$8.95 | VOL 25, NO 4 | OCTOBER | 2010 [ CaNada’s VisuaL COmmuNiCaTiONs magaziNE ]

AppliedArs

2 0 1 0 S T U D E N T A W A R D S

is the father of thought. I would like tothink that designing and dreaming havetravelled in lockstep since our species

began to walk upright.... Graphic design ignites passion, identifies,informs, clarifies, inspires and enables communication.... Designshapes culture and it influences societal values.—Robert L. Peters

Need

YOUR

HB

FUTURE

Each year when

we run the winners of our Student

Awards, it’s natural to want to look ahead. Reviewing

the huge volume of advertising, graphic design, interactive, video,

animation, photography and illustration entries sent from across

Canada and the United States, and from as far away as Beirut, one

begins to detect the shape of the industry in years to come.

To help our distinguished judging panel get the best view of emerg-

ing talent this year, we decided to let them concentrate on specific

areas of expertise. In the past, all judges would judge all the entries,

which could make for a daunting task, given the rising volume of

submissions. So for the 2010 Applied Arts Student Awards, the adver-

tising judges took care of ads and photography, the design profession-

als looked after their field and illustration, and the interactive judges

reviewed the interactive work and loaned a helping hand to advertising.

For his part, judge Colin James, associate partner creative at Grip Lim-

ited, in Toronto, felt that “the work ranged from extremely polished and

intelligent to conceptually weak and poorly executed.

Some of the video-based work really impressed

me—students pushing the animation

quality to very high levels . Some great

exploration of style and techniques in

those categories .”

While finding much of the advertising

work “quite clever,” James was less

impressed by the Website submis-

sions. “Schools seem to have a gen-

eralist approach to teaching bits of

all the disciplines (design, writing,

programming, animation) and the

work shows it,” he said. “I think that

with interactive work, in particular,

the production is so complex and time-

consuming that it would benefit from

having small teams of students [from

different disciplines] work on single

Websites together.”

James concluded: “There were some real

standout projects from super-talented in-

dividuals. The very best students are already

better than at least half the creatives working

in the industry.”

In Victoria, B.C., judge Darren Warner, of dwar-

ner6.com, thought, “The photography series

were very strong, so I judged them as if they were

‘professional work’ versus ‘student work.’” As far

as advertising, he explains, “it’s not always good

enough to hope your work ‘sells itself.’ With a little

panache an idea can be elevated in competition. The

video presentations of several campaign ideas really

helped showcase the thought and creativity that went in.

Of course a mediocre idea is still mediocre no matter

how much flash you dress it up with.”

Joanne Beauregard, CD of Sudler & Hen-

nessey, in Montreal, was “left with the

impression that many of the ad as-

signments were for low-probabili-

ty, low-profitability/high-impact

advertisers, such as the

WWF. It would be a far

better measure of

their maturity

and creativ-

ity to give

them

assignments closer to what could

be called ‘real life’—the kind of projects agen-

cies require to pay the bills.”

She added: “On the whole, how well prepared the students are for the working

life will depend more on their own qualities, like tenacity, stamina and drive,

rather than talent alone.… And then again, how many of us were really prepared

for the working life?”

The idea of fresh talent and enthusiasm creating a new future is also raised in

a couple of ways in the issue’s regular content. In his extended essay, “Design-

ing the Future” (p. 24), Robert L. Peters, principle of Circle Design in Winnipeg,

argues that the designers with long-term vision, who embrace globalism and

deploy sustainable practices, will play a key role in creating a blueprint for a bet-

ter tomorrow.

“Design shapes culture and it influences societal values,” writes

Peters. “Designers act variously as surrogate dreamers,

initiators, inseminators, creators of desire, propagators

and propagandists. Never has there been a greater

need for our design professions to dig deep, to

exercise whole-brain (lateral) thinking skills, to

understand channels of influence and patterns of

interconnectivity, to join peer networks, to col-

laborate with other experts and to leverage the

multi-perspective advantages of teamwork.”

Writing a guest column, “The Next Vanguard”

(p. 14), Barry Quinn, executive creative direc-

tor, brand design at Juniper Park in Toronto,

feels that the new crop of graduating visual

communications students will ride the flux of

changing technology and culture to trans-

form the industry. The importance of design

will shift from creating artifacts to develop-

ing ideas that “must be able to morph to

accommodate different media, operating

systems, devices, environments, cultures,

etc.… Design thinking will become more

important than design doing. As technology

makes the act of creation easier and the

base level of aesthetics higher, the effective-

ness of items will be measured not by how

they look but how they work. The design

process and the designer’s mind will be the

part that can’t be replicated.”

To see the some fine examples of this new

creative thinking in action, turn to our

Student Awards, starting on p.105.

