Creative sparks fly in Cape Town
Fifty of the world's most creative minds gather in Cape Town this week as the Design Indaba - recently judged the best conference in the world by EIBTM in Barcelona - kicks off on Wednesday 22 February. The Design Indaba is now in its ninth year, with corporate commissioners such as marketing teams making up 40% of the audience.
Designers, architects, illustrators, photographers and other übertalented trendsetters will address a business-to-business audience of 1 500 people - 10% foreigners - for three days at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Official sponsors are Woolworths, SAA, Sappi and the SABC.
Day one kicks off with John Hunt, worldwide creative director of ad agency TBWA and President of the Cannes Film, Press and Outdoor Advertising Festival in 2004.
Next on the podium is Hartmut Esslinger, chosen as one of 45 shapers of German science and culture in the 20th century. Business Week called him "the most influential industrial designer on the American scene since the 1930s" and he's renowned for brand-building designs for clients such as Sony, Louis Vuitton and Lufthansa.
Nicholas Blechman art directs the Week in Review section of The New York Times and has published, edited and designed nine issues of the award-winning political underground magazine NOZONE.
Christoph Niemann's work has featured in the pages of The New York Times Magazine, American Illustration, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and Atlantic Monthly.
Paul Sahre, a New York-based graphic designer, illustrator, educator, author and editor, has a client list that includes Marvel Comics, MTV, leading publishers such as Penguin and Random House, The New York Times and the Sundance Channel.
Design partnership Ayse Birsel and Bibi Seck have made their names in the office, home, retail and auto sectors. Turkish-born Birsel's work spearheaded Japanese manufacturer TOTO's entry into the US market and claimed the unofficial title of "the world's most comfortable toilet seat."
Prior to moving to New York in 2003, native Parisian Seck spent 12 years as lead designer for Renault, leading interior design teams for, among others, the Scenic 1 and Trafic that won Car of the Year awards from the European trade press. In 2002 Seck's design of the F1 Micrograph watch for Tag Heuer landed him the prestigious Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve.
The design pair is followed by Shigeru Uchida whose creations include a series of boutiques for Japanese fashion icon Yohji Yamamoto, the Japanese Government Pavilion for the Tsukuba Expo '85, the Kyoto Hotel lobby and Kobe fashion museum.
American Ze Frank is listed in ID Magazine's Top 40 Unsung Heroes edition as an "internet provocateur, caustic stand-up comic, lecturer and consultant." Five years ago he created an online mini-site called How to Dance Properly. It was intended as a birthday invitation for 17 friends but reached millions of new fans within days. Time magazine named zefrank.com one of the top 50 websites last year and he interacts with his unexpected audience through a collection of videos, collaborative art spaces, online games and written humour.
Concluding speaker David Adjaye - born in Tanzania, raised mostly in Egypt, Yemen and Lebanon and boasting an MA from the Royal College of Art - is recognised as one of the leading architects of his generation. Clients include photographer Juergen Teller, actor Ewan McGregor and winner of the Turner Prize Chris Ofili.
The Indaba Conference costs R3 650 for three days and R1 600 (incl. VAT) for one day, with reductions for academics and groups. See www.designindaba.com for more details.
