Archive for June, 2007

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Looking for design: Boris Anthony

June 21, 2007

I met Boris Anthony very briefly at Xtech in Paris last month and was thrilled to learn that he lived and worked in Montreal. Aged 32, he’s a self-defined “Web technology and design specialist, hyper-connector”.

On top of that, he was also in part responsible for organising Montreal’s very own Pecha Kucha. I thought he would be the perfect candidate for the “Looking for design” project and asked him a few questions about his views of the world of design in Montreal.

How long have you been working professionally in the world of design in Montreal?
11 years (all on my own, except for a 3 year corporate position in Laval. You need to experience hell in order to avoid it ;)

If you’ve worked a lot abroad, what triggered that decision (versus staying in Montreal)?
Variety, different perspectives from different cultures, travel, more activity

Is design well understood in Montreal?
The overwhelming sense I get here is that design is pigeonholed as Graphic/Multimedia/Web Design, Interior Design/Urbanism/Architecture and Product Design. These are all applications of design, and are all certainly worthy of recognition, but the underlying raison d’être, the soul of design appears to me sort of lost. Isn’t design solving a problem or finding a solution? Why do we concentrate purely on design for immediate, established commercial exploitation? Where is the forward thinking development of ways to live in and with the future? Which is here now, as you know.

What keywords come to mind when you think about design in Montreal?
“Can you do my website/party flyer/kitchen?!?!”

What is missing from the Montreal design scene?
Perspective and vision. We all need to stop, take a step back, look around, listen and learn.
Part of that is also, I think there is a lack of broader awareness. I am constantly shocked to find people are totally ignorant of what others around them are doing, especially across fields.

What would you say is the hardest thing about working in design in Montreal?
Getting out of Montreal. This place is just so comfortable and laid back, it can all too easily soften one’s ambitions and drive.

What would you say is the best thing about working in design in Montreal?
See above. ;)

Where do the opportunities lie for the future of design in Montreal?
“Asia. It changes everything.”

If you had the choice to work somewhere else where would it be?
Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangkok.

Posted in looking for design, thoughts | 2 Comments »

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links for 2007-06-20

June 20, 2007

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"Added": new social and business networking realities

June 20, 2007

If you’re a geek, every morning starts off with checking your emails which often include invitations. “So&So” has added you toTwitter, Facebook, Dopplr, Flickr yadi yadi ya…

What happens then? Let’s say it’s someone you’ve never met. What do you do?

So you Google them of course. You find out they are an interesting person you might actually connect with on a professional level if you’re lucky enough. But wait, why didn’t they introduce themselves first? What’s their interest in you? Why do they want to know about your trips/rants/photos? How did they hear about you in the first place? Could I write to them back asking them for a bit of background info? Are they just bored or do they like my work/ or me? Have we met and i can’t remember? More importantly, if this is someone who might be interesting professionally, do I really want to share my rants/photos/trips with them? Isn’t that like.. for friends? What comes before the “accept” button?

Argh… stuck…

So you either just accept and hope they will like you for who you are/where you travel to/ what pictures you take/how badly you want that cupcake… or you ignore the invitation and just hope you can bump into them in the future, and have a proper conversation about your respective professional backgrounds…

Argh again.

Posted in web2.0 | Leave a Comment »

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Responsible space tourism?

June 19, 2007

Ok so we all agree that the planet is in trouble right? Regardless of whether that’s our fault or the neighbors right? Right.

So why on earth have we decided to allow for one of the most polluting industry to take off and become commercially available? Are we that suicidal?

So let’s have a look at the possible sources of pollution of a space shuttle, just for shits and giggles…

1. Energy consumed in the launch (from Madsci Network):

“Space shuttle fuel consumed in a launch: 3.5 million pounds
Gasoline consumed in one day in the US – 2,500 million pounds
In other words, one space shuttle launch is equivalent to about two minutes
of gasoline consumption in the United States.”

2. Hydrochloric acid production (from BBC):

“All shuttle launches can nonetheless have damaging impacts on the local environment. [...] “The classic example of environmental impact is in Kazakhstan at the Baikonur launch site, where there are reports of quite serious environmental damage.”

For most shuttles, the damage comes from the solid rocket boosters[...]
As a shuttle launches, a “cloud” becomes visible which contains SRB exhaust products, either dissolved or as particles in the water vapour released by the main engines.

Hydrochloric acid formed in this launch cloud leads to acidic deposits in the surrounding area, a phenomenon which may also be observed some distance away if exhausts are carried on prevailing winds.

