OFFSET 2010: My Choices

Last night I ventured into Dublin City to see Laundry, a one night only exhibition in South Studios as part of Offset 2010. Offset showcases "world-class creatives in design, illustration, fashion, photography, publishing, advertising, animation and more." Illustrators Ireland asked 70 of Ireland's leading creatives to throw "a spotlight on all things murky, expect guilty secrets, fetishes, embarrassments and one or two skeletons to fall out of cupboards." The pieces were hung from lines which stretched across the length of the room, which was packed with visitors admiring the work and taking advantage of the free Offset branded Heineken. Despite everyone receiving the same brief all of the pieces were completely different, some funny, some scary and some just weird, and overall a great success I would think. As a result I've decided to compile what would be my own choice of events to see this weekend when the main Offset event kicks off at Grand Canal Theatre tomorrow morning.

Friday 1st October: 

Martin Haake, from martinhaake.de

Friday morning would find me strolling in to the Grand Canal Theatre at the very reasonable hour of 11.00 to catch the first speaker, Berlin based illustrator Martin Haake. I'm a big fan of illustration, in particular his style of loose sketches, collage and layering, subtle patterns, his choice of subdued yet colourful tones and the ever popular hand drawn type style, reminiscent at times of the work of Dublin illustrator BrenB. Haake has received numerous awards and his client list features the likes of Bacardi, Playboy, Elle, Penguin Books, Orange, Daimler Chrysler and Barnes & Noble.

state.ie

"After over 70 years of a happy marriage, music and graphic design as we know them may be getting divorced in the digital age. Where will the designers’ and musicians’ paths cross in the age of the MP3 and there new, emerging roles for designers in the future of music, it’s distribution and marketing?"

That afternoon I'd attend "Does Music Need Design Anymore", a panel discussion at 16.00 hosted by Simon Roche of Irish online music magazine state.ie. State have recently announced the panelists as Malcolm Garrett, Shaughn McGrath, M&E and Adrian Shaughnessy. An interesting topic given the rise of the MP3 as a substitute for purchasing a physical CD complete with booklet and artwork. I usually buy CDs in order to have the artwork in my hand, rather than downloading a digital version, but I have the feeling I'm possibly in the minority and slightly biased with my graphic designer's point of view.


Saturday 2nd October: 
Saturday morning presents a slight dilemma for me, with two speakers clashing at 11am. On the main stage Linda Brownlee will begin the proceedings for the day while the second room will host Chris Judge, one of my all time favourite illustrators!

Patrick Wolf by Linda Brownlee, from lindabrownlee.com

Brownlee is a photographer based in London. Her portrait work is my favourite, the photographs have a feeling of simplicity and delicateness to them. Her body of work also includes fashion shoots and personal projects. An unusual choice of pose or backdrop, or the expressions of her subjects, set her photographs apart and makes them unique. Brownlee has worked for clients such as Dazed and Confused, Russian Vogue, The Sunday Times Style Magazine, Elle and GQ.

From a recent campaign for Denny by Chris Judge, from chrisjudge.com

At the same time in the second room, Chris Judge will discuss "Routes into Illustration", charting the "path his career has taken from graduation to his current position as one of Ireland’s leading illustrators." Offset particularly recommends this talk for students and recent graduates, or those looking to jumpstart their careers. You've probably seen Judge's work as it seems to be everywhere at the moment in ad campaigns for Denny (above), Dublin Bus, Fruit Pastilles, Absolut Vodka and Vodafone.

Ecojot Journals by Nate Williams, from N8W.com

On then to another illustrator, Nate Williams, who specialises in handdrawn images and type (noticing a pattern in my selections here). Williams' illustrations are vibrant and detailed, each one with a sense of motion that I think brings them alive on the page. His style is popular with both adults and children worldwide. His website boasts an impressive client list - Coca-Cola, Converse, Urban Outfitters, the Cartoon Network, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the list goes on. Williams' has also been the recipient of many awards, far too many for me to attempt to list here, but you can find the list on his website. If you can't make it to his talk at Offset, the website is well worth a visit for the career advice and suggestions he gives to aspiring illustrators here. And of course to gaze in awe and wonderment at all the fabulous illustrations and their various applications to products ranging from stationary to shoes to dog poop bags. Yes really. Williams will take to the main stage from 12.00 - 13.00.

