Road to DesignYatra
Text from DutchDFA and Addikt:
You could call it a road trip if you like. It's an attempt at documenting our annual journey as we prep up for India's biggest design conference. Talk to us, share your favorite DesignYatra moments, send us your pictures from previous editions & tell us what you would like to see this year. We're listening.
This is how Lava’s Paul Hughes would like to describe his Kyoorius DesignYatra 2010 experience:
DesignYatra
year one:
a short
sharp
shock
DesignYatra
every year:
the embodiment of India’s motto
‘truth alone triumphs’
Peter Bilak and Rajesh Kejriwal on a flight to Goa
- Peter – When am I speaking?
- Rajesh – I do not know!
- Peter – But the conference starts the day after tomorrow!
- Rajesh – Hmmm, well we will freeze it today evening.
- Peter – Huh, Okay. Who did I replace?
- Rajesh – Replace? Sorry I did not get you.
- Peter – I mean you asked me to come about 25 days back, so I assume one of the speakers could not come and you asked me as a replacement.
- Rajesh – Haha. Not really. The first invitation from my side to speakers went out 30 days back, maybe 35 days back. So you were on the list and did not replace anybody.
- Peter – Really? You mean you finalise speakers just 40-45 days prior. Wow, that’s cutting things very close huh.
- Rajesh – Well we had no choice since we decided to host this conference just 60 days back!
- Peter – Huh, you are pulling my leg.
Fabrique’s Jeroen van Erp, who has been a past speaker at Kyoorius DesignYatra, has some wonderful memories of re-discovering Neville Brody at the conference in 2008.
He reminisces, “When I was asked to come and speak at Kyoorius DesignYatra in Goa in 2008, I had scarcely any idea of what this conference was about. The list of speakers was impressive, however. Once I arrived in Goa, I was impressed by the informal atmosphere and the eagerness to learn in the hall.
“But what I remember most is my re-introduction to Neville Brody. Brody had been a speaker in 2007, and a year later he returned as a delegate. I got to know Brody in the early 80s as a designer of beautiful record sleeves for the extremely alternative label Fetish, and artists as Cabaret Voltaire. When he broke through with his designs for The Face, I felt as if I had discovered him,” he recalls.
“Strangely enough, the design world in the Netherlands had little interest in what was happening in the UK. People like Peter Saville (of Factory / Joy Division fame), Malcolm Garrett (Simple Minds, Duran Duran) and Brody were stars on the other side of the English Channel, but they were ignored over here. Thankfully this did change somewhat later on,” he adds.
He further adds, “ When he was asked to give a lecture in The Hague in 1990, it was not too difficult to interview him. It was a typical Brody interview – he was eloquent, rebellious, full of indignation about the world, artful, straight-taking, but also patient and friendly. In retrospect, he was at a pivotal point in his career. I got the impression that he knew that his Fontshop, which he had set up a year earlier with Erik and Joan Spiekermann, had been a brilliant move. Within the typesetting industry, they were the new kids in town. They were there right from the start of the huge switch to digital, which would change graphic design forever. After that, things went relatively quiet with regard to Brody. So it was a pleasant surprise to me when he showed up in Goa. I had a very enjoyable discussion with him during dinner on one of the evenings. He hasn’t changed much, thankfully, perhaps a little wiser. The fact that he was there said something about the quality of the conference – or maybe how pleasant the food was, and how enjoyable the stay. Later, I realised that Wally Olins was also in the hall, and perhaps even more people who you would actually expect to be on the stage. The Designyatra is an inspirational event and a unique conference for India. It can also be compared to other major design conferences, such as the Design Indaba in Cape Town and the Business of Design Week in Hong Kong.”
Via: Addikt.nl
Kyoorius DesignYatra 2011, the annual international design conference in Goa, India, is featuring speakers:
- Johnny Vulkan,
- Type Radio,
- Adrian Shaugnessy,
- Richard Holman,
- Massimo Vignelli,
- Mark Chalmers,
- Peter Higgins,
- Troika Uk.
Speakers from The Netherlands are:
Additionally TU Delft will be giving an Indo-Dutch Workshop on Design Education to think about a framework on design education in India.
Roel Stavorinus and Anne Bloemendaal will also give workshops about the business of design and design management.
date: 9-10/September
place: Grand Hyatt Goa, India