The scenes of dead fish in Spain could be repeated next to launch sites
John Pike, president of Global Security.org, and an expert on the US space programme says: “The hydrochloric acid can pit the paint on your car if it is too close to the launch site.”

3. Everything else (from a 1997 report on General space tourism):

“A myriad of legal and regulatory aspects of public space travel and tourism must be resolved before viable large scale businesses can emerge. This is especially true of those public agencies with the responsibility to regulate in the interest of public safety. This includes identification of public policies and/or laws that exist or must be enacted to enable business formation, licensing, certification and approval processes for both passengers and vehicles, clearance and over-flight considerations, and environmental and safety issues including atmospheric pollution, solar radiation (flares) and orbital debris.”

I certainly hope that these issues have been dealt with because the “design coating” that’s happening around this industry these days is making me sick.

Posted in Product design, sustainability, Traveling | Leave a Comment »

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Images worth being on a t-shirt

June 18, 2007

When everyone does happy-go-lucky-let’s-just-pretend-everything-is-fine Alejandro Zamudio Sanchez tells it like it is.

via Flickr

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Looking for design: Furni

June 14, 2007

Not surprisingly, answers to my call for feedback about design in Montreal haven’t been pouring in so it was greatly refreshing to hear from Mike Giles at Furnicreations. He was lovely enough to talk to me about some of the great and more difficult things about working as a designer in Montreal.

1. Thank you Mike for speaking with me, could you describe yourself and Furni’s work briefly?

Furni started about 4 years ago as a partnership between Devin Barrette and myself, I like to think that I have the ideas and Devin makes them a reality. Devin’s the one with formal cabinetmaking training, I’m just a student of the school of life. Over the past year and a half Furni has released two collections of limited edition, hand made, design driven home “accents” and slowly but surely is starting to get recognized on the international design circuit”

2. How long have you been working professionally in Montreal ?

Furni’s been around as a custom woodworking shop for about 4 years but we’ve only been offering “in-house” designs to the general public for about 18 months…..

3. Do you have any event or anecdote that is representative of your experience working in Montreal?

Working in Montreal is funny, we’ve got stores that carry our products in as far away places as Australia and Taiwan but only two stores in town who carry our designs….I guess Montreal is a tough cookie to crack.

4. Do you consider design to be well understood in Montreal?

I believe it’s well understood, there are tons of stylish restaurants, bars and boutique hotels but there is still only a small market of people who are actually buying design driven products.

5. In your opinion, what key designers have shaped the design scene in Montreal?

I apologize for my ignorance, but we spend so much time in the workshop that I am unable to follow much of Montreal design….. I’ve been exposed to some work by Doyon and Rivest and I also like the collective called “RITA” who are doing some really interesting stuff.

6. What is missing from the Montreal design scene?

Exposure and boutiques and people who are willing to spend money on design driven articles!!!

7. What would you say is the hardest thing about working in design in Montreal?
The fact that there are very few outlets for our work.

8. What would you say is the best thing about working in design in Montreal?

That I am inspired by it’s architecture and aesthetics everyday (just take a ride on the metro or go to Ile St-Helene!)

9. Where do the opportunities lie for the future of design in Montreal?

Things can only go up, I’ve been noticing small design articles in the local weekly’s over the past few months and great sites like Créativité Montréal seem to be popping up more frequently…

10. If you had the choice to work somewhere else, where would it be?

I just got back from a trip to England so London is on top of my list right now, of course New York is high ranking also, and I’ve always had a thing for San Francisco…..but the grass is always greener….

Posted in designswarm, looking for design | Leave a Comment »

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Pecha Kucha Night (presentation slides)

June 14, 2007

I’ll be speaking tonight at Montreal’s very own Pecha Kucha about my Good Night Lamp project, how it came about, where it’s at now, and why on earth it’s still not out there!

Update: Here are the slides from that night’s presentation. Enjoy!

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links for 2007-06-14

June 14, 2007

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h3: Hardcore Hardware Hacking in London

June 14, 2007

In my spare time (ha!) I’ve been helping put together a Hardcore Hardware Hacking workshop. On the weekend of the 21-22 of July, 15 hardware hackers will get to have fun with Massimo Banzi and Matt Biddulph, who will do demos and hand out cool toys with which to hack! We’ll do an open presentation on the sunday of all the projects.

All details HERE.

Spread the word!

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links for 2007-06-12

June 12, 2007

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