A series of exciting conferences, exhibitions, events, concerts, performances and fringe activities will be held from 24 - 30 Oct and beyond based on the theme Xin which literally signifying human speaking, representing a primitive means of communication and has come to encompass many more dimensions today. Some of the most sought after luminaries of the design and visual art industries, including Jan van Toorn, Sol Sender, Patrick Whitney, Pan Gongkai, Kohei Sugiura, David Kester, Ruedi Baur, Xu Bing, Troika, N55, Joachim Sauter (Art+Com), Ric Grefé (AIGA), Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto), Brian Collins, Michael Rock (2×4), David Carson, David Small, Qiu Zhenzhong, and Dunne & Raby will be on stage to address delegates from around the world.

The key events during the week of 24 - 30 Oct include the grand Opening Ceremony at the National Centre for thePerforming Arts, and the International Design Conference and Icograda Education Network (IEN) Conference at China Central Academy of Fine Arts. Exhibitions opening throughout the week include “Lifescope: Design Design! Live Life!” at Beijing World Art Museum, “Design as a Second Productive Force” at the National Art Museum of China, the 2009 Adobe Design Achievement Award (ADAA) Exhibition (following its award-giving ceremony on the 26 Oct) at China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) Library, and “Chinese Graphic Design in the 20th Century: A Documentary”, “Beijing Typography 2009” and “365: AIGA Annual Design Competitions Show” at CAFA Art Museum together with several others.
In addition to the core programme of the event, Icograda World Design Congress Beijing 2009 & the 1st Beijing Design Week will also host a spectrum of events and activities that are highly recommendable for design professionals planning to be in Beijing this Oct, which include the “Beijing High-End Design Projects and Policies Release” - announcing Beijing’s city-level design projects in the next decade, “Beijing Design Tour” - an insider’s trip to the Beijing dynamic design scene, Launch of “Beijing Workstation for International Designers” - a service platform for international designers by Beijing Creative Centre, “Xishi” - an opera based on the story of a beautiful Chinese woman, “Unitxt” - live audio-visual art performance by the acclaimed visual artist/electronic musician Alva Noto, and a variety of selected excursions in and
around Beijing. More events and activities will be announced on the www.beijing2009.org soon.
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The event is co-organised by China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), China National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Beijing Industrial Design Centre (BIDC) and Beijing Gehua Cultural Development Group.
Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations) is the world body for professional communication design.
Founded in 1963, it is a voluntary assembly of organisations concerned with graphic design, visual communication, design management, promotion, education, research and journalism. Icograda promotes the vital role of communication design in society and commerce, and unifies the voices of graphic designers and visual communicators worldwide.
The 1st Beijing Design Week will be running parallel to the Icograda World Design Congress. And as part of the legacy of the Congress, the BDW will be a long term programme of Beijing City aimed at promoting the role of design in China.
Registration
Online registration is available for Xin: Icograda World Design Congress Beijing 2009. Professional, academic, student and member rates are available for qualifying delegates. Please visit www.beijing2009.org/reg.htm for further details.

website:http://2009.vudn.com/en.html

To match the Swatch Valentine’s Day watch of this year, the package created by Y-TOWN is called Flying Hearts Gloves. The heart-warming valentine’s gift can also be used as a pair of woolen gloves, as if hand-knitted by lovers, integrating a sense of intimacy and tenderness. When both hands held together, the two hearts on each glove can be combined as one butterfly pattern, as a romantic symbol of the loving hearts and flying butterflies.

“Adobe is always inspired by the tremendous creativity that we see in Adobe Design Achievement Awards submissions,” said Ann Lewnes, senior vice president of corporate marketing at Adobe. “Our partnership with Icograda will help us showcase breakthrough talent on a global stage, and preview the bright future of interactive design.”

“Communication designers play a critical role in developing messages that influence social and commercial perceptions,” said Professor Don Ryun Chang, president of Icograda. “We are excited to partner with Adobe for the prestigious Adobe Design Achievement Awards ceremony, which recognizes design innovation and encourages unrelenting progress in the field of graphic design and visual communication.”

As demand increases for talented designers and developers in the interactive design and development fields, the Adobe Design Achievement Awards spotlight the talented work of students in three media categories: Interactive Media, Motion Media, and Traditional Media.

– Interactive Media categories include Browser-Based Design, Non-Browser Based Design, Application Development, Installation Design and Mobile Design.

– Motion Media categories include Animation, Live Action and Motion Graphics.

– Traditional Media categories include Illustration, Packaging, Photography, and Print Communications.

Open to students in 40 countries, the contest also draws attention to interactive design and development programs at some of the best accredited higher education institutions. Students are invited to submit projects through the Adobe Design Achievement Awards website. From the website, visitors will also be able to access ADAA Live!, an interactive website that lets visitors see participants submitting projects in real-time.

“I was honored to be a finalist in the Adobe Design Achievement Awards animation category in 2007,” said Johnny Kelley, who recently completed a two-year MA in Animation at The Royal College of Art. “My achievement in this awards competition will continue to benefit me professionally as I look forward to a long career creating compelling animations with Adobe solutions.”

