twist Chair', and B- Zoe MacDonell's 'A Chair Less Ordinary'.

The Workshopped exhibition features 28 designers' work from around Australia. This year's brief was Finding Function in the Form.

"In a world where function is often lost to form, WORKSHOPPED 06 asks designers to consider design which has both function and form. Including the elements of: purpose, utility, quality, durability, comfort, and desirability.

WORKSHOPPED 06 looks for design that considers the issues relating to production, whether limited or mass production and irrespective of production method. And most importantly design that might be desired, taken home and lived with!"

Designers' work featured are: Adam Goodrum, Amy Cunningham, Arnold + Lane, Craig Harris, Danny Cheung, David Knott, David Moses, Dennis Abalos, Donald Holt, Donald Corey, Eric Siu, Frag Woodall, Gary Galego, Henry Wilson, Ilan El, Jo Philippsohn, Jonathan Everett, Keith Melbourne, Lana Alsamir, Lauren Babula, Matthew Conway, Matthew Harding, Nicholas Karlovasitis, Niklavs Rubenis, Tasman Wallworth, Tim Foster, and Zoe MacDonell.

W: http://www.workshopped.com.au

Best Blogs for the Young and Broke

Article in Business Week Online on some great blogs on personal finance from 20 and 30 somethings.

W: http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/aug2006/pi20060811_698279.htm

UK pensioner is YouTube's new star

Peter, a pensioner from the UK, has posted 7 videos on YouTube. He has received "79,000 viewings and 6,500 subscribers, putting him at the top of the most-subscribed list on YouTube in the past week." His username is geriatric1927.

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/grey-fever-hits-youtube/2006/08/14/1155407706104.html

Peter's videos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=geriatric1927

The top 10 quirkiest hotels

"Across the world you can spend the night in a hotel made of ice, a castle that used to be a jail, or a resort with a huge indoor water park, indoor ice rink, indoor golf course and indoor roller-coaster."

Article in the SMH listing the Top 10 quirkiest hotels as nominated by TripAdvisor.com.

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/hotels/the-top-10-quirkiest-hotels/2006/08/11/1154803070071.html

Trip Advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/

Change what you eat to slim down

RealAge tip: "If you're trying to lose weight, for heaven's sake don't starve.

Instead, change what -- not how much -- you eat, so you walk away from a meal feeling full, not frustrated.. Instead of a wedge of berry pie, have a whole pint of juicy strawberries. In other words, cut calories and fat, not portions. It works, say scientists..."

W: http://www.realage.com/news_features/tip.aspx?v=1&cid=17053

Living ourselves to death

SMH article: "The closer science looks, the more links it finds between lifestyle and long-term ailments...

A wide-ranging national health study of Australian women published last year found the average young woman puts on five kilograms over seven years while she is in her 20s, typically before she has even started having babies. AusDiab 2, a large study of patterns of diabetes in the community, found women and men put on an average 14 kilograms between age 25 and 50..."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/living-ourselves-to-death/2006/08/13/1155407675077.html

Young Blood Designers Market

Went to the Young Blood Designers Market at the Powerhouse Museum this afternoon. It was a great event! There were over 60 stalls of young designers showing and selling their work.

Images: tl- Jess Lee of imoko; tr- Ann Lightfoot and Tracey Lamount of bird; 2l- Ro, Julse, and Ange Foong from High Tea with Mrs Woo; 2r: Tanya and Karen Kopac from red ruby; 3l: Ann Lightfoot and Tracey Lamount of bird; 3r: Rachel Bending from Bird Textiles; bl and middle: red ruby clothes; br: High Tea with Mrs Woo display.