'Icons of Graphic Design' by Stephen Heller, from amazon.com

Stephen Heller. Art Director for over 30 years. Involved in the publication of more than one hundred books on design or popular culture. Contributor for decades to numerous publications including Eye, I.D and Baseline. Curator of exhibitions. Design Lecturer. The list of Heller's achievements is long and wide ranging and as a result he was awarded the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement in 1999. So of course he is a must see at Offset! I have his book 'Icons of Graphic Design' (a birthday gift from Sophie) which presents an inspiring visual timeline of significant pieces in the history of graphic design, highly recommended! Heller's talk on the main stage will begin at 13.00.

 Ray Gun Magazine by David Carson, from zero1blog.com

After lunch it's time to catch David Carson on the main stage. Carson was both revered and despised in the early 1990s as a result of his controversial approach to editorial design. He broke all of the main 'rules' of design, abandoning the use of grids, creating veering columns with no gutters and erratic letterspacing which careered wildly across large spreads. At times Carson's typography hit the borderline of illegibility. His reasoning, as stated in 'Meggs' History of Graphic Design', was that while a traditional message may be highly legible, it isn't going to offer the visual appeal of his revolutionary layouts which will draw in and engage readers in the piece. It is no wonder then that his work inspired such differing reactions. Much of this work came to the fore during Carson's time as art director at Ray Gun magazine. Following this he went on to found his own studio and completed work for companies such as Coca-Cola, Ray Bans, Kodak, British Airways, Armani, the list goes on. Carson has won over 170 awards. As if that wasn't enough, he was also a former professional surfer and at one stage was ranked number 9 in the world. Go. See. Him.

Alan Clarke, from scamp.ie

My final choice for Saturday would be Irish illustrator Alan Clarke. Clarke first came to my attention with his illustrations in the Ross O'Carroll Kelly series of books. I generally used to skip ahead to the picture pages first whenever I bought a new book. The style of his work seems to differ depending on the purpose and context of the illustration, I like this approach, personally I think it shows adaptability and creativity, it increases a creative's ability to work in many different areas rather than being restricted. Clarke's work has also been featured by Hot Press, the Irish Independent and AIB (that's a short selection of many) and he has illustrated numerous childrens' books. There's an element of darkness to his illustrations, there is just something about this style which really appeals to me. Clarke also had a solo show as part of Offset on the 26th September. Did anyone catch that? Miffed that I missed it!

Sunday 3rd October: 
 

Jape, Floating by M&E and D.A.D.D.Y

And so we reach the final day of Offset. Swedish based design studio M&E start the day at 10.00 on the main stage. M&E are Matthew Bolger (of the Redneck Manifesto) and Emelie Lidström. They frequently collaborate with musicians and offer design, illustration, photography and film. I used to go to a lot of Redneck Manifesto and Jape gigs which is where I first came across their work. Unfortunately their website is under construction but you can see some of their work here.

Tomer Hanuka, from iloveoffset.com

Following that I'd try to catch New York based illustrator and cartoonist Tomer Hanuka. I only saw Hanuka's work for the first time after reading his profile on the Offset website but I've been instantly hooked! I love the bold, comicbook style and his use of colour. As I browsed through his online gallery of work, I could see a range of differing styles and influences throughout his - at times fantastical - illustrations. Hanuka also runs a blog with his brother Asaf, where they explain the concepts behind illustrations and show the initial sketches. Hanuka will be on the main stage at 13.00.

Zach Gold, from zachgold.com

And on to my final choice for the weekend. Zach Gold has been named as "one of the ten photographers changing photography" and "is noted for his pioneering work in photorealistic digital art." (from iloveoffset.com) Gold's work is astounding. Every photograph captures moments of motion in time, every action is frozen. My favourite is the water series of photographs. Gold also creates films in the same style for clients such as Issey Miyake, Calvin Klein and K-Swiss. Visit his website and check out the films and photography.

So we have come to the end of my favourite speakers to see at Offset this weekend. Weekend and day tickets are still available from Offset along with full timetables and event listings. The Offset Flickr page is here. I probably won't be at it, but perhaps I'll stretch to a day ticket if I can. If you're going - enjoy it and tell me how it goes!