The 2009 Adobe Design Achievement Awards entries will be reviewed and scored by an independent panel of distinguished judges. Judges include: Leimei Julia Chui (Japan), director of global communications for the International Design Center NAGOYA (IdcN); Louis Gagnon (Canada), co-founder of Paprika Communications; Cristina Chiappini (Italy), founder of her own Rome-based consultancy; Garth Walker (South Africa), founder of Orange Juice Design, a creative firm serving many of South Africa’s best known corporate and consumer brands; Tarek Atrissi (The Netherlands), a principal of his own design studio and teacher in the department of Art, Media and Technology at the Utrecht School of the Arts in Holland; Kyle Kim (Korea), a professor at the School of Design, Hongik University and cofounder of design firm UM & Partners; and Lance Wyman (US) principal of his own New York environmental graphic design office.

Submissions will be accepted online through June 5, 2009. The online submissions will be judged digitally in June. For the final phase of judging, semifinalists will be asked to submit their source files and a physical aspect of their entry as it is meant to be viewed. Finalists will be invited to Beijing, China and the Icograda World Design Congress and awarded software and cash prizes.

For more information regarding the 2009 Adobe Design Achievement Awards, visit www.ADAAentry.com .

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information - anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com .

About Icograda

Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations) is the world body for professional communication design. Founded in 1963, Icograda promotes communication designers’ vital role in society and commerce. For more information, visit www.icograda.org .

Join professional colleagues in a bi-annual gathering to reflect on the past, examine the present and look into the future of communication design.

Under the theme Xin_Design for a better world, the Icograda World Design Congress 2009 in Beijing will explore the capacity of design to integrate with other media, to transcend national, cultural and economic confines, and to benefit the world at large.

Theme and concept
Literally signifying human speaking and hence a letter in Chinese, Xin is a primitive means of communication yet means a lot more today:

• Xin-xi (Information) - the content of human communication
• Xin-ren (Trust) - the precondition and purpose for effective communication
• Xin-nian (Vision) - the starting point of communication design that helps make a better world

Through the theme of Xin_Design for a better world, the Icograda World Design Congress 2009 Beijing (China) seeks to explore the contemporary issues and challenges facing communication design, in particular its vital role in a world of crisis - ecological, natural and human, and its approaches to fostering more effective communication for a plurality of cultures.

Image: China National Convention Center

Venue
The main venue will be the China National Convention Centre (CNCC), ideally located in the heart of Beijing Olympic Green and standing right next to the Bird’s Nest (China National Stadium), the Water Cube (China National Aquatic Centre) and China National Indoor Stadium.

For more information, visit: www.beijing2009.org
From Icograda

]]> http://en.visionunion.com/2008/12/16/zengweijing-guest-aniwow-animation-festival.html/feed http://en.visionunion.com/2008/12/16/zengweijing-guest-aniwow-animation-festival.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Visionunion/~3/6gfbIJJISLI/jamy-yang-wins-design-for-asia-silver-award.html http://en.visionunion.com/2008/12/16/jamy-yang-wins-design-for-asia-silver-award.html#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:34:41 +0000 admin http://en.visionunion.com/?p=698 With the design of Absolut Pears Dual Package for the Swedish brand Absolut Vodka, Product designer Jamy Yang becomes the silver award winner of the Design for Asia Award (DFAA), which is newly announced in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

The winning design is praised by the judges for its enhanced brand identity, reduced waste, convenient usage, attention to recycling as well as commercial success.

Design for Asia Award (DFAA), initiated by Hong Kong Design Center, is dedicated to promoting international design excellence which has great impact on Asian lifestyle, and the criteria for judging are based on design, impact on Asian lifestyle and influence in Asia as well as commercial success.

This year, the DFA Award received 633 entries representing 12 countries including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and from as far as Europe, the UK and the US. Some of the other prominent award winners are international companies e.g. Apple, Sony and Samsung.

Animation talents are not only the propelling power to the development of animation industry, but also the sources of animation creativities and creators of the animation industry. The college students are the back-up and the emerging power of the animation industry. China’s animation education cultivated plenty of animation talents for the animation industry. The development of China’s animation industry is strongly supported by the government. What kind of animation talents do we need today? What kind of talents should be cultivated from animation education? 2008 China International Student’s Animation Festival had become the showing arena for new stars of animation talents. During the festival we saw some original creative animations. Also we saw the effort of China’s animation education for cultivation of the animation talents and rocky road that animation companies lead under the environment of international animation industry.

a. The situation of China’s animation industry amid the world
Under the internationalizing industrial environment, the animation industry develops along with America’s animation-films industrialization, Japan’s animation-TV-programs integration and Korea’s gaming-promoted industrialization, China joined in the development of commercial animations in the 1990’s. After several years of contribution, we might not achieve the success that we had expected. Once upon a time, our animation industry lived on processing and foreign orders under the international environment. Yet we could still see the fruits carried out by the animation-industry promoter’s efforts. Although animation film is not the big winner for the box-office and animations did not give birth to celebrate cartoon stars, we are still taking delight in talking about the cute cartoon figures on the web. China’s animation industry is just in its infancy. We should be patient to see it growing.

