Design does not need to be trendy

If you can’t find it, design it

Proving this to one of the most trendoid audiences on the planet would seem unlikely, however, such is the consummate elegance of the Vignellis’ approach that they did. Showing half a century of work - from graphic design for American Airlines, Bloomingdales and the New York Subway map, to truly timeless jewellery, homeware, glassware, silverware, furniture and architectural designs, including the design of the theatre chairs used by Gehry in the Guggenheim at Bilbao.

What’s 10x10?

While they may have it all sewn up in New York and Milan, in South Africa we have still a long way to go in the pursuit of a sustainable design context. To this end the 10x10 product and housing projects have been launched. What this means is that 10 SMMEs (only in the Western Cape region initially), will be earmarked to be linked with 10 local and global designers, in order to begin discussing concepts with a view to developing viable globally desirable product prototypes.

The 10x10 housing section of the initiative will see 10 selected local architects such as Luyande Mpahlwa and Stefan Antoni, along with the Ministers of Housing, collaborating with such international giants as Thomas Heatherwick, Shigeru Ban and Christophe Egret, to look at solutions to South Africa’s increasing housing backlog.

If all this is not encouraging enough, Prof Niel Gershenfeld from the Centre for Bits and Atoms at MIT http://cba.edju/~neilig tells of a revolution in both fabrication and the way people interface with technology. The FABLAB [Fabrication laboratory] concept has arrived in Cape Town, similar facilities exist in Pretoria, Ghana and Boston and there is apparently one that cooks up all sorts of cool stuff in Shoshanguve. In the Arctic Circle a whole manufacturing village has sprung up around one.

The concept - where anything you can think of you can manufacture – promises to empower people technologically. Open to anyone, these experimental labs offer the new-fangled services of rapid prototyping and laser technology, as well as a roadmap to the future of molecular digital fabrication. It’s an intellectual pyramid scheme, says Gershenfeld.

Laduma!

More good news was the fact that Danny Jordaan, CEO of SA's 2010 World Cup organising committee, was in the Design Indaba audience in person today, for the presentation of pitches by King James RSVP, Enterprise IG and Grid respectively, for the 2010 World Cup Event.

King James showed some sound thinking within the concept of the repositioning and colour coding of South Africa’s taxi fleets in order for them to be ambassadors, hosts and guides to world cup guests, offering them quintessential African experience.

Enterprise IG’s passionately delivered call to Fever Pitch hit the mark and had at its essence a fire concept – to represent the sun, a heart centre, and the communal function of fires as a place for cooking, for conversation, rites, rituals, warming and coming together. Showing a huge 45 gallon fire drum with holes punched out as a centerpiece to a fan fest or main event field, around which to any other entertainment might be staged, worked really well, as did the concept of “paint can” backpacks, that could be carried, sat upon or banged in unison.

Cheap, environmentally-friendly and multi-functional, this idea could really work to give the tournament an authentic feel (especially in the middle of a Cape winter). The drum concept, pointed out David Blythe of Enterprise IG, could also be translated into lights, route markers around cities and so on.

The concept from Grid hero Nathan Reddy was based on the South African principle of “I am because of You”. Taking sections of 32 flags out of vertical and diagonal lines that makes up the South African flag, he generated colourful manadala patterns which will no doubt look great gracing welcoming airports, access routes, tourist hotspots and memorabilia. Their concept was further expanded into fusion food and global beer contest in order for all countries and cultures to be represented and to feel welcome.

The piece de resistance however in all this, for designers and for us all, was the assurance by Jordaan that 2010 would be the first “designer” World Cup ever.

Happy 10th Birthday, DI!