Final poster – 4 x A0 plan prints, double sides tape and silver streamers

Established in 2006 Eye Saw invites designers to respond to a theme in the poster format. Eye Saw is overseen by Mark Gowing Design – it is an invitational poster exhibition held in Omnibus Lane, Ultimo, Sydney.

This year the studio was honored to be invited to produce a poster for Eye Saw. The brief invited participants to consider the theme humanity/equity.

Posters design is an individual process and it is difficult to develop a poster image that speaks of the idea, means something to its designer and connects with an audience. We thought of humanity/equity in terms of grooming compassion, nurturing our hearts. Everyone knows that to care for a plant you have to think to water it regularly for it to grow, so we twisted this metaphor and invited viewers to nurture their hearts.

The poster was cost effectively produced as four A0 black and white plan prints with fine streams of fine silver light plastic streamers flowing from the watering can’s spout.

Thanks to Simeon from Anagram in Sydney for installing our poster. A big thank you goes out to our friends at Melbourne studio Hofstede Design for pitching in on the day, while installing their work in Sydney, and helping Simeon with our installation. We are very fortunate and privileged to have peers like Simeon King, Wendy Ellerton, Dom Hofstede, Paul Garbett and Mark Gowing who share their ideas and pitch in from time-to-time – even from great distances.

Jasper claims our site

Wendy and Dom in action, Simeon on oranges

Wendy and Dom continue...

Dom shows us how to exploit chalk...

Hofstede’s completed “Equality” chalk piece

Wendy installing Hofstede’s – Flag piece

NaughtyFish explore equality

Toko smash out pixel doilles

Walter Wakefield’s interactive response

Omnibus Lane, work by Eskimo right.

Eye Saw 2009
Humanity / Equity
Omnibus Lane, Ultimo, Sydney
9 to 16 August 2009
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Visit Eye Saw here, Hofstede here

AGIdeas is one of the world’s largest and longest running design events that takes course over a week. The event runs with a series workshops, forums, and social activities with a three day conference at its centre piece in Melbourne. Read more

The studio has published a new house publication, in glorious hi end colour newsprint, tipping upon the project work for the last year and highlights from our online journal Read more

Andrew Hogg of Andrew Hogg Design sent these images of Cockatoo Island in Sydney during the Biennale of Sydney 2008.

As the host city of one of Australia‘s most exciting festivals, the Biennale of Sydney positions Sydney as a centre for contemporary art in the region. The 16th Biennale of Sydney runs from 18 June to 7 September 2008 at venues and sites throughout Sydney, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Cockatoo Island. This is Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev‘s (Artistic Director of Biennale) last Biennale which explores the theme Revolutions — forms that turn.

From the Biennale‘s site

Artists whose practice emerged in the 1960s and 1970s will prepare new works for exhibition alongside seminal artworks by early twentieth century revolutionary artists such as Aleksandr Rodchenko and Kasimir Malevich. The exhibition will also feature major new projects by William Kentridge and Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, as well as new works by younger artists such as Qiu Anxiong, Gerard Byrne, Pierre Huyghe, Renata Lucas, Susan Philipsz and Michael Rakowitz. This edition of the Biennale of Sydney will also include more works by Australian artists than any previous one, including Vernon Ah Kee, Destiny Deacon, Simryn Gill, Shaun Gladwell, Rosemary Laing, Tracey Moffatt, TV Moore, Mike Parr, Stuart Ringholt, Julie Rrap and theweathergroup_U.

Cockatoo Island is the largest island in Sydney Harbour and a curious urban park. Formerly a prison and shipyard, the island is a time machine — it‘s unique prison buildings have been nominated for World Heritage listing, its ship yard infrastructure stand as ghost like remains to our working past. A free Ferry runs on the hour from 9.45pm to 4.45, the last service departs at 5.15pm.

Thank you Andrew for these wonderful images. Visit Andrew Hogg Design, or the Biennale of Sydney here.

The Melbourne Design Market is an idea developed by the studio in 2005, which was brought to life by the crew at the National Design Centre. The studio has had a stall at the market for several years and it is an invaluable chance to meet the people that ultimately use our work. It is also a chance for us to see what people are responding too — how they relate to the images we make, do they appreciate the messages woven into the objects. Do people willingly buy the materials on offer, or is there a period of contemplation before purchase.

It is a wonder standing on the other side of the counter. Visitors like interacting with our work and it is curious watching people investigate the pieces, make the decision to find their money, or put it back and walk away. No amount of highly considered design thinking will help the merchandise‘s appeal, and no amount of convincing will make a transaction happen. The success of the designed objects is measured by one simple reality — what is left at pack up time at 5pm and what isn‘t. This insight is invaluable, as it is overwhelming comparing what you think people would like and what they actually buy — often we guess right as often as we guess wrong.

Many designs we prepare for our cards, badges and publications follow a broad criteria — people respond common visual clichés — like pets, symbols and familiar situations or objects; people respond to colour and contrast; people respond to familiar gags or issues; and people respond to useful information or ideas. Then we develop work that simply looks what we think is appealing.

We highly recommend that every graphic designer develop a product, or two, and then take it to market. It is sobering to see where one‘s vision for design converges with the design‘s ability to capture a following or an audience.

Thanks to the crew at Studio Round who were such great company over the day, and the many people who came to visit our stall and interacted with our work. See you next time.