b. The living status of China’s animation companies
From 1990’s when we started animation processing, we stepped on the road of animation processing and became a part of international animation industry. China’s animation companies lived on animation processing, learned basic animation producing techniques, and cultivated the first group of producing talents for computer animations.
China’s animation companies made their living by animation processing. They realized their shortcoming: the lack of core technology, marketing and scheming for the animation industry. The task for China’s animation enterprises is to look for suitable situation and direction for its development amid the market and the environment of international animation industry.

c. China’s animation-education insisting on original animations
China’s animation-education supports and promotes original animations in colleges by stimulating student’s imagination and creative power, focusing on cultivating on artistic character, artistic culture and animation spirit. The aim of China’s animation education is to cultivate China’s talents for original animation creation.
Within a short period of time, animation education booms around the country. Until now there are hundreds of colleges which opened animation subject or related courses. The teachers mainly came directly from students graduated from animation schools. How do the teachers, who have little practical experience and are lack of deep understandings to animation industry, cultivate animation talents who will face practical problems? And how do they lead students to understand China’s animation industry and to explore successful operation on commercial animations? The animation education in many colleges is just started, with little mature teachers and a few chances for students to practice. How could the students touch and experience the animation industry deeply? There are prominent problems such as unclear cultivation directions in course-system arrangement, over-technification, over-theorization, over-miscellaneous course-arrangement… Thus, how could the quality be guaranteed for China’s original animation talents cultivation?

d. The living status of China’s animation companies vs. China’s animation education origination
Animation processing causes urgent need for skilled talents by China’s animation companies to fulfill the need for growing orders. Thus social animation education booms. Short-time trainings release the pressure of the need for processing talents, increase the scale of processing-style companies, and accumulate some animation resources.
With the change of global economic situation and the need for animation companies’ development, questions emerged that what kind of situation that animation companies lie in and which road is suitable for the long-term development of animation industry. It is also asked how to raise the quality of animation products. In recent years, China’s animation film products are continually exploring. We could see China’s animation films many years after the prosperity of China’s traditional 2-D animations. Some excellent web animation figures are welcomed by young people. Those animations have close relationship with internet-lifestyles. It could be called a successful model for animation figures through new spreading channels.

e. The Student’s Animation Festival – a platform for the dialogue between animation companies and animation education
The works by Chinese students shown on 2008 International Student’s Animation Festival let us see the rapid growth of China’s new animation-talents. We could see the overall quality kept rising. The competing works paid more attention to original features and outstanding visual experience. The future animation talents that we expect mainly come from students in animation colleges nowadays. They will be elites in animation industry after several years of practice and promote the development of animation industry. Under the environment that China’s animation industry was at the beginning, they discussed during the student’s animation festival that how China’s animation education and animation companies would implement their missions.

i. What kind of talents do animation companies expect?
China’s animation companies are in the style-shifting period from processing to creating. They are choosing the mode of development. Companies expect a new employee could enter the production flow rapidly to fulfill their need of animation production. If the animation company is in the stage of processing, it does not need much creative expression, which is more suitable to animation talent’s re-training by company or specialists trained by social education who could conduct animation production or other tasks.
China’s animation companies are kept style-shifting and start the road of animation creating. In recent years, we have seen some original works. Students trained by China’s animation education have better basis and creative abilities. Their creative abilities bring birth to original animation works. It is requested by the change of global economy and China’s economy that we must come out of animation processing, create our original works, owning the intelligent rights, owning our publication rights, and build our own culture industry.

ii. More patients is needed for animation talents
When we cultivate students in school, we spend more time on their creative abilities, and relatively less time on their technical abilities. Like the situations in many other professions, there is little possibility that students graduated from animation subject become the main force or elites very rapidly. They need time to practice in the professional field, accumulating experience in animation practice, theory, experimental film and commercial animations.
Companies are requested to properly handle the relation between the time needed by students in practicing and commercial time. It is needed to view from a further aspect to the permanent propelling power to enterprises within animation talents. A talent’s training time is equivalent to his value. Especially for the style-shifting companies, it is the important period to cultivate animation talents.

iii. The growing practicing step in animation education
The exchange between animation education and animation companies has been strengthened, with more practicing co-operation. Students have more chances to understand animation industry and flows. The Student’s Animation Festival is a platform for the dialogue between animation companies and animation schools and students, providing chances to inter-active exchanges and promoting co-operations. It serves as a connecting point between talent’s cultivation and usage, promoting the talent’s flow within the industry.

iv. Multiple mechanisms in cultivating animation talents
There is a serious phenomenon that China’s animation education became more and more similar. Each sector on the chain of animation industry needs plenty of talents, especially for the pre-phase and after-phase nowadays. Characteristic talents for sectors in middle-phase are also needed. Every animation school’s course-arrangements are the same, so do the cultivating directions. It is hoped that students could express their characters and creative power with respect to their different styles. Each animation school should develop their own teaching character and that of talent-cultivating directions. The content of animation education should not be the same, nor should the education structure. Thus animation talents could find their own way in animation industry, improving the chain of the industry, and promoting the development of the industry.