LIVING ON THE EDGE - Visual Communication Design In New Zealand
Author: Robert L.Peters | Category: Graphic
Communication Arts article on New Zealand designers by Robert L.Peters, published in October 2008 issue.
Canadian-based former president of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda), Robert L Peters visited New Zealand in November 2007 as an external moderator for Wanganui School of Design. He spent a week touring New Zealand design studios as a guest of the Designers Institute of New Zealand, with Design Talks in Auckland and Wellington.
An excerpt from his article "LIVING ON THE EDGE Visual Communication Design In New Zealand":
New Zealand has always found itself 'uniquely apart' and handicapped as the most distant from the world's economic heartlands. But the gripe of (sometimes literally) being left off the world's map is today being reframed as a unique point of positioning. Mark Weldon, ceo of nzx (New Zealand Stock Exchange), has put it this way: 'Every world needs an edge. This is New Zealand's position on our planet the most innovative and generative place in any system. The action is at the margins, where there is freedom to create"away from the orthodoxy of the centre. He champions an edgier attitude, and suggests that 'ideas from New Zealand have advanced the world in many profound ways, but until now we have not had the metaphor and language to harness our unique global position The world needs us precisely because we are its edge. We need to embrace our edge positioning and revel in it.
Through the numerous conversations and exchanges I've had with some of nz's top designers, I felt a tangible sense of patriotism, a pride of place and a reverence for what sets Kiwidesigners apart. 'New Zealand has really changed since the turn of the millennium. We have a new-found belief in our own ability" we have smart people here who are not tethered by traditional thinking, explained one Wellington designer.As another put it, 'We can now be world-class from here. Wellingtonian type-designer Kris Sowersby: 'Design has grown up a lot in recent years, there is definite influence from Pacific Islandom. And, Lucien Law of Shine in Auckland:
'There's an overall newfound New Zealandness pride (in music, fashion, art, etc.), no longer the 'cultural cringe.
The whole article available for download below.
Posted on 2 February 2009, 01:39 p.m.
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