PETER GIFFEN, EDITOR

H ER E

STARTS

NEW TALENTTECHNOLOGY

TH I S Y EAR ’ S S E L EC T ION OF

PROV IDES A G L IMPSE IN TO THE FUTURE OF OUR INDUSTRY, RESHAPED BY

STUDENT

AWARDS

WINNERS

AND

ClIent SIDeS M A L L S T A M P S A R E B U I L T O N B I G D E S I G N I D E A S A l a i n L e d u c .

Hot Type N e w o n l i n e f o n t s s h a p e d b y t h e i r b i t m a p s R o d M c D o n a l d .

DESIGN DECONSTRUCTION C u t t i n g t h r o u g h c l u t t e r i s a s e a s y a s 1 2 3 H a n s K l e e f e l d c .

DESIGN RANTN e w r e b e l s p r e p a r e t o c h a n g e t h e w o r l d B a r r y Q u i n n .GDC SCHOLARSHIP

AWARDS

MISSING WORDS W h y R F P s s h o u l d R I P D o u g D o l a n

GLOBAL PERSUASIONI n d e p e n d e n t C a n a d i a n a g e n c y C u n d a r i s t r i v e s t o b e c o m e a w o r l d c r e a t i v e f o r c e C h r i s D a n i e l s

CAREER IN MOTION G a l l e r y C a r e e r i n M o t i o n I n s t o p m o t i o n p r o j e c t s a n d a d s h o o t s . S i m o n D u h a m e l r e v e a l s a u n i q u e s t y l e

WEB WATCH A d v i c e f o r t h e g r a d u a t i n g c l a s s o f 2 0 1 0 R y a n W o l m a n & K e i t h P r e s t w i c h

DESIGN UNLIMITEDR e a d a b o o k S a v e a t r e e P a m e l a Y o u n g

RGD Student Awards

DESIGNING THE FUTURED e s i g n e r s c a n p l a y a k e y r o l e i n c r e a t i n g a b l u e p r i n t f o r a b e t t e r t o m o r r o w R o b e r t L . P e t e r s , F G D C

ILLUSION OF MOVEMENTA n i m a t i o n e n t e r s a n e w G o l d e n A g e —b u t w i t h o u t t h e g o l d C a n a d i a n s t u d i o s b e c o m e l e a n e r . f a s t e r a n d m o r e c r e a t i v eK e v i n B r o o k e r

OUTER LIMITSL o o k i n W o n d e r T h e r o l e o f w o n d e r i n d e s i g n a n d i m a g e r y r e v e a l e d i n a n e w M a r i a n B a n t j e s b o o k

RARING TO GOH a v i n g s u r v i v e d t h e r e c e s s i o n . R a r e M e t h o d I n t e r a c t i v e i s p r e p a r e d t o s o a r K e v i n B r o o k e r

SHOOTING THE TWILIGHT ZONE P h i l i p J a r m a i n t e l l s t h e s t o r y o f a n e p i s o d e o f a c l a s s i c T V s e r i e s i n a s i n g l e i m a g e

WIN

NERS FROM

OUR 2

010

STUDENT AW

ARDS, COVERIN

G

DESIGN, A

DVERTISIN

G,

INTERACTIV

E, ANIM

ATION,

PHOTOGRAPHY AND

ILLUSTRATIO

N.

Editorial

PORTFOLIO

PROJECTPROJECT

PROJECT

GALLERY

SPECIAL

THINK

MATT

ERS

STRONG

IDEA

S

ING

SHOU

LD BE

A

THOUGHTFULENGAGING

A L A I NL E D U C

DESIG

N

HAND

As stamp design manager at Canada

Post, I work with graphic designers,

artists, illustrators, photographers

and creative professionals from all

parts of the country. The designs I

commission, nurture and criticize

all have a very specific set of goals

to meet. A postage stamp reflects

the culture and accomplishments

of a country and its people. It plays

an important ambassadorial role

as part and parcel of our national

heritage. As importantly, it reflects

the creativity of our designers. A

stamp merits the same painstak-

ing attention paid to any design

project, not to mention important

consideration for its unique format

and international exposure. The

“thinking” behind the birth of any

project is key. Creating a stamp is an

exciting process—or it can be—when

the visual content is properly chosen

and the creative approach embraces

those choices. A successful conclusion will depend on reduc-

ing the complexity of the topic into miniature works of eye-

catching simplicity.

Renowned Swiss design educator Armin Hoffmann taught me

years ago “the power of simple things to create real impact,

conveying the message in advance of reading a single word.”

I admit to looking at design from a unique perspective. Prior

to my current job, I was a practising graphic designer for

30 years. Like the designers I now hire, my time was split

between seeking out clients who would provide the creative

challenges I craved and doing what I hoped was good, intel-

ligent design. I know the kinds of constraints and pressure

that irritate designers, particularly the scarcity of time,

which affects quality.

