Semi-Permanent’s cup runneth over, creative juices set to be spilled everywhere
With a combination of pomp, ceremony, donuts, coffee and the unflinching enthusiasm of Te Radar, a stellar line-up of speakers for this year’s Semi-Permanent “design symposium” was announced last week at The Church in K Rd. And there’s plenty on offer for the Kiwi marcomms community this time round, particularly in the interactive and experiential marketing fields.
This year’s MC, Te Radar, spoke about getting a relatively unexpected dose of late winter creative inspiration when he attended his first Semi-Permanent event last year. In fact, as an indication of the event’s gravitas and the effect it had on him, he claimed he would have actually bought a ticket this year if he hadn’t been brought back in a professional capacity. High praise indeed from someone who prides himself on being a freeloader.
As expected, the 15 international and local creatives on the speaking roster for the seventh edition of the event cover a broad spectrum, with experts on graphic design, fashion, animation, illustration, motion graphics, typography, sound design, fine art, music and product design (you can check out the speaker bios at www.semipermanent.co.nz).
The 2010 UK contingent features legendary graphic designer and film-maker Storm Thorgerson, often referred to as the sixth member of Pink Floyd, and he will be joined by his collaborator Peter Curzon. There’s also Christopher Thomas Allen, founder of multi-media company The Light Surgeons, founder of creative interactive firm Nicolas Roope of Poke London, graphic designer and author Adrian Shaughnessy and sound designer Duncan Speakman of Subtlemob.
Creative duo Karen Walker and Mikhail Gherman, father and son artists Dick and Otis Frizzell, New York-based illustrator and typographer Jessica Hische and motion graphics company Buck, which will feature Kiwi Gareth O’Brien and Orion Tait, are also on the books. And Pixar’s Andrew Gordon, who has just finished production on Toy Story 3, will talk about his animation experience, with German product designer Katrin Sonnleitner completing the line up.
The organisers have also launched Semi-Opinionated, a social media site (or “virtual soapbox”) for the industry that invites participation from creatives, media and design commentators.
- Semi-Permanent takes place on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 August at the Aotea Centre, The Edge, 50 Mayoral Drive, Auckland. Tickets are $290, with a student rate of $150, or you can buy the VIP ticket for $495 and meet the speakers. Tickets are available through The Edge Ticketing Service www.buytickets.co.nz, 09 357 3355 or 0800 BUY TICKETS (0800 289 842).
Troy McClure
June 15, 2010
This is a terrific event every year; not sure how they pull it off in such a tiny market. Want to see Pixar guy
Dave Willis
June 18, 2010
I thought last years line up was surely not going to be beaten….. But they have! TheChurch rock!