Filed under: Our activities | Tags: Australia, Design, Future, Graphic Design, Melbourne, Our activities, Service design, Society, User focussed, Victoria
We’re thrilled to have been made a preferred supplier of design services to Melbourne Water.
Here’s to design helping manage Australia’s most precious resource. Cheers.
Funnily enough, it might be getting better.
Whilst fame and fortune continue to suck great chunks of airtime in the guise of entertainment, there’s a bit of an undercurrent of socially aware programming lurking around. I’ve recently professed my admiration for Jamie Oliver on this blog, but last night’s viewing schedule threw up some fascinating options:
• Trinny and Susannah Undress the Nation – reasonably self-important and self-appointed lifestyle gurus actually seem to help real couples. Kitchen sink psychology all the way but with the best of interests at heart.
• How to Look Good Naked – see above
• The Secret Millionaire – Self-made millionaires live for two weeks undercover in ordinary – if extreme – urban communities. Experiencing the harsh realities of modern life for the majority for once, they ferret out opportunities to act as benefactor to the community.
• Dumped – Eco-survivor. A bunch of people is left to fend for themselves for 3 weeks in a household rubbish dump. Emphasis placed strongly on highlighting the amount of damage we all do to the world everyday. Responsible. Entertasning. Fascinating.
Obviously it’s questionable as to the true value of all this and of course it’s all pretty self-serving for those involved, but at the end of the day it’s a damn sight more positive than 95% of commercially made viewing.
Anything that highlights the needs of the majority of normal people instead of the wants of a few clearly abnormal people is all good by us.
Long may it continue.
Filed under: Good design, Observed | Tags: cultural, culture, Design, Dutch, Federation Square, Good design, Graphic Design, Graphic Design Museum, Holland, Melbourne, museum, Society
Graphic Design Museum – Holland
How a society establishes its cultural significance, and therefore the importance it places upon its national achievements, is partly achieved through the creation of its ‘Museums’. In cosmopolitan Melbourne, cultural capital of the universe, we have consistently displayed our hand, and built architectural monuments to our national heroes.
Here in Melbourne we have the appropriately named Melbourne Museum. OK, pretty standard. How about the National Sports Museum at the ‘G’. Well, understandable, given our rabid obsession with playing with our balls and other sporty pursuits. But I have a hard time accepting that my hard earned went into building the ‘blinkered’ vision of the times, ‘Champions: The National Racing Museum’ at Federation Square. Now, I am aware we graphic designers are meant to be broadly represented through the National Design Centre, but I recently found out that the Dutch, masters of design, have built a ‘Museum of Graphic Design’. Very impressive.
It got me thinking that this sort of public commitment to validating the contribution graphic design has played in a society’s achievements, would significantly make my job easier. And given that my mum still doesn’t really understand what it is I do everyday, a graphic design museum here in Melbourne would hopefully help the next generation understand the value of great design, and give design a greater importance. Sounds good to me. Who knows, if this type of museum could be built, at the very least we may never have to see or hear the term ‘Graphics Designs’ again.