I’m finding, too often, the creative process has become the

production of endless piles of sketches. With too much rush

to design, and without sufficient value given to thinking,

the resulting work is unsatisfactory and the discussions that

follow are superficial. I want to know how and why you think

you’ve met the objective. Some designers have lost the un-

derstanding that design is not the result itself. What matters

is the thinking that takes you to the result. My frustration

mounts when I see little or no prior analysis of the subject

matter, absence of intellectual focus and designers not keep-

ing in close touch with me.

We, in the client world, know there is a problem when design-

ers are too quick to cast their raw ideas into stone. Too many

design attempts end up as showcases for hollow stylistic ap-

proaches. Another aspect of the problem is some designers’

thinking about the work is not clearly articulated, resulting

in confusion. The client can be at fault here, too. So client and

designer must constantly check with each other to validate

their common understanding before going ahead, at each step

of the design project. I fully expect the creative process to be

a two-way relationship between the designer and myself.

I encourage designers to embark on a more introspective, thoughtful and engaging process with their clients. We rely on design-

ers’ abilities to surprise us, be intellectually challenging and artistically to the point. These are the criteria by which I choose the

ones with whom I work.

I think Picasso had it right when he said, “Art is knowing what to eliminate.” That’s the creative quality I expect from designers. Not

simplistic design, but the ability to take complexity, confusion and, yes, occasionally chaos, and bring back a simple message articu-

lated precisely, creatively, with enough depth to produce a resonance that moves beyond the actual design. Good design is not a stack

of sketches, not a dozen variations on a concept. It is curiosity and intelligence. It is a thought-provoking process, generating ideas

and content-based visuals. It is how we get to relevant solutions.

Let’s infuse the design process with adequate thinking. Face it, if we can’t articulate such thinking prior to the creation of a project,

chances are the design will not communicate much.

Admittedly, I have high expectations for designers’ creative thinking and their communication

abilities. Trust me, it matters!

Alain Leduc is manager of stamp design and production at Canada Post.

THE D

ESIG

NER

AND

CLIE

NT M

UST W

ORK

IN

TO C O M E U P W I T H S O L U T I O N S T H A T A R E B U I LT O N

P R O C E S ST WO -WAY

A P P L I E D A R T SM A G A Z I N E

a l a i n l e d u c

THINKING MATTERS

20

21

SEE

G ET

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ar 2

010

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urite

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face

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We

b. M

ore

imp

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ntly

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y will k

no

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at a

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site w

ill also

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irectio

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p to

no

w

de

sign

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ally o

nly h

ad

two

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type

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re

nd

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alm

ost a

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ce w

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at d

on

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f cou

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assu

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tion

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t thin

gs a

re g

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be

t-te

r no

w th

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re n

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ng

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ited

to a

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efa

ult w

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-safe

fon

ts.

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w I’m

as e

xcited

as a

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ne

, an

d, a

s som

eo

ne

wh

o a

ctua

lly ha

s fon

ts tha

t ma

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fit from

th

is em

erg

ing

ne

w m

ark

et, I’m

ha

rdly a

disin

-te

reste

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arty. B

ut I ca

n’t h

elp

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t wo

nd

er ju

st w

ha

t pe

op

le th

ink

is go

ing

to h

ap

pe

n w

he

n a

ll th

ese

type

face

s hit th

eir scre

en

s.

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’ve b

ee

n a

da

ptin

g o

ld d

esig

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ne

w te

ch-

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ies fro

m d

ay o

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ten

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rg a

da

pte

d th

e G

erm

an

bla

ck le

tter o

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scribe

s to m

ak

e h

is fa

mo

us 4

2-lin

e B

ible

type

. A little

late

r pu

nch

-

cutte

rs such

as N

icola

s Jen

son

ad

ap

ted

the

Ca

rolin

gia

n m

iniscu

le (lo

we

rcase

) to h

arm

on

ize w

ith th

e R

om

an

cap

ital le

tters to

crea

te th

e se

rif type

face

s we

’re still re

ad

ing

tod

ay. B

ut it

did

n’t ta

ke

very lo

ng

be

fore

tho

se e

arly p

un

ch-

cutte

rs rea

lized

tha

t lette

rs carve

d in

me

tal

ha

d q

uite

diffe

ren

t qu

alitie

s tha

n le

tters w

rit-te

n w

ith a

bro

ad

-ed

ge

d p

en

. Th

e typ

e cu

tters

soo

n sto

pp

ed

trying

to d

up

licate

the

writte

n

lette

rform

s of th

e scrib

es a

nd

be

ga

n to

de

velo

p

the

ir ow

n fo

rms th

at w

ere

true

r to th

e m

ate

rial

the

y use

d—

me

tal. W

he

n in

the

mid

-20

th ce

ntu

ry th

ose

sam

e m

eta

l type

face

s ha

d to

be

ad

ap

ted

to

ph

oto

type

settin

g, th

e fi

rst ma

nu

factu

rers

use

d th

eir o

ld m

eta

l pa

ttern

s to cre

ate

the

ne

w

ph

oto

fon

ts. Bu

t, just lik

e th

e e

arly p

un

ch-cu

t-te

rs, the

y cou

ld se

e th

at le

tters m

ad

e b

y flash

-in

g lig

ht th

rou

gh

film o

nto

ph

oto

gra

ph

ic pa

pe

r b

eh

ave

d d

iffere

ntly th

an

lette

rs prin

ted

from

a p

iece

of m

eta

l pre

ssed

into

pa

pe

r.

