6/9 Design Museum, Borough Market, Tate Modern

We got to the Design Museum Saturday morning to find Bill outside really excited about something. This was good because we were really late and thought we’d be feeling his wrath that morning. Instead, he told us that he had walked into the museum café to see none other than Luigi Colani (who?) sitting there having breakfast, and he has agreed to give us a private tour of his show which was the main attraction of the museum at the moment. I wondered how bill recognized this man until I saw him sitting there with his dark hair and mustache clad in a white polyester suit…then I knew.

Luigi Colani is an industrial designer who is world renowned and I didn’t even know it. He designs trains, planes, cars, and basically any other kind of streamlined machine. He showed us videos of sharks and other animals and told us he is very inspired by nature. He also showed is the first Canon camera design that he was responsible for. He had the very first camera there and I asked him if he had ever actually taken a picture with it… and he said no! It was great to watch him go through his own exhibit because he would let us sit on things, and he would knock things over and it wouldn’t matter because it was all his.

After the museum we headed to Borough Market for lunch which was AMAZING. Alicia and I got completely lost in the world of free samples, but finally decided on some falafel and smoothies. We also wanted these delicious looking grilled cheese sandwiches but decided 2 lunches in one day was enough and we just couldn’t handle it.

The Tate Modern was in the afternoon and I have to say I enjoyed the Dali & Film exhibit more than many I have seen. I never realized that Dali was a director, and it was so interesting to see his style in film. It just has such presence, and is so recognizable. Some of my favorite paintings were preliminary pieces done for movie sets that were eventually filmed. The picture above is my favorite painting of the movie still. My other favorite part of the exhibit was finding out that Dali & Disney at one point had teamed up and created Destino, a surrealist cartoon that was never made into a full length film. Seeing this blew my mind, it was Dali and Disney all in one. I was sitting with Brian and some of the other kids majoring in illustration and I could just see the wonder on their faces. I know I felt the same way they looked.

We also saw Helio Oiticica's Body of Color which on the whole I also enjoyed. I think having the opportunity to display abstract work like that in a museum setting is what gives it impact. They were patterns and blocks of color and they were often repeated which I liked. Overall, it was a very good day in London…AND I had my first sighting of London Bridge!

6/8 Stonehenge & The Tower of London

After 3 years of seeing other VC kid’s pictures of these giant rocks…it was finally our turn. We rolled out of bed and onto the bus at 2am in an attempt to make it up to Stonehenge to see the sunrise. We got there and met with Busty Taylor, the Stonehenge master who talked to us for a while before we were let in. I didn’t have my glasses on and mistook a sheep for one of the stones until I realized HOW BIG they actually are. They are HUGE. The time came for them to let us in to see the rocks and even though there was no sunset that day it didn’t matter because we were finally there and it was breathtaking. The texture on the rocks was so cool to look at up close, and once you are there you really wonder how anyone could have created it. Eric and I wandered off and did a video diary that I am hoping to get my hands on soon, because it is definitely cool to have some footage of us there in the moment. This is really my first time traveling, and I am feeling very lucky to be seeing these places although it is weird to think that the more I see means that these are just more places I might never see again. I’m not trying to be depressing, just thinking out loud!

That afternoon Alicia, Jill, Alex, Laurel & I all headed to the Tower of London. We had a great tour guide who was called a "beefeater" and he told us in order to be a beefeater you had to be in the service for at least 20 years. Alicia surprised us all by asking him if he was single during the Q&A. We also got to see the Crown Jewels and lthough they were fake they were a sight to see. It was a great place to spend the day and the weather was beautiful so we had a fun time.

6/7 British Museum & Greyworld

This morning we went to the British museum which was a lot of fun. There were these adorable little schoolgirls in uniform on the steps of the museum taking pictures I just wanted to steal one of them! Inside the museum the main room had a beautiful glass ceiling with lots of light. We saw the Rosetta Stone which for some reason I thought was small enough to hold in your hand although I guess I missed something important in Social Studies all those years because the thing is bigger than I am. The Parthenon Sculptures were really cool and I was really interested in the detailed friezes that they had depicting battles and mythological creatures. Alicia and I found the Mexican art exhibition and stayed there for a while until we decided we needed art supplies and went in search of a store.

