Get ’em while they’re hot… tickets for the 2012 Cheltenham Design Festival are out now and selling like hot potatoes. Taking place over three days in April 2012 (20th–22nd), the festival will showcase some of the most innovative and creative thinkers operating on a global level today, providing a unique opportunity to engage with innovators from the world’s creative community who influence our lives through original thought…
STEFAN SAGMEISTER: AN AUDIENCE WITH…: 21 April, 11.45am and DESIGN & HAPPINESS: 21 April, 4-5.00pm
Stefan Sagmeister (pictured above, ©John Madere) makes an exclusive visit to the UK to participate at the CDF. This is a rare opportunity to hear the graphic design maestro share his ideas which are original, occasionally controversial, yet always exciting. In the first talk he will reveal design anecdotes through his collaborations with such musical greats as David Byrne and Brian Eno. In the second talk, Sagmeister will explore the ways of achieving happiness as a designer and how he ensures his work remains a calling rather than deteriorating into a job. He will also be designing pieces that induce happiness within the audience.
POSTCARD FROM THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: 20 April, 10.00-11.30am
Some of the UK’s top creative directors – David Hillman, Bruce Duckworth and others, chaired by John Brewer – will debate changes to the creative landscape and consider the design industry’s future requirements. Exploring the role of new talent, focusing on ideas, skills and attitude, the discussion will ask how newcomers can survive, whether they should they specialise and what exactly should they know.
PROFITS OF DOOM: The Supreme Values of Ideas in these Challenging Times: 20 April, 7-8.00pm
We all have pitch moments – the job interview, the first date, the meeting with the bank manager… In work and play – life’s a pitch. Design commentator Stephen Bayley and Roger Mavity, CEO of the Conran Group, discuss the ideas in their best-selling book Life’s a Pitch – which is perhaps more compelling in today’s climate than when it was first published. With wit, passion and bags of experience, they will examine the space where business and art meet, which is, as Bayley says, what design is all about.
IS THERE A FUTURE FOR DESIGN? 20 April, 6.00-7.15pm
Design is the spine that supports industry, innovation and social wellbeing. So isn’t it time that the government acknowledged design education as vital to our future growth? A distinguished panel drawn from the worlds of design, politics and education – including Sir John Sorrell, Adrian Shaughnessy, Jonathan Worth and others, chaired by Stephen Marston – will debate the issue and take questions from the audience in this entertaining and thought-provoking event. The Cheltenham Design Festival will show how important the role of creative thinking plays – not only to our daily lives but also in assuring our future.
For more information, or to get your sticky paws on some tickets just click here.
Tw. @cheltdesignfest
Creative minds sharing their ideas and philosophy at the Cheltenham Design Festival include: Stephen Bayley (design commentator), Nick Bell (3D/interactive designer), Mark Champkins (founder of Concentrate/inventor-in-residence, Science Museum, Oli Christie (CEO Neon Play), Peter Clegg (of architectural practice Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios), Gary Collins (architect, Berman Guedes Stretton), Bruce Duckworth (award-winning brand designer), Kenneth Grange (legendary product designer, Steve Haggarty (brand innovation specialist), Sir John Hegarty (global creative director, Bogle Bartle Hegarty), David Hillman (leading graphic designer), Stephen Hodder (Vice President, RIBA), Lucy Holmes (graphic designer/wayfinding expert), Matthew Humphries (Chief Designer, Morgan Motors), Nick Jankel (creative thinker/Innovation expert), Simon Kavanagh (KaosPilots ideas school), Charles Landry (urban strategist/creative thinker), Ptolemy Mann (textile artist/designer), Stephen Marshall (architect), Stephen Marsten (Vice-Chancellor, University of Gloucestershire), Roger Mavity (CEO Conran Group), Ed Douglas Miller (founder of eco company Remarkable), Dan Pearson (landscape designer), Paul Priestman (product/transport/industrial designer), Torsten Reil (digital innovator/CEO, NaturalMotion), John Roberts (Chief Engineer, A380 Airbus in the UK), Stefan Sagmeister (graphic designer), Brita von Schoenaich (landscape architect), Adrian Shaughnessy (designer/visiting professor, RCA), Sir John Sorrell (British design ambassador), Frank Stephenson (Design Director, McLaren), Gav Strange (digital designer, Aardman), Professor Daniella Tilbury (Director of Sustainability, University of Gloucestershire), Mills Ustwo (digital designer/co-founder, Ustwo), Simon Waterfall (digital designer), Matthew Wells (director, Techniker structural engineers), Craig White (architect/design advisor, Carbon Trust) and Jonathan Worth (photographer/social media innovator/lecturer).
Incidently, the Festival is supported by Julian Dunkerton, founder of the SuperDry clothing brand and global retailer SuperGroup which was happily established in Cheltenham.