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ce a

ga

in w

e’re

de

alin

g w

ith a

ne

w te

chn

ol-

og

y, on

ly this o

ne

is rad

ically d

iffere

nt fro

m th

e p

revio

us o

ne

s. Like

ou

r pre

de

cesso

rs we

also

b

eg

an

by sim

ply re

crea

ting

ou

r existin

g fo

nt

libra

ries. T

he

n th

e d

eve

lop

me

nt o

f the

Po

st-S

cript la

ng

ua

ge

in th

e e

arly 19

80

s ma

de

it a little

ea

sier to

crea

te co

mp

ute

r fon

ts be

cau

se n

ow

we

cou

ld e

mu

late

trad

ition

al d

raw

ing

te

chn

iqu

es. B

ut th

at still le

ft on

e m

ajo

r diffe

r-e

nce

be

twe

en

the

pre

viou

s tech

no

log

ies a

nd

the

ne

w d

igita

l on

e. D

esig

ne

rs cou

ld d

raw

let-

ters a

s the

y alw

ays h

ad

bu

t the

y ha

d to

be

ren

-d

ere

d a

s jag

ge

d, p

ixellize

d b

itma

ps o

n-scre

en

.

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the

pre

viou

s tech

no

log

ies, w

ha

t you

dre

w

wa

s wh

at yo

u g

ot. In

the

dig

ital w

orld

, if the

bitm

ap

s do

n’t w

ork

it rea

lly do

esn

’t ma

tter h

ow

g

oo

d yo

ur d

raw

ing

s are

. Th

at’s w

hy w

he

n M

at-

the

w C

arte

r de

sign

ed

Verd

an

a a

nd

Ge

org

ia h

e re

verse

d th

e u

sua

l de

sign

ord

er. H

e re

aso

ne

d

tha

t if the

bitm

ap

s are

tha

t imp

orta

nt th

en

th

ey sh

ou

ld g

ove

rn th

e d

esig

n, so

he

dre

w th

em

first a

nd

the

n ‘w

rap

pe

d’ th

e o

utlin

e a

rou

nd

th

em

. He

mu

st ha

ve b

ee

n o

n to

som

eth

ing

be

-ca

use

Verd

an

a a

nd

Ge

org

ia a

re still a

mo

ng

the

few

type

face

s tha

t rea

lly wo

rk o

n-scre

en

.

Th

e w

orld

of typ

e d

esig

n h

asn

’t cha

ng

ed

as

mu

ch a

s pe

op

le th

ink

it ha

s, in fa

ct mo

st of u

s a

re still d

esig

nin

g typ

efa

ces fo

r prin

t. Bu

t on

ce w

e ca

n se

e th

ose

type

face

s on

scree

n I d

on

’t th

ink

it will b

e ve

ry lon

g b

efo

re w

e re

alize

tha

t m

ost o

f the

m d

on

’t rea

lly wo

rk th

at w

ell. T

ha

t’s w

he

n w

e’ll sta

rt to se

e typ

efa

ces th

at w

ill be

de

sign

ed

for th

e n

ew

tech

no

log

y—typ

efa

ces

with

the

bitm

ap

s de

sign

ed

first.

So

by a

ll me

an

s en

joy th

e n

ew

We

b fo

nts, b

ut I

sug

ge

st you

resist th

e te

mp

tatio

n to

fall in

love

with

an

y of th

ese

type

face

s—b

eca

use

the

re’s

a g

oo

d ch

an

ce yo

ur fa

vou

rite typ

efa

ce h

asn

’t b

ee

n d

esig

ne

d ye

t.

while designers are excited about having their favourite fonts online they have to realize that bitmaps can ruin the look of the letters they love

Ro

d

Mc

Do

na

ld

w h a t y o u

w h a t y o u

I S N O T

A P P L I E D A R T SM A G A Z I N E

r o d m c d o n a l d

WHAT YOU SEE ISN’T WHAT YOU GET

16

17

D E S I G N E R S W I T H

LONG-TERM V I S ION , W H O

E M B R A C E GLOBAL I SM A N D

D E P L O Y SUS TA INABLE PRAC T I C E S ,

W I L L P L AY A K E Y R O L E I N C R E A T I N G A

BLUEPR INT F O R A BET T ER TOMORROW.We live in uncertain times of tumultuous political, social, ecological and economic instability. We’re told that nearly

50 per cent of global wealth has been destroyed by the “global financial crisis” within the past two years alone.

