A word from the President
Author: Sean McGarry PDINZ - President | Category: From the President
Finding a ‘genius loci’ for a NZ flag design
Changing the New Zealand flag as an idea, and ongoing debate, has been rolling around frequently over the last few years.
When the Sunday Star Times renewed the call pre-Christmas for a new national flag I was happy to contribute a design vision for New Zealand, which was published alongside Dick Frizzell, Billy Apple and John Ansell’s ideas.
Cue:
• ProDesign editor Mike Barrett calling a “flag-a-rama” triggered by Waitangi Day,
• The NZ Herald on 4 February 2010 leading with more than 20 Union-Jack-carrying flags, and
• The Sunday Star Times saying it would take the “rise of a genius designer” to create a new flag to cut through the “tired and dull.”
The Designers Institute is currently in discussions with NZFlag.com campaigner Lloyd Morrison about the feasibility of our Institute collaborating in a strategic facilitation role to help develop and lead the process for design-led change. This issue’s ProDesign article ‘First Drafts’ is a good place to start if you’re keen to enter the debate yourself.
Super City Logo Competition – don’t do it
Many of you will have seen the recently advertised competition to design a new logo for Auckland’s Super City. The Designers Institute is actively discouraging our members from submitting work as a protest of the lack of engagement with Institute and professional New Zealand branding specialists by the organisers.
To me this competition could be seen as a quick, cheap fix that could potentially damage Auckland’s international reputation as an innovative, design led cultural centre. Such a lack of strategic design planning and process lowers the credibility of professional design devaluing its intrinsic value to business – at the very least a branding specialist should be amongst the judging panel.
I’d like to hear your ideas on this – email me at designer@dinz.org.nz
Quick updates
• The Institutes Board is working hard to raise the profile of design in New Zealand so I’d love to hear your comments or ideas on how we’re doing.
• Keep an eye out for the Three’s Company Designers Speak series in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin in March. Details are at www.dinz.org.nz
• AgIdeas 2010 is on in Melbourne at the end of April. I’d highly recommend attending the event (I did in 2008). I’m sure Dean Poole from Alt and Steve Le Marquand from Resn would love some Kiwi cheers from the audience during their presentations. More details are at www.agideas.net
Posted on 26 March 2010, 02:05 p.m.
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