That afternoon we went though London’s little India and found ourselves meeting with Andrew Shoben of Greyworld. Listening to Andrew talk was so inspiring because ideas literally poured out of him. He had to write things down while we were there so that he didn’t forget. He asked for our opinions on projects, and was just so exciting to watch I could have at there all day. I don’t know if anything could top this visit. Greyworld is a group of artists who create work in urban spaces. Their work is for the public, and much of it is sound based which has a lot to do with Andrew’s background in music. They have made pieces where if you run a stick along a fence the girl from Ipanema starts playing. They carpeted a bridge with a blue rug and every step a person took on it would coincide with the sound of leaves crunching or something water flowing. They created the sculpture that sits in the center of the British Stock Exchange that has balls moving up and down telling the time. They created an electric tail. Yeah, and it really works. They gained a lot of fame for creating the project for the stock market, and were commissioned to other projects like that but turned them down simply because they didn’t want to do the same project twice. They also told us that their projects have really simple names, like “Park Benches” and “The Source” (the balls). They said if you have to put a fancy name on something maybe something clever is lacking in their work.

Words of Wisdom from Andrew Shoben:
-More than making a thing, it’s making an art system (speaking about their work).
-“Anything written in Latin sounds clever” (referring to their sculptures that move according to your movement, Monument to the Unknown Artist).
-Don’t edit the idea before it comes out of your mouth.
-Water your geek…be nice to the people that help you.
-Ideas are all cheap; don’t quantify them because they can be endless.

(The pictures are of Alicia and I at the British Museum immitating the sculpture, and also of the gorgeous ceiling in the musem.)

6/6 Pentagram and Saatchi & Saatchi

Big day today. Big big day. We started by walking through the famous Nottinghill towards Pentagram where we met with Debbie Taffler. This woman could have sold me my left leg she was just that good. Some quick facts:
-Pentagram was founded in 1972
-An organization based on ‘design’
-People know they are being advertised at but they don’t really understand or realize when they are being designed at. Why do they make the choices they do?
-Partner led, with each partner having one team working under them in a very collaborative atmosphere.
-Idea based
-75% of their business has to do with Brand Identity; Citibank, Saks Fifth Avenue, One & Only Resorts
-They have done packaging for Espa, Tiffany & Co., Callaway Golf.
-Product Design for Dell Computer, Nike, Krug (not making better branding, making a better ice bucket) Bloomberg signage, Pierson airport in Toronto (moving large groups of people) very successful.
-Architecture- Alexander McQueen fashion stores, Muzak, EAT.

Everything they showed us at Pentagram blew me away. I was in awe of the branding they did for EAT. and very inspired to do a project similar to that on my own. I also like how the work we see at places like Pentagram has such a presence in everyday life, I feel more connected to the brand that way. I asked Debbie how they approach a brand when there is a ton of literature that already exists for the brand. She told me that changing the literature for a brand has it’s place if it has to be done, otherwise they aren’t going to make more work than they need to.

We asked them advice on what to put in our portfolios, and they told us:
-3 Flushed out projects, problem solved along the way
-Outside of your portfolio shouldn’t be too much of a design statement if that’s not how you are.
-They want to see three wonderful things from you that show your passion and YOU.
THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU THINK.
I think Pentagram is one of the coolest places on earth.
(All the photos are of Pentagram and the one of the doorknob that looks like a face is just one of a series they had on their wall of different things that look like faces)

At Saatchi & Saatchi we met with Creative Director Kate Stanners who told us advertising was the “best job in the world” and that you have to be curious; you can’t get stuck. Saatchi works on ads for Toyota, Lexus and Doc Martins to name a few. There was actually a Doc Martins ad featuring dead rock stars wearing the shoes in heaven that caused a lot of controversy not long before we visited Saatchi, but Kate told us that although handling the backlash can be tough it actually can give the brand more attention. It was also really great to see Kate as a successful creative director as well as a wife and mother. It’s just not that often that women can be all three and I hate saying that but it’s true, so seeing women like her is always inspiring.

Her tips for portfolios:
-Make every page exciting
-Listen to people’s comments
-Have thoughtful ideas
-Show progression of ideas; HOW DO YOU THINK? (Wow, 2x in one day…maybe they are trying to tell us something?)

6/5 Trend Union & BBH

I am almost embarrassed by the amount of notes I took on this speech, but I guess with it being the third day of the trip I was feeling really motivated. Basically Trend Union is the company started by a woman named Li Edelkoort and their sole purpose is to predict what will be the fashion years ahead of time. By the time a certain style hits the market it has already been circulating for over 2 years. There is a fabric fair in Europe where designers pick their textiles, then they make their collections and they go to fashions shows, then to stores, then to the public to wear.