Media reports of potential health pandemics trump the “normal” front-page news of the latest terrorist attacks,

counterattacks and “unnatural” disasters seemingly triggered by a rapidly warming planet. Information overload,

an overwhelming pace of change, threatened eco-systems, and staggering social imbalances threaten our individual

sense of purpose, place and well-being. Around the globe, wealth, health, knowledge and technological progress

have never been shared equally—yet the awareness of these gaps between “haves” and “have-nots,” along with a

growing discernment of the underlying causes of these global inequities, have never been more apparent.

Massive data storage capabilities now outstrip our human ability to access meaningful information and distill knowl-

edge: We are drowning in data. Social scientists inform us that the typical “white-collar worker” now encounters

more than one million words per week and the average urban citizen of the (so-called) “developed” world has more

A P P L I E D A R T SM A G A Z I N E

r o b e r t l . p e t e r s

DESIGNING THE FUTURE

48

49

SEEING IS

BEL

IEVI

NG

than 16,000 “brand encounters” every day (if you sleep eight

hours per day, that means you are subjected to about 1,000

brand impressions per hour). In addition, human “targets”

are subject to ever more invasive and coercive advertising—in

schools, hospitals, doctors’ offices, movie theatres, airport

lounges, scenic lookouts, washrooms, elevators, on the Inter-

net, mobile phones, fruit, public garbage cans, on bus wraps

and via e-mail. Of the 200 billion e-mails sent every day, an

estimated 90 per cent are spam.

Are we headed for a merciless state of total brand and ad-

vertising saturation? Will we even know if and when we’ve

become overwhelmed?

The communications revolution of the past decades has re-

defined traditional notions of time and space, just as global

trade and finance have dissolved international borders.

Comprehension of how these rapid social and technological

changes (particularly “virtualization”) influence our funda-

mental relationship to community, the physical environment

and a “sense of place” is not well understood. It seems we

may be “driving beyond the beam of our headlights” as we

rush headlong into an increasingly unknowable future.

An example of our increasing abstraction is vertical special-

ization—in ever-narrower terms of reference—a phenomenon

affecting all professions, including graphic design. Sadly

this tends to bring with it an erosion of the broader “whole-

brain” thinking our species has enjoyed from strategists,

visionaries and luminaries in the past, as well as the wisdom

and holistic perspectives that “general practitioners” have

traditionally brought to the table. Technology may have

(arguably) made us stronger and faster, but it has not made

us wiser.

YOU

C A L L F O R C O L L A B E R A T I ON

vvv

G L O B A L I S M B E A T S G L O B A L I Z A T I O N

all disciplines) calls for extended vision, a broadened understanding of “the other” and an increased respect for our essential differences. Aware of the advancing threat of monoculture, can the world’s design-ers help conserve and revive those things that make human culture distinct and unique? Is there still time to avoid losing our sense of who we are, where we’ve come from, where we belong and why these distinctions are so important?

Designers, more than most others, are in a position to actually cel-ebrate societal differences, to embrace the vernacular and to help avoid the unhappy melding of unique cultures into a bland global stew. In the face of globalization’s monolithic pressures to conform, I believe that designers with long-term vision, who embrace globalism and deploy sustainable practices, can truly create blueprints for a better future by becoming champions of the unique things that dignify human beings, that make our civilizations meaningful and that make contem-porary life worth living.

We know that in an age of information and ideas, communication and experience design have incredible strength to mold societal values and to influence thinking—essentially, they are the new currency in today’s virtual world. As a result, designers play an increasingly vital role in empowering better decision-making, creating economic success, shap-ing communities and forming culture. Designers today have real power. As such, we also bear considerable responsibility for how things are consumed and how change is deployed.

It remains then for designers everywhere to envision worldwide solu-tions, to create integrative synergies and to give form and life to universally equitable ideas. (While this may seem utopian, I envision designers as the ones questioning the status quo, re-examining the practices of past decades to homogenize, monopolize and dominate markets, and initiating change toward lifestyles lived in a more holis-tic, inclusive, sensitive, eclectic, empowering and sustainable manner.)

D E S I G N G I V E S F O R M T O D R E A M SNeed is the father of thought. I would like to think that designing and dreaming have travelled in lockstep since our species began to walk upright. In response to need and with nascent, ascendant dreams in their heads, designers have since earliest times given shape to the tools, environments, messages and experiences that define human existence.

