Creativity Hits the Classroom

This article first appeared in Image Interiors & Living, September/October 2014

It's hard to argue that those with a creative streak benefit from arts education, but there's an increasing argument in favour of exposing everyone to art, design and creative processes, regardless of their ability or career aspirations. Being informed about how and why all the things that surround us are the way they are, and being able to apply creative thinking to a myriad of tasks is of benefit to everyone, and two organisations are working hard to expose young Irish people to design, architecture and plain old creativity.

Shape - A Film About Design

Recently launched by Pivot Dublin and Dublin City Council and made by Scott Burnett and Johnny Kelly, Shape is a short animated film about design aimed at young people. It poses the question 'If, for one day, you had the power to make your world work better, what would you change?' and shows how changing the look, feel, size or form of something - or replacing it with something entirely different - can change your experience of the object itself and maybe even improve your day, your surroundings or your life a little bit. It makes the point that design is everywhere and that it can make a big impact.

Design for Children

This article was first published in Architecture Ireland #269

To date, this column has always focussed on design for adults, be it the visual communications us adults consume, the furniture we sit on, the lights we read under or the events we attend. But it's not just the older and taller members of society that use design, and with the recent Children's Books Ireland (CBI) conference in Light House Cinema, it seemed apt to take a closer look at design for children. In fact, when we consider the importance we place on instilling a love of reading, or sport, or music, or nature at a young age, should we not be doing the same with well-considered, attractive design too?

Here's the Heads Up #16

Designgoat at the opening of Making Things Better as part of Design Intelligence at the National Craft Gallery. Photo by Pat Moore, courtesty of the NCG

IRELAND

Tuesday 18 June: NEWNOWNEXT, Tatiana Bilbao
Samuel Beckett Theatre, TCD, Dublin 2
The latest series of talks presented by the Irish Architecture Foundation (and supported by Arup) is entitled NEWNOWNEXT, bringing exciting young architects from all over the world to Dublin - some for the first time - to speak about their work. The series kicked off with Jeanne Gang and booked out in no time: keep an eye on the IAF's site for free tickets to hear architect and urban advocate Tatiana Bilbao of Mexico speak about her diverse portfolio of work.

Tuesday 18 June: Urban Knights
Science Gallery, Pearse Street, Dublin 2
If you'd prefer something else on the 18 June, Science Gallery's Urban Knights series of talks from people in Ireland and abroad making changes in cities continues with presentations from John Lynch of the Copenhagen Institute for Interaction Design, founder of Rothar Anne Bodes and others.

The High Street by Alice Melvin

Once I moved to Edinburgh one of my first ports-of-call was Analogue Books, an art and design bookshop on Candlemaker Row. Analogue is a great spot to spend some time in, with a fab selection of art and design books, magazines, zines and even a small selection of beautifully illustrated children's books. One such book which caught my eye was The High Street by Alice Melvin, a fold-out book charting a little girl's afternoon searching the high street for the list of things she needs to buy.

Si+Lu

Towards the end of January I visited Showcase, the Crafts Council of Ireland's major trade show that connects Irish craftspeople, designers and giftware producers with local and international retailers. There was a lot of really great stuff on show (and then there was Guinness merch, but I suppose that's what some retailers are after, isn't it?), but one of the best stands had to be that of Si+Lu, a new children's clothing company specialising in contemporary designs handmade using traditional techniques and fabrics. Thanks to Conor for telling me about them before I headed to the show - with such a large number of stands to get around, I might have missed them...

Orfeu Negro & Orfeu Mini

I've spotted books published by Orfeu Negro in various bookshops in Lisbon and can't help but linger over them every time. This Portuguese publisher has been re/producing books exploring critical thinking on various art forms since 2007, such as Le Modular/Modular 2 by Le Corbusier, The Empty Space by Peter Brook and french writer Jacques Rancière's Le Destin des Images, with a beautifully-designed cover by Portuguese studio Alfaiataria, pictured above.

Young Designers Kit

(Image via Breakmould. on Flickr)

When on a recent trip to London, I visited the Design Museum, and (as is par for the course) I spent almost equal time in the shop as I did viewing the exhibitions. I'm a big fan of the Design Museum shop. It has a great range of books, and the shop's own range of merchandise, though a little pricey, is pretty slick. I was particularly charmed by the Young Designers Kit, equipping budding creatives with crayons, notebooks, rulers and more. Further feeding my stationary fetish, I came out with a pencil and pairer (pictured below). Delish.

(Images via Design Museum Shop)

Villa Julia

Still coming over all Spanish, I couldn't leave out Estudio Mariscal. Headed by designer Javier Mariscal, they work in product, interior, web design and more. One of my favourite projects of theirs has to be Villa Julia, a series of cardboard houses for children that you can colour in as you see fit. Oh to be a 7 year old with rich and design-savvy parents...*sigh*...