Some designers that were featured included:

High Tea with Mrs Woo: made up of three sisters Rowena, Juliana and Angela. They're based in Newcastle. Their creations are really beautiful and have an Asian influence. Their website is great too. w: http://www.highteawithmrswoo.com.au

Jess Lee of imoko: tactile curiosities + clothing concepts. Jess' clothes are really creative pieces using a mix of different fabrics. e: tactile-curiosities@hotmail.com

red ruby who are made up of sisters Tanya and Karen Kopac: stencil cut designs, limited ed. silk screen prints on handmade clothing. Loved their designs. You can also find their clothing at the Glebe markets, Glebe Point Rd, on Saturdays. e: redrubypost@yahoo.com.au

bird who are made of Ann Lightfoot and Tracey Lamount: hand painted bags and t-shirts. w: http://www.birdhouse.com.au

Everythink: Dieu Tan is a photographer and makes really funky pieces of furniture and lighting. w: http://www.everythink.com.au

Naomi Bishops of Gaptoothgirl is a filmmaker and textile designer. She makes beautiful woollen scarves, ponchos, jewellery and more. Cool website too. w: http://www.gaptoothgirl.com

Bird Textile: Rachel Bending has just released a new clothing label called Bird. She's also behind the eco meets retro Slingfings label. w: http://www.birdtextile.com, http://www.slingfings.com.au

Pipwilly: lampshades, cushions, artwork. w: http://www.pipwilly.com

imok: cool, funky graphics on tshirts and accessories. w: http://www.imok.com.au

There are still lots more events as part of Sydney Design 2006 - 5th - 20th August.
W: http://www.sydneydesign.com.au

Sick cities

SMH website / feature on Sick cities. Some very interesting articles and video clips on modern life and the effect it's having on us.

"The way we live is killing us. We're crammed into cities working longer hours and busier lives, commuting more and exercising less, eating more takeaways and less fresh food.

And our modern lifestyle is taking its toll. This generation of children may die younger than their parents as a result of their weight gain. It's an urban disease being felt around the world. Our physical health is starting to degrade. The body, overfed and under-exercised, stacks on weight. The extra kilos unlock diabetes, kidney disease and cancers. Psychiatric illness is also on the increase as we struggle to be first in the rat race. Our chronic health epidemics, obesity in particular, have been widely noted.

This series looks at how our bad health is the logical result of a lifestyle we have collectively adopted. Work, food, suburbs - the fundamentals of our lives - are no longer in harmony with the human body and Now we're paying the price..."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/sickcities/main.html

North Sydney Bus Shelter and Canopy Entrance competition

"The Competition is an ideas generation process initiated to attract a number of architectural design concepts for the development of new bus shelters for Miller Street in North Sydney CBD and canopy entrance to the Greenwood Plaza/North Sydney Railway Station...

The competition intends to spark debate in the community about design, inspire creative thinking and encourage the concept of design to be viewed from different perspectives.

Design submissions were received from local, interstate and international entrants."

The winner was: Hannah Tribe and Marcus Trimble

W: http://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/www/html/4242-winners-bus-shelter-and-canopy-competition.asp

Marcus Thimble's blog which has more information and images of the project:
http://www.gravestmor.com/wp/archives/category/projects/

Marcus Thimbe's main blog: http://www.gravestmor.com/wp/index.php

15th Biennale of Sydney - till 27 August

"The 15th Biennale of Sydney, organised under the conceptual framework ‘Zones of Contact’, will feature 85 artists and collaborations from 44 countries.

‘Zones of Contact’ is about the spaces people live in and move between. It explores the spatial dimensions of cities, settlements, territories, the land and home – places where people encounter one another and other cultures."

"The 2006 festival will be held at over 16 venues and sites throughout Sydney including the three principal venues; Pier 2/3 at Walsh Bay, Art Gallery of New South Wales and Museum of Contemporary Art."

W: http://www.bos2006.com/

Akira Isogawa designer rugs

Designer Rugs commissioned Akira Isogawa to design a limited edition collection of rugs and the designs were launched in September last year. They're really cool looking rugs!

This year, Designer Rugs commissioned Dinosaur Designs to design some rugs.

W: http://www.designerrugs.com.au/rugs.php?id=8&type=1

Designer Rugs: http://www.desigerrugs.com.au

Popcorn Taxi: Kevin Smith in conversation + Clerks II - 22 Aug

"Popcorn Taxi in association with Roadshow Films invites you to join legendary cult film Director Kevin Smith in conversation, following the Australian premiere screening of his latest film Clerks II.