Graphic design is finally coming of age. Born in the last century of mother Art and father Commerce (and therefore named “commercial art” in its infancy), graphic design has finally developed a sense of its own identity, along with an understanding of its role and responsibili-ties relative to society. No longer content with being the whipping boy of marketing, graphic design has evolved into a true profession and has adopted all that comes with professionalism—best practice models, codes of ethics, certification standards and considered criticism. As the developed world has evolved from smokestacks to information-based societies and now an “age of ideas,” the role of design has moved rapidly into the forefront of market economies.

Graphic design ignites passion, identifies, informs, clarifies, inspires and enables communication in our interconnected, interdependent, real-time world. Design shapes culture and it influences societal val-ues. Designers act variously as surrogate dreamers, initiators, insemi-nators, creators of desire, propagators and propagandists. Never has there been a greater need for our design professions to dig deep, to exercise whole-brain (lateral) thinking skills, to understand channels of influence and patterns of interconnectivity, to join peer networks, to collaborate with other experts and to leverage the multi-perspective advantages of teamwork.

S E E I N G I S B E L I E V I N G Today is the tomorrow that our species dreamed of yesterday. Today is also the past we’ll remember in the future—perhaps with nostalgia, perhaps with remorse. Although “design” shapes most of our modern environments, inputs and experience, the design professions are really only beginning to understand the significant role we play in forming the world around us (consistent with the truism that the meaning of history is rarely apparent to those who shape it). A cautionary note

for those of us living in the “developed” world is that over the past few generations we have become disconnected and separated from nature—for the first time in human history we are living by clock and calendar rather than by sun and season.

We live in shared and increasingly interwoven stories. The Maori say, “We walk backwards into the future,” recognizing that footprints we leave behind can actually inform forward navigation and future progress. Listening to the narratives of others helps pave paths to better understanding. Knowing our own past (and comparing our paths with those of others) allows us to celebrate achievements, learn from human foibles, redress omissions (often visible only through the lens of history) and correct our course.

Today, seeing is believing. We’re told that 85 per cent of what we know nowadays is learned through our eyes. This means that as designers of visual language, we play a crucial role in society. The world needs us—and as information designers in an information age, we find ourselves in a position of considerable responsibility, whether we like it or not.

A C A L L F O R C O L L A B O R A T I O NI have long been a believer in the value of synergism, the strength of camaraderie to bridge adversity, the vitality of collective pro-cesses, and the solidarity of common goals regarding design and our planet’s mutual future. I remain convinced that our profession will continue to play a lead role in forming culture, influencing values and shaping the world. I know we can achieve more, be more effective and act more sustainably by sharing our ideas, giving voice to collective values and integrating synergies through our profes-sional associations and as a part of the global design community. I have no doubt that we are capable of doing much more together than separately.

In this vein, I would encourage all designers to use creativity, voice and communication skills to make a difference. We can choose to deploy our powerful talents and propaganda tools to further understanding and build empathy, to nurture tolerance, to resolve conflict, to build respect for diversity and “the other,” to expose injustice, defuse violence, promote peace, break down divisive barriers, counteract patriarchies, oppose hegemonic empires, al-leviate despair, and repudiate fanaticism and fundamentalism of every kind. We have the power to expose the root causes of inequity, fear, despair and rage (the breeding grounds for terrorism). We can visualize long-term solutions, and we can use our unique mix of ana-lytical and generative abilities to summon a sustainable response to looming challenges. We can promote harmony, raise the bar for civilization and civility, and above all, advance the characteristics that matter in making us truly “human” beings.

Isn’t that exciting?

Robert L. Peters, FGDC, is a graphic designer and the founding principal of Circle, a design consultancy based in Winnipeg. He is a former president of the Icograda, a foreign feature correspondent

for Communication Arts magazine, author of the book Worldwide Identity (Rockport), and a Fellow of the Society of Graphic Designers

of Canada (GDC). For the past 28 years, Peters has lived in a low-energy passive solar house that he designed and built in the woods

of eastern Manitoba. (rlpeters@circle.mb.ca)

C O R P O R A T I S M V S . T H E C O M M O N S

More than half of the world’s top 100 economies are now corpora-

tions, as opposed to nations. Ninety-nine of the top 100 companies

are headquartered in industrialized nations. Of the nearly 70,000

transnational corporations now operating worldwide, more than

three-quarters are based in North America, Europe and Japan.

Although the majority of these highly successful corporations enjoy

identities, brands, marketing tools, communications and information

systems developed by talented designers, there is a growing debate

within the worldwide design community about the dual (and often

conflicting) role that the profession plays in both creating wealth

and serving society through the sharing of such wealth and the nur-

turing of culture.

