Part 3 and the final of the highlights from the Adobe Symposium 2018 in Sydney.
In this recap, we look at how design has the ability to change lives, from those who are suffering to those who have been placed on probation.
HOPE AND HEALING THROUGH ART
Karen Alsop, Photographic Digital Artist
As an artist, Karen uses her talent of photography and design as a means of helping people less privileged than me, or for that matter, most of us, to make a difference. Her work is all about creative photography mixed with photo manipulation to give her subjects freedom from their restraints. A family came to her and asked if they could help free their daughter from the restraints of her wheelchair as being one of triplets, her cerebral palsy restricts her from playing with her siblings. Karen came up with the idea of using Peter Pan as a means of meeting the brief. Her siblings lift her out of her wheelchair and fly with her around their bedroom before going on an adventure. These large scale prints are now hung throughout the family’s home as a sign of inspiration and hope.
After seeing Karen’s artwork, a mother reached out via email and requested for her to use images of her son dressed up in superhero costumes combined to create an Avengers poster. After googling her name, Karen learnt that the brief had been sent by Jom, the mother of Sydney schoolboy Julian Cadman, who sadly lost his life in the 2017 Barcelona Terrorist Attacks. You can the entire story of the poster at storyart.com.au/julian/
Feck Perfuction
James Victore, International Award-Winning Designer & Author
For James, he works off of ideas rather than images because ideas are more important. He’s not the type of designer that actually gives a rats ass about colour and typography. “Fonts? F**k you!” he says to the audience which was met with laughter and applause.
He introduces ideas into all of his work, regardless of whether the client has asked for it or not. One of his best ideas came from the last client in the world that you would assume you could do creative work for; New York City Department of Probation. Working alongside the architect Jim Bieber, the brief was to reimagine and redesign the 33 probation office hubs around the city. This is what the user experience looked like for those that had to visit.
The only thing the DoP had done right was say “thank you” on the last poster. That was it! The idea of motivational posters materialised over a pizza and a bottle of Chianti. Everyone has seen them and people, for whatever reason, keep taking notice of them and buying them. Victore’s faux-real motivational posters took existing images and flipped them around to suit the specific clientele that would be visiting these venues.
Once completed, the offices had been utterly transformed, so much so that when the head of the program came to see the end result he took a few steps out of the elevator, looked around and walked backwards into the elevator letting the doors close on his blank expression. The reason? These people aren’t used to having nice things. So, to walk into such a stark contrast, it was overwhelming to believe.
The project was such a hit that James was interviewed by various papers, blogs and websites and there was one question that was always brought up. “Mr Victore, what research did you do in order to be able to talk to this particular client?”
Research?! What’s that? I don’t have to research this. That client is ME! They just got caught!
