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Futures Talks #2: The Takeaways.
The second in our Futures Talks series on 18 Nov brought together six incredible creatives forging their own unique paths across a number of fields including arts management, digital design, interaction, art direction, fashion, and genetics.
They shared their stories of interdisciplinary independence, with an audience of students, graduates and creative professionals at Chelsea College of Art.
Read on for our choice takeaways from each speaker...
Julien Simshauser
German born Julien, is a London-based Director, Interaction Designer, Motion Designer and Image Maker, with a lovely turn of phrase of too. He is also the founder of Builders Club, a creative collective crafting visual experiences.
The Flow Channel
“You have to find the right balance between boredom and anxiety, between skill and challenge, so the bigger your skill the higher you have to push up the challenge, in order to stay inside of the flow channel - which is the perfect balance between challenge and skill.”
The Happiness Zine Wave
“The bigger the client, the smaller the freedom, during the project, but also the bigger the client the bigger the pay, and the bigger the pay, the bigger the freedom once you receive the money.
I have this theory - The Happiness Zine Wave - it’s basically going from budget to fun always in your life. And that’s how you have to approach it when you’re a designer.”
@BuildersClub15
Iona Inglesby
Combining her passions for art and science, Iona is the founder of Dot One, a startup that uses your DNA to create unique prints and personalised textiles.
Do what you want to
“There were three main interests when I was growing up, that have continued as an adult, interest in science in data, obsession of adventure and a love of making.”
“I studied here (at Chelsea) for my BA, and did Textile Design. After the first year I didn’t feel like I fitted in at all in the discipline, everyone was going into fashion or interiors and I had no interest in that, but I’d gone this far...my tutors left me alone a bit, they didn’t know what to do with me, and said you’re either going to get a first or a third.”
“The moral of the story is really do what you want to do, it doesn’t matter what course you’re on.”
@IonaInglesby
DVTK
Designers Kim Boutin and David Broner aka DVTK moved from Paris four months ago to start a new adventure in London. Here’s their animated story, narrated by Siri!
“Use your passions, bring external references to your work, that can lead to make original forms and concepts. With social media there’s a lot of self digestion - take everything around you and ride the zeitgeist.”
@D_V_T_K
Freya Murray
Freya runs Stamp House, a platform that supports artists working in the digital sector. As an arts manager and producer she has worked on over 60 projects and partnerships with arts organisations and artists, including setting up Sky Academy Arts Scholarships - one of the biggest awards for emerging artists aged 18 – 30.
Be flexible
“When you’re choosing your path, don’t worry about being an expert in everything. Surround yourself with really brilliant people. Be flexible, be bold, be resilient. And be patient, don’t expect everything to happen at once.”
Build your network (and go for lots of coffee).
“What’s been key for me is building my network. My last project came about by going along to a meetup called the enlightenment cafe, and had a beer with someone, because i’d bumped into a friend of a friend of a friend, and I ended up getting a job. Recommendations are key. It’s all about building up trust and building your network.”
It’s never too late to connect
“When I was first starting out I remembered a chat I had with someone five years ago, so I looked her up and sent her an email and said “i really enjoyed our chat five years ago and you probably don’t remember who I am, but I think we could have a another good chat,” and she replied instantly.”
@Frymeister
Kate Dawkins
An award-winning senior creative and art director Kate has worked with teams around the world to create stunning interactive visual experiences for some of the largest global brands including the London 2012 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Adidas, Ford, BBC, GSK, Elton John and MTV European Music Awards.
“You think you’re on a path that’s going one direction and then something completely spins it.”
“I worked on this fantastic music video [for Elton John], really loved working on it. But it was seen by David Lapel, the photographer, who was at the time working on Elton John’s show in Las Vegas, he was the Art Director, and he saw this, and he said this is the direction I want, ‘find out who did this, and I want this person and this company to make the stuff.’ So, probably from a tiny little music video we went and produced the content for one of the largest HD screens in the world at the time.
“So it was the first move into creating visuals for stage, and I think what’s fantastic about this, and what’s been talked about tonight, is this sense of collaboration, and the fact you can’t do these things alone, it is a sense of coming together, team work, family, having people who know what they’re doing and people who don’t know what they’re doing. Also there’s an understanding of it’s not about you, it’s not about your visuals, there’s amazing stage sets, band, there could be cast, there’s costumes, it’s a very holistic world to work in.”
Futures Talks: #3 Internet Age Media
Our next Futures Talks takes place in Wed 9 Dec at LCC. Sign-up to our newsletter for details and tickets when they’re released.