A decade ago, Naomi Klein described a growing backlash against

unbridled consumerism in her widely read book, No Logo. “The

corporate hunger to homogenize our communities and monopolize

public expression is creating a wave of public resistance,” she wrote,

documenting the reclaiming of public spaces and the revolt against

corporate power. Many empathized with Klein’s attack on “the brand

bullies,” and with Joel Balkan’s depiction (in his book and film The

Corporation) of corporations as “soulless leviathans—uncaring,

impersonal and immoral,” that are “using branding to create unique

and attractive personalities for themselves.” It’s hard to dismiss the

almost daily reports of small-town wars against “big-box retailers”

(Wal-Mart, et al.), culture jamming, brand busting, and the growth of

“hacktivism” and “digilantes,” as an ever-more informed populace

joins the fight of “citizenship vs. consumerism.” Not a new topic, re-

ally. Victor Papanek predicted the “Coca-colonization” and “Disneyfi-

cation” of our entire planet a full generation ago.

Globalization has been defined as the ever-more-rapid process by

which corporations move their money, factories, products and brands

around the planet in search of cheap labour, raw materials and gov-

ernments willing to ignore consumer, worker and environmental pro-

tection laws. Largely unfettered by ethical or moral considerations,

globalization tends to acquire and exploit the earth’s resources for

private gain, concentrate and centralize decision-making power

(beyond the reach of the majority of people and democratic process-

es), create dependency and impose demands of standardization or

homogenization of almost everything on everybody.

Globalism stands in dramatic contrast to globalization, taking the

viewpoint that all people share a single fragile planet (Marshall

McLuhan’s “global village,” or what Buckminster Fuller referred to

as “spaceship earth”) that requires careful treatment and mutual re-

spect by all concerned in order to survive and thrive. The concept of

“Global Commons” is now used to describe the ozone layer, all land

and oceans, and the earth’s rich genetic and cultural diversity. Like

all ethical beliefs, globalism requires active practice in the day-to-

day lives of the broadest possible constituency, with a view to foster-

ing understanding, sharing resources on the basis of sustainability

and equity, and coming together for mutual aid in times of need.

Everywhere in our shrinking world we can witness increased homoge-

nization, erosion of indigenous culture, the emergence of non-places

(uniform airports, generic shopping malls), and the advancement

of what some theorists are calling “serial monotony.” Globalization

threatens identity, the very cornerstone of culture, and the key to our

understanding of “self.” Culture encompasses language, traditions,

beliefs, morals, laws, social behaviour and the art of a community—

understanding and protecting its inherent integrity is imperative in

avoiding identity crisis and rootlessness.

Thi s shrinking world (with widened opportunities for designers in A P P L I E D A R T SM A G A Z I N E

r o b e r t l . p e t e r s

DESIGNING THE FUTURE

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51

ME

HODT

HAVING SURVIVED THE RECESSION, RARE METHOD INTERACTIVE

IS POISED TO TAKE OFF, WITH OFFICES IN CALGARY AND UTAH,

AND A STRONG FOCUS ON RESULTS-ORIENTED CREATIVE WORK.

HAVING S

URVIVE

D THE

RECES

SION, R

ARE M

ETHOD IN

TERACT

IVE

IS P

OISED

TO T

AKE OFF

, WIT

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IN C

ALGARY

AND UTA

H,

AND A S

TRONG F

OCUS

ON RES

ULTS-

ORIENTE

D CREA

TIVE

WORK.

BY K

EVIN B

ROOKER

HAVING S

URVIVE

D THE

RECES

SION, R

ARE M

ETHOD IN

TERACT

IVE

IS P

OISED

TO T

AKE OFF

, WIT

H OFF

ICES

IN C

ALGARY

AND UTA

H,

AND A S

TRONG F

OCUS

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ULTS-

ORIENTE

D CREA

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WORK.

BY K

EVIN B

ROOKER

RAREA P P L I E D A R T S

M A G A Z I N E

k e v i n b r o o k e r

RARE METHOD

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Shuttling w

orkers, alas, is

not quite so straightforward, s

omething Olsen says they’re learning to

work around.

Still, the two cities share m

uch in common. “

We’re both western to

wns, fairly young, fo

rmer Winter Olympic

hosts, both roll-

up-your-sleeves places, and it

’s the same time zone,” he explains. S

alt Lake City also comes with

a built-in

attraction for clie

nts in the Unite

d States, especially

easterners with m

ountain envy. With seven of

America’s best ski resorts le

ss than a half-hour fr

om the airport, “there’s no shortage of e

xecutives who w

ant to

fly out fo

r a meeting.”

On the creativ

e side, reports David McKean, “

Americans really do bring th

eir unique voice to th

e table. W

e recently

did some work on a Banff account a

nd they naile

d it with

a taglin

e we would never have come up with: ‘B

anff, the

world’s finest n

ational p

ark.’”

