12 hot design dates you can't afford to miss [kopipesediseng]

12 hot design dates you can't afford to miss

With events season in full swing, here are some cracking world-class conferences, festivals, exhibitions and more for April and May 2015.

April is a gloriously hectic month in the global design calendar, building up to a crescendo of world-class events in May.

Here's our pick of the key creative dates you need to know about over the coming weeks. Are you going to any? Let us know in the Comments below – we'll see you there…

01. Generate New York

• 17 April 2015
• New York, USA

At time of writing there were still a few tickets remaining for the design event of the year: Generate New York, which takes place this Friday.

net magazine and Creative Bloq's leading conference for web designers and developers features some of the biggest names in web design, including Mike Monteiro, Val Head and JoonYong Park as well as some fantastic new speakers, the two-track one-dayer promises inspiration, education and unparalleled networking opportunities. Here are 13 reasons why you need to attend...

02. Design Ranch

• 16-19 April
• Waldemar Guest Ranch 1005 FM 1340, Hunt, Texas, USA

An intimate, three-day, hands-on, workshop-driven design retreat on the rustic banks of the Guadalupe River, AIGA's Design Ranch is about reviving your creative spirit, putting away your mouse and getting your hands dirty. The ranch is open to people of all creative disciplines "seeking a recharge".

03. Deadline to enter:
Kyoorius Advertising and Digital Awards

• 17 April
• Work must have been published for a client in India or created by a studio in India for a client abroad

The final deadline for submitting entries to the 2015 KyooriusAdvertising and Digital Awards has been extended to Friday 17th April. This year Kyoorius has added a host of new categories to incorporate emerging areas in advertising, communication and digital design.

The nine-member advertising jury comprises of international and Indian agency representatives, and will be led by Nils Leonard, chairman and chief creative officer, Grey London, while the Kyoorius Digital Awards will be helmed by Andy Sandoz, creative partner, Havas Work Club and Deputy President of D&AD.

04. D&AD judging begins

• 19 April
• London, UK

 Judging for the prestigious D&AD Awards starts on 19 April 2015. The organisation will announce results as they are confirmed on the D&AD website. Winning work will be featured in the 2015 D&AD Annual and on the D&AD site. It'll also be showcased at D&AD's Awards Night, and at D&AD exhibitions and events internationally.

PROMOTION

05. Behance 99u conference

• 30 April - 1 May
• Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Centre, 1941 Broadway, New York, USA


"Get fired up to make sh*t happen" at Behance's annual conference, 99U, which is designed to shift the focus from idea generation to idea execution – in short, bringing ideas to life.

Talks inspire action, with everyone from comic artists to CEOs and directors sharing the secrets of their success. This year's line-up includes Christoph Niemann, MoMA's Paola Antonelli and Adobe's Scott Belsky.

06. Pictoplasma

• 29 April - 3 May
• Babylon, Platoon Kunsthalle, Urban Spree and numerous art spaces in Berlin, Germany

The world's largest conference and festival for contemporary character culture design and art, Pictoplasma unites artists from all realms of media and discipline with some of the world's leading graphic and games designers, animators and illustrators.

Full of lectures, presentations, screenings, workshops, performances and more, with confirmed speakers including Adventure Time's Andy Ristaino, Yves Geleyn, Hikari Shimoda and TADO.

 Pick Me Up

• 23 April - 4 May
• Embankment Galleries, 
South Wing, London, UK

The UK's original contemporary graphic arts festival is now in its sixth year. Subverting the norm of your traditional art fair, Pick Me Up showcases graphic art in all its forms.

A fun, quirky and informal festival with studio spaces where you can shop for affordable art, digital Q&As, competitions and workshops. Up-and-coming artists are celebrated, so get networking!

Here are the hottest illustrations from Pick Me Up 2014...

08. HOW Design Live

• 4-8 May
• Hyatt Regency Chicago, 
Chicago, USA

The 25th anniversary of HOW Design Live promises to be the biggest and best ever, with a bolder-than-ever speaker line-up including Jessica Walsh, Karim Rashid, Spin's Tony Brook and Mucca Design's Matteo Bologna. This is one of the biggest international design events, and this year will be merging five events into one experience.

09. F5

• 17-18 May
• Terminal 5, 610 W 56th St. 
New York, USA

F5 seeks to unite art, technology and design by bringing together the thinkers and doers that are breaking ground and shaping new standards in media and design.

The two-day festival gathers filmmakers, writers, digital artists, game designers, graphic designers, VFX experts and many more seeking to inspire and create. Speakers this year include Patrick Clair, Debbie Millman, Eddie Opara, Partik Moberg and Block & Tackle.