One of the most unique voices to emerge during the American independent filmmaking renaissance of the 1990s, Kevin Smith burst onto the movie scene in 1994 with his low budget comedy Clerks, a hilariously scabrous look at American consumer culture, littered with pop culture references conveyed in coarse but snappy dialogue. Made for $27,000 dollars, collected from parents, credit-card advances, and the sale of Smith's beloved comic book collection, the film was launched at the Sundance Film Festival, and soon became a classic in the cinematic sub-genre of 'slacker' movies.

Smith followed up Clerks with Mall Rats (1995), Chasing Amy (1999), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and Jersey Girl (2004), many of which feature actor Jason Mewes and Smith himself as the characters 'Jay' and 'Silent Bob', two idle stoners who pop up for added comic relief.

Clerks II checks back in on the lives of 'Dante' and 'Randal', the two convenience store slackers from the first film, who lose their jobs when a fire burns the strip mall to ashes. The buddies are forced to don uniforms and man the counters at Mooby's, a fast-food restaurant whose supremely irritating bovine mascot also appeared in Smith's Dogma. The film stars Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson and Rosario Dawson, with cameos by Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, Kevin Weisman, and the triumphant return of New Jersey’s inimitable duo Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). You can read more about Kevin and the film below.

After the Australian premiere screening of Clerks II, Kevin Smith will take to the stage for an exclusive 90 min, uncensored, no-holds-barred, one-on-one conversation with the audience, about his career, his passions, his “boring-ass life” and everything in between.

Don't miss what will be your only chance to hear Kevin Smith speak in Sydney, and share with him his passion for making films. Tickets for this event will go on sale via Ticketmaster at 9am next Monday morning (August 7th). The full details on how to buy a ticket will be announced shortly!"

POPCORN TAXI
Clerks II + Kevin Smith Q&A
Rated: MA 15+

Time : 6:30 pm (for a 7pm start)
Date: Tuesday, August 22nd
Where: State Theatre
Address: 49 Market Street, Sydney.
Tickets: $35

To buy tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au
Or via calling Ticketmaster on ph 13 61 00
Or over the counter at one of the many Ticketmaster outlets.

W: http://www.popcorntaxi.com.au/Events.asp?Event_ID=471

Rhodes Phoenix restaurant - yum cha

Rhodes Phoenix Chinese Restaurant opened in the Rhodes shopping centre a few weeks ago. Went there for yum cha last week. The tables are spaciously laid out and the interior features a chocolate and rich red colour scheme. It looks very rich, dark and luxurious. It has a nice intimate, modern feel. The food's nice but the dishes could probably have been kept hotter if they wheeled the food around in the food warmer trolleys.

The Phoenix restaurants are also located in Skygardens in the city, Castle Hill and Manly.

Rhodes Phoenix: Level 5, Rhodes Shopping Centre, 1 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes.
Ph: 02 9739 6628 or 1300 883 892.

W: http://www.phoenixrestaurants.com.au

Adobe Live! conference now up on the web

"Last week we held the inaugural Adobe Live! events in Sydney and Auckland. This is the first time this free two day conference has been staged outside Europe.

The event was hugely successful and we look forward to creating a similar event in 2007.

For all of you who were unable to make the actual event, videos of all of the presentations can now be accessed online in flash format via the following link:"

W: http://www.streamx.com.au/adobelive/2006/index.htm

Matali Crasset talk: 17 August, Sydney

Matali Crasset: hospitality, generosity, technology

"Paris-based designer Matali Crasset will share her fascinating perspective on design at the Powerhouse Museum as she delivers the international keynote lecture for Sydney Design 06.

Matali Crasset is an award winning industrial designer with work stretching across a broad range of mediums including interiors, graphics, objects, furniture, wallpaper and electronic products.

Using bold graphic conventions, Matali’s designs are provocative, playful and fun. She explores notions of domestic and urban spaces while gently questioning and challenging the way we live our lives. Her highly philosophical approach to design encourages us to reconsider how we engage with our environment, subversion is at the heart of her practice.

