Having returned from the 4Designers conference in London, I was a little bemused by some of the speakers, scrap that, I can completely dismiss two of them altogether.
Shaugnessy was the one with the most promise, His presentation was the one I was looking forward too most, But the second he took the stage, My senses were dulled completely.. Yes, This man may have produced some work that has been respected and revered by other design greats, but my god are his inter-personal skills dire.
I don't want to be too critical, His presentation contained alot of information, but it was alot of the same information, repeated cyclically in five to ten minute intervals, And for someone held in such high position in the world of design, it was honestly one of the least aesthetically pleasing things I have ever seen.. well, asides from the european study tours logo, but that was just a gut wrenching combination of typographic faux-pas and clashing neon colour.
On the other hand, Frances Jacksons' presentation was actually enjoyable, She addressed the room well and had a more commanding presence amidst the room but her work was just.. well, dire to be honest. For someone who seemed to be aggressively ecological about her approach to design, the majority of her work contained contradictory media.
Having motioned towards a more sustainable, less wastage design ethos myself of late, I found her rationale behind one of her most 'egolocially sound' solutions astonishing, lest we not mention the use of excessive printed media and colour schemes which are amongst the hardest to de-ink thus resulting in more landfill pollution and chemical disposal.
Now, The saving grace...
Martin Grothmaak was the first person to take centre stage, and nervously so, but for someone staring into the blinding spotlight above a room full of people waiting to be told trade secrets and leave the room full of inspiration and passion, His nerves and concerns about his english second language were easily dismissed as he fluidly wandered through a presentation of some of the most refined and delicate design work I have ever seen.
His stage presence became altogether cool and as more of his work came up on screen I just found myself salivating over the tiniest treatments he, and his partners had applied to mainly typographic based work, making them luxurious and sophisticated works of art in themselves.
As Grothmaak led, and the other two aforementioned designers dragged it into a downward spiral from therein, I wasn't looking forward to Andrew Shoben's presentation, and perhaps thats what made it so special...
Honestly, Asides from the likes of Sir Ken Robinson and those which have graced the theatres of the RSA, no-one has ever captivated me so much in a lecture, From the end of Shobens first paragraph I was in absolute adoration of the man, I actually found myself wishing he'd just been on stage the whole time, well.. maybe with a Grothmaak sized interval.
Whilst Shoben isn't technically a 'graphic designer' more of an installation and 'interactive' artist, his words, his work and his attitude just flooded off the stage and washed over everyone in the room, I honestly can't convey the feeling, But if you were to imagine someone with as much passion, wit and talent as you'd like to have, making an entire theatre full of young, pretentious 'design elite' minds laugh and gasp and leave smiling and dying to do work with some 'worth' you'd almost be close.
I am cynical, I was born that way, but this time.. I couldn't find anything negative to say, I am impressed, I have been since and greyworld has now made it to my daily bookmarks list, eagerly awaiting my next fix of Shobens witty, yet wise words.
