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Kyoorius Designyatra 2007

All this is written on a personal standpoint. A little general in certain terms. A little comparative with last year’s Kyoorius Designyatra.

‘Passports’ carrying the embalm above were actually required to enter the venue.

Starting with the delegates. I observed not only professionals and students of the related field attending this event but also professionals and students from various disciplines as well. It’s very encouraging for a designer if someone from the other field comes and talks about design. The conversations might be general but I find myself talking to people who are passionate and interested to know about design. The list also includes creative directors, brand consultants, administrators of industry related companies, engineering students, designers, etc; just to name a few. I did not engage in conversations like this last year. I had the honor to talk to John Walters, editor of Eye magazine, where we shared on the editorial process of the Eye magazine and exchange ideas about design writing. He did a little interview thing (which I was a little nerves that I might goof-up) asking opinions on the event, the speakers, the relevance of what design practices that were shared and personal views on design.

I thought that this would be very touching to people who can relate to this.

The venue was actually a two huge temporary tents setup specially for the event. The place was flooded a few days before due to very heavy rain. But participants could happily enter after the organizers manage to clear up the mess. As you can see in the picture below, it is indeed huge. One tent for the conference main hall, one for exhibitors and another to act as a food court where the Kyoorius Rupees played their role.

The strong line-up of speakers made this event very worthwhile. Some highlights I enjoyed:

Wally Olins, after giving a solid lecture on the role of design in branding, answered a few questions given to him. When asked to comment on the London 2012 Olympics logo, he explains that the logo is specifically created for moving motion; displays well on iPods, Mobile phones where they appear dynamic and strong when being viewed. The target audience of this logo are actually teenagers, who will eventually grow into the main spectators of the Olympics five years later.

David Kestler gave the audience a touch of the affairs of business and design by highlighting that both should work hand in hand. Being a very influential man in the design scene in the UK, paying attention to his lecture will make you find out that the entire business of design is actually a serious pratice and also the fact that there is a market out there where businesses are blooming because of effective design playing its role in contributing. Half of the hall went off during Trevor Sowood’s talk on the importance of paper in enhancing design. He covered on very issues about paper that I feel are important for a designer in quality control in print.

Kyle Cooper was a surprise. I never expected him to be a deep thinker where he provoked thoughts that made my mind wondered about into new perspectives of design where most designers will not acknowledge. Having Paul Rand as his design mentor, he looks at the works of Rand as designs that capture ‘a certain specific moment’ where if any elements within Rand’s designs are moved imaginatively, it will appear in a total different aesthetic and function or role. He presented the design discipline as an area where much commitment should be given into and a healthy practice of design is not only beneficial but rewarding as well. It was indeed definitely entertaining to look at the beautiful movie titles he designed, but the one hour forty five minute lecture was very worth it and one should be there to experience.

I’ve also always enjoyed Neville Brody‘s lectures. He was among one of the speakers in last years Designyatra and gave a strong lecture on some thoughts of design surrounding our environment after showcasing a few of the projects he worked on. This year, he gave a case study on the redesign of the Times newspaper and on the Fuse project with a little of other projects in between, ending it with thoughts on design. I felt that there was a touch of humanity in his lecture this round and I was very humbled listening to it.

Stefan Sagmeister was without doubt the ‘rock star’ of the conference. As honest as he can be and truthful about the practices in his studio, makes his lectures always enjoyable. On the second day of the event, there was this historic moment when he sat down in front of all delegates, interviewing Neville Brody. Their discussions cover topics such as design education, the concerns for sizes for design studios and welcoming Micheal Johnson as the last speaker to close the event.

The main hotels were located about 30 minutes away from the venue within the scope of 10 minutes to each hotel within the radius. Shutter busses were provided to the venue. It took us a little longer to get to the venue in the mornings due to a landslide resulting in heavy traffic half way through. I shared a room with my colleague from India which gave me much relief. I shared a room with a roomie last year who apparently comes back at 4am and skips all the morning sessions.

I drank a little at the beach party at the last night. I grabbed my thick framed glasses in attempt to try looking good (like a chic-magnet as seen below), I ended up sitting down sharing my little experience with students. On the other hand, I actually worked with Jiad Li throughout the entire night after the first day of the event to clear some last minute stuff for the Kyoorius Verdict awards in the following night. I never attended the awards show that night because I was really exhausted. Also, there were a few high positioned people from the Malaysian advertising and design industry that attended the event. I thought that it was very meaningful to see them there and also relating to them as well.

Arghh… @%^&%*! Sand in my eyes!

Towards the end of the event, we all moved into a different hotel where the entire crew that made it happen was there to celebrate. We took a stroll along the beautiful Baga beach in Candolim, visited an old Catholic church in Old Goa and went to Fort Aguada twice to experience the majesty and typography of the absolutely amazing fortress.

We then went back to Mumbai, where we visited the Malad market where I bought lots of clothes and a little decorative items for Sharlene. We sat on one of these rickshaws that has a radio turned on loud with the song ‘Dudes look like a lady’ played loud which kept me very happy the entire trip.

(images taken from Velvet’s camera)