Another bright spot: T

he economies of both citi

es seemt to be rebounding. “

We’re definite

ly seeing a resurgence,”

says new CEO Park. “Companies are getti

ng their m

arketing budgets back. W

e’re even growing our teams in

both

offices again, a

nd that’s nice.” Add th

e fact t

hat clie

nts are more disposed th

an ever to th

ink interactiv

ely, and

Rare Method seems poised fo

r a return to growth.

But new te

chnologies alone won’t get t

he job done.

“As everybody rushes to get in

teractive and social a

nd all that

stuff,” Olsen reminds us,

That cross-border m

erger yielded a number of success stories before it

slammed into th

e 2008 reces-

sion. Total s

taff, once near 10

0, is currently

at 38, tw

o-thirds of w

hom work in th

e Calgary head office.

Consider it a m

easure of the company’s elastic

ity th

at despite

the tu

mult and having fe

w employees who

pre-date the 2007 m

erger (longtim

e president Tom Short le

ft earlie

r this year, r

eplaced by CEO Marty

Park), Rare M

ethod has managedto sustain contin

uity with

a marketin

g culture in

which interactiv

e tech-

nologies form th

e bedrock, but c

onventional m

edia are never ignored in

the overall p

ackage.

“We like to think that clie

nts come for the in

teractive, but stay fo

r the creative strategy,” says Geoff

Plewes, director of c

lient services. W

hereas the mix w

as once around 80/20, interactive to traditional,

it’s now around 60/40. But as tim

e goes by, that distinction only blurs. N

oting that

Rare Method’s taglin

e is Strategic In

teractive Marketing, P

lewes

points out that, as everywhere in

the changing industry, “

Our clients

are becoming less concerned about their m

edia mix and m

ore fo-

cused on results.”

And that’s something Rare M

ethod feels uniquely equipped to

de-liver.

According to Calgary co-creativ

e director David McKean, “

Our culture

definite

ly comes out of b

eing a Web shop. W

e’re used to showing out-

comes immediately, li

ke clicks and site

visits. R

esults come fir

st, and

that approach bleeds

over to th

e entire agency. H

aving the coolest c

reative was never our fir

st priority

.”

Though Calgary remains distant from staple advertis

ing fodder lik

e national b

rands and

product packaging, R

are Method services a diverse portfo

lio, in

cluding tourism, a

gricul-

ture, oil a

nd gas companies, and regional r

etail. Having been agency of r

ecord for fir

ms as

different a

s Bayer CropScience and Moxie’s Classic Grill,

it has enjoyed partic

ular success

with a sexy rebranding of t

he latte

r, helping it

morph from fa

mily diner to

swank hangout

for young sophisticates—and go head-to

-head with well-

established chains, s

uch as Earl’s

and The Keg.

In Salt Lake City

, chief c

reative offi

cer Jeff Olsen fe

els the m

arriage has made both

shops stronger. “Especially

in th

is economy, it was great f

or us to bolster our in

teractive

strengths. And m

erging was not as hard as you would th

ink.” Though both offices retain a

degree independence, h

e says, they are in

creasingly collaborativ

e, especially

in strategy

and business acquisition. “

We do tons of S

kype video-conferencing, and we shuttl

e a lot o

f

work through a VPN.”

Canadian agencies span every kind of ownership permutatio

n, from sole proprietors to

partnerships, to in

ternational c

onglomerates. But a

mong them, C

algary’s Rare Method

Interactive m

ight have th

e rarest pedigree of a

ll. Not o

nly is th

is mid-sized, C

algary-based

shop the country’s smalle

st public

ly traded agency (T

SX: RAM), i

t even has its

own satellite

office in

the Unite

d States.

Not even its

origins were commonplace. Rare M

ethod emerged in 19

97 under former presi-

dent Roger Jewett, fi

rst as a shell c

ompany, then a tin

y agency devoted to e-m

ail campaigns.

But early on Jewett

devised an unusual strategy: T

ake the company public

quickly and grow

by relentless acquisiti

on, startin

g with numerous boutiq

ue shops in Calgary.

Then, three years ago, w

ith Alberta business stil

l soaring and revenues approaching $10

mil-

lion, R

are Method went s

hopping for a ready-m

ade U.S. footprint. L

ocation-w

ise the agency

focused on mid-ti

er cities lik

e Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas. In

the end, it

pounced on Blain

Olsen White

Gurr, a respected, te

ch-focused shop in

Salt Lake City

, Utah, w

hose clients in

clude

Telcordia Technologies, a remnant o

f the fo

rmer U.S. Bell m

onopoly that n

ow ranks as the

world’s largest t

elecommunications softw

are company.

K E V I N B R O O K E R I S

A N A P P L I E D A R T S M A G A Z I N E S E N I O R W R I T E R , B A S E D I N C A L G A R Y

( K E V I N B R O O K E R @M A C . C O M ) .

R A R I N G T O GO !

A P P L I E D A R T SM A G A Z I N E

k e v i n b r o o k e r

RARE METHOD

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