According to the Trend Union Representative:
-Iceland, Scandinavia, Sweden and Finland are all immersed in the idea of the interior (think IKEA, Swiss design)
-Brooklyn is becoming more interesting than Manhattan (Speak for yourself!)
-South Africa- has a young look
- “Graphic Design is a trendsetter for fashion trends; we are both influenced by contemporary art”
- “Sometimes there is no explanation for a trend, it just takes intuition.”
-There is a revival of Arts & Crafts despite the digital world. A movement to be unplugged.

I could go on and on but basically what I learned is that in Winter ’08-’09 we will all be wearing lots of hats going for an Amish look, that masks will become popular, and that will all be walking around wearing plastic. Oh, and that bunnies will be everywhere.

That afternoon we made it over to BBH for a talk with one of the art director/copywriter teams. Some of the accounts they have there are Levis, Audi, The Robinsons, Vodafone, and Axe. The Axe commercials were very funny but overall I could see a big difference in British humor compared to American humor. I liked how the Robinson’s ads were really simple and very handmade. They appealed to children and that was the target audience as well as their parents. I think the team gave us great advice which was that if we get stuck, we should go watch a film to clear your head.

In the afternoon Rachel, Rosie & I walked over to the Mac store to book our trip to Barcelona! 5 Days in the sun..I can't wait! Then I headed over to see GEMMA my counselor from camp who I haven't seen in years but I adore her and was psyched that I would be seeing her in London. I took the tube up to Bellsize Park where she lives and we went out in her neighborhood which is so trendy and fun. The pubs are adorable and we had a great dinner and got to catch up. It's really nice being so far from home but having someone there who makes you feel so at home, and I know if I needed anything Gemma would be the first person I'd call!

6/4 V&A

We started the day with an orientation meeting about the program and then headed to the Victoria & Albert museum to see the Surrealism exhibition. It’s goal was to look at how surrealism impacted architecture, design, fashion and other forms of art. It was an amazing exhibit, and I couldn’t believe the sheer volume of work that it had. Dali of course was represented, as well as Man Ray, and there were no-figural sculptures by Giacametti which I found really interesting because he is known more for his gesture drawings and sculptures and these were completely new. I also found the fashion designs of Elsa Schiaparelli very intriguing. She used fabrics designed by Dali to make many of hers dresses, one with a design meant to look like skin being torn the tears became a pattern so it was very subtle. It sounds weird, I know, but it was something to see.

After going through the exhibit we met with Zoe Whitely and NB Studio who basically branded the exhibition she curated called ‘Uncomfortable Truths.’ They showed us a portfolio of their work and the different steps they took to get the final result for the V&A exhibit.

6/2-3 London here we come!

Where do I even begin? After my poor roommate dropped me of hysterically crying at the Philadelphia airport I took one look at Rachel and she started crying and then thankfully her mom came along and consoled both of us until we stopped. Lucky for me the wait wasn’t too long and I slept the ENTIRE flight…I missed the food, movie AND free slippers. Oh well, I was in London! The bus took us to our flats and we found ourselves on Southampton Row, bordering the financial district in a beautiful little neighborhood. I made it up first to our flats and thought I stepped into an IKEA catalogue…Clean white walls, oak bookcases, big red couches…seriously it was so much nicer than I ever had imagined. We picked rooms and Alicia and I were lucky enough to get the big room off the living room with a huge window and lots of light. Actually all the windows were huge and had these gorgeous balconies although we only made it out there a few times to take pictures in fear of the landlords sealing them shut.

We all went for a walk to explore the area a little and had our first meal in London at Subway…how typical. Then lucky for us we found the supermarket one block away which had good deals if you took your time shopping. One thing I learned since my family moved to the city is that you really can’t buy food in bulk because you usually don’t have that much storage, and also there is no minivan to load your groceries into, you have to walk home with them. Therefore food shopping in the city wasn’t such a culture shock for me, and Alicia and I decided sharing most of our meals would help cut costs in London.

We made it back to our flats, got dressed and took lots of pictures before heading to Cagney’s for dinner…named after James Cagney so now we were 2 for 2 with the American restaurants. In order to compensate for our lack of London pride we headed to the London Pub that night and enjoyed our first pints.