10. What Design Can Do

• 21-22 May
• Stadsschousburg, Amsterdam

What Design Can Do explores the impact that design can have across all creative disciplines, with 2015's speakers including the inimitable Stefan Sagmeister, johnson banks' Michael Johnson, Google Creative Lab's Steve Rura, and experimental artists Bompas & Parr.

11. TYPO Berlin

• 21-23 May
• Haus der Kulturen der Welt, John-foster-Dulles-Allee 10, Berlin, Germany

The global design conference with a typographic flavour returns to Berlin with talks and workshops covering "design, culture, society – with a little bit of kerning."

With this year's theme of 'character', talks will present strategies against a culture of superficiality, with a view to building personality within your work. The myriad guest speakers include Aaron James Draplin, Matthias Frey, Jon Gray, Josh Higgins and Gemma O'Brien.

Here's a little taster of day three of TYPO Berlin 2014... 

12. OFFF Barcelona

London motion graphics studio Manvsmachine opted for a bit of performance art at OFFF Barcelona 2014...

• 28-30 May
• DHUB, Plaza de les Glories Catalanes 37, Barcelona, Spain

This year marks a milestone for OFFF Barcelona. It's the 15th anniversary of the epic three-day design conference, and plans are in place to make it a party to remember.

This year's featured artists include Laika, Michael Cina, Mirko Borsche, Stefan Sagmeister and Studio Blup. It promises to be an explosion of graphic design, web development, motion and sound design – and almost everything in between.

5 Reasons Your Photography Isn't Improving [kopipesediseng]

5 Reasons Your Photography Isn't Improvingby Michael  Woloszynowicz

The evolution of a photographer is rarely a linear one. We get better, we get worse, we think we’re improving but we’re not, and then with some luck and a lot of patience and practice, we actually start to produce great images. For some that last point is never reached and it’s usually due to a few common mistakes. As a portrait and fashion photographer I struggle with these mistakes on a regular basis as much as anyone else, and have included a few of my own photos as retrospective of my personal progress.

5 lessons fast-moving consumer goods can teach us about branding [kopipesediseng]

5 lessons fast-moving consumer goods can teach us about branding

Natalie Candy at Coley Porter Bell explains what designers can learn from the world of FMCG.

Brands need to innovate to keep up with changing consumer lifestyles and stand out from the crowd. However, often too much innovation is launched simply because it can be produced and it therefore often lacks relevance to the consumer and impact at shelf. When done well, innovation can prove hugely successful in building brands, but it has its risk with research suggesting between 70-90 per cent of innovation fails in the first year of launch.

We've picked five innovations from the world of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) that we believe have been built on solid foundations to prove a success. Those that have shaken up a category, answered a genuine consumer need, been driven by lifestyle trends, innovated through to point of sale and ultimately built brand value.

01. How to succeed where others fail

Tangle Teezer is now sold in more than 65 countries

Invented by former hair colourist, Shaun P, manufactured and made in the UK, Tangle Teezer is referred to as the 'life changing' hairbrush created to achieve what others have failed… to successfully detangle hair.

A massive success, the product is now sold in more than 65 countries and at a rate of 10 per minute and was awarded CoolBrands status this year. One to watch in haircare, its most recent launch is the first 'upright non-slip water-loving detangling hair brush'.

02. How to meet an unmet need

Nivea looked at things from the consumer's point of view

Life is busy, yet the beauty industry generally insists on adding more steps into the daily routine rather than making it easier. Nivea, thankfully looked at it from the consumer's point of view to revolutionise the body care routine.

They were aware that people only used body lotion occasionally either because there is not enough time in the morning or that they simply didn't like the feeling of a normal body lotion.

The solution was one to save time and improve the moisturising experience with the In-Shower Body Moisturiser. The range has taken a 2.8 per cent share of the body lotion category with £4m sales (in one year from launch) and has now extended into After Sun.

03. How to tap into multiple trends

Graze tapped into multiple trends to really deliver something new

Consumer lifestyles are constantly evolving and brands that are truly innovative stay one step ahead by tapping into trends and creating solutions accordingly. Every now and again a brand manages to tap into multiple trends to really deliver something new.

Graze.com achieved this and created a new phenomenon in snacking, which delivered against the trends for health, freshness, convenience and customisation. After achieving success in the UK, Graze.com launched into the US, where within a week they signed up 30,000 subscribers across 48 states and after three months smashed their first quarter targets with 100,000 new customers.

04. How to innovate through to point of sale

Developing an innovative product is one thing, but making sure it really stands out and attracts attention is another.

When Sony launched their W Walkman they threw out the rulebook and created a strategy that uniquely brought the idea to life. Rather than put a rational claim about being waterproof on the pack (which many brands would have done), they created an innovative point of sale that would create buzz about the brand. To showcase the