Kyoorius Designyatra 2011

Mark Chalmers

Mark Chalmers trained as an architect and found his inspiration in the study of religious spaces such as Cathedrals ranging from the traditional to the kitsch such as inflatable chapels. In his talk, he spoke about coming to the realization that the cross is the symbol of one of the most widely accepted and recognizable brands in the world. He talked about popular brands in consumer culture, what they seem to do and what they actually stand for. According to Chalmers, H&M, though one of the hippest retail brands in the world, is basically a large distribution house; Ikea is a big warehouse selling street food (50c hotdogs is the reward to a tired shopper who has spent hours browsing through the store) and Amazon is essentially one of the largest software development companies in the world.

He took the audience through the Canvas Experiment. This was a hugely successful creation of screens where Converse shoes were the pixels that were animated through a series of simple mechanics and machines. They experimented with the mechanics of animating these screens responding to various sounds such as that of drums and guitars, motion sensing of people moving, walking and dancing in front of the screens and even programmed the screen of shoes to be an interface for video games. Once the idea was established and the technology resolved, the possibilities were endless.

For Bouygues Telecom, they developed a simple translation of an individual’s Facebook account into a real book. Thus the book would be an entire history of friends, status updates, photos, comments, links and little nuances of the digital life of an individual on Facebook.

Mark talked about the process of designing with technologists to bring these ideas to life. His advise to the audience was to work on singular ideas and to do them really well. His work represented a sense of fearlessness and discovery that is much needed to engage the world today virtually as well as in real life. The last project he presented was to launch global fashion powerhouse H&M’s 2009 Spring Collection. This was done using 42 outfits, two models, one green treadmill and three days to create an outrageously fashionable showcase. The two models walked on the green treadmill on a green runway wearing various outfits thus creating a sense of a dynamic fashion show that engaged the viewer on the website. As the viewer clicked on the various outfits, the model would be stripped off the clothes and would wear the new clothes.

Peter Higgins

Peter walked us through his body of work starting as early as the late 90s. It was clear with his presentation that his work always delved into the realm of interactivity and digital use of creating virtual realities in space, almost anticipating the future of digital spaces. Peter Higgins, an architect who runs Land Design Studio, talked about his interest in place making and context.

Peter Higgins, an architect who created spatial narratives way ahead of his time inspiring the entire gamut of designers and architects creating interactive, immersive environments today. Peter showed various projects that he did for galleries, museums, exhibitions and pavilions such as The Future’s Gallery, Urbis Manchester, Dinobird, the National Waterfront Museum, The UK Pavilion 2005 & the British Music pavilion in 2009. All his work experimented with creating narratives that would engage the viewer on many sensorial levels creating immersive spaces with a paradigm of interactivity that was ever evolving. Seeing his initial work was like watching special effects in the sci-fi movies of the 90s that seem a bit funny now but over time have evolved into the most sophisticated use of technology.

Richard Holman

Richard Holman’s talk was an apt end to the fantastic two-day Kyoorius DesignYatra 2011. He works at Devilfish, a highly collaborative design agency that works with artists, musicians, photographers and filmmakers. He talked about the philosophies that drive him and which influence his process. Using examples of designers and artists that he admired, his own experiences and famous movies clips supported these little notes of inspirations. Listing these points:

• Life and fate
• Don’t just talk about it at big conferences
• Never give up (even if it seems impossible)
• Be present
• Use your medium
• Use your instincts
• Accidents are good
• Create simple solutions for complex problems
• Be Joyful
• Collaborate
• Listen
• Make things by removing things
• Play the rules
• Create ideas for the heart