“I’m interested in thinking about other possibilities. Not necessarily to change the world, that’s not my goal, but to present another alternative for living. That alternative might be more contemporary and it might reflect a greater awareness or fit more with what we have in our heads.” says Crasset.

After graduating from the École Nationale Supérieure de Création, Matali worked on design and architecture projects with Italian designer Denis Santachiaria in Milan. She then returned to Paris and was soon taken under the wing of design luminary Philippe Starck who she worked with for five years at Thomson Multimedia and then Tim Thom, Thomson’s design centre. In 1998 she set up her own design studio, a multidisciplinary practice with a mix of industrial, graphic and interior design.

Matali’s interior design projects range from the HI Hotel in Nice the Red Cell advertising agency in Paris, an apartment in Beijing and the renovation of an 18th century palazzo in the Italian city of Padua. Her work has been exhibited internationally in public museums such as the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Fond National d’Art Contemporain, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Francesco Capelo collection, Lisbon. Most recently her work was shown at the Milan Furniture Fair 2006 and she currently has a solo exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt National Museum of Design in New York."

Thursday, 17 August 5.30pm for 6.30pm
Powerhouse Museum, Coles Theatre
500 Harris St. Ultimo
Cost: $35/30 members & concession (includes refreshments, museum entry and exhibition viewing).
Bookings essential (02) 9217 0222, moshtix.com.au

W: http://www.sydneydesign.com.au/sd06/?s=program&id=5

Lost Bears flickr group

Photos of lost bears.

W: http://flickr.com/groups/lostbears/pool/

TED Talks

"Each year, TED hosts some of the world's most fascinating people: Trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses. The talks they deliver have had had such a great impact, we thought they deserved a wider audience. So now - with our sponsor BMW and production partner WNYC/New York Public Radio we're sharing some of the most remarkable TED talks with the world at large. Each week, we'll release a new talk, in audio and video, to download or watch online..."

W: http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/

Fashion blogs

Article in the SMH on fashion blogs titled: 'Let slip the blogs of wore'.

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/fashion/let-slip-the-blogs-of-wore/2006/07/26/1153816248787.html

Book review: Hello Laziness

Hello Laziness by Corinne Maier. Book review by Harvey Chan.

(Bonjour Paresse)
If you are someone who has corporate aspirations, really motivated and loyal do well for your firm, then this is not the book for you.

This international bestseller really took Europe by storm. Its a witty, intelligent, irreverent wake up call about whats going on under the covers in a big corporation. Its not even 'work smarter, not harder', more like 'Work harder at not working at all'!

Corinne Maier is a part time economist for Electricite de France(EdF), her book sets about tearing away at the idealistic view of the machinations of a company, its management, and their loyalty to their people, and replacing it with a much darker, more cynical view of the motives behind corporate activities.

She starts rather gently, telling you flat out that corporations don't care about you. She touches on some lighter topics like the 'language of business' and how
to decode it, to warnings to individualists to get out while they can, identifying types of managers and fellow workers, then dives deeper and deeper in the subtleties of corporate culture like 'corporate strategy' or 'ethics'. Even the IT department doesn't escape her acid analysis - she has a whole section set aside for them.

But don't think that this book is whimsical and shallow. The author has reinforced her analysis with facts and figures to structure and defend her argued conclusions. And she doesn't just tell you how bad things are, she often provides (subversive) views about everything, and methods to avoid or fight them. She's not afraid of drawing inspiration from a range of eclectic sources to describe things, using quotes and analogies from the likes of other significant books in this anti-establishment genre, such as No Logo: No Space, No Choice, to Globalization and its
Discontents, to of course, The Dilbert Principle. The author is French, so there is an intriguing list of French material cited in the book.

In conclusion, The book reads like Harvard Business Review version of Dilbert, and is worth a look for an offbeat intelligent read, perhaps to be offered an alternative perspective on business, and perhaps to compare notes with what you have already learnt - just don't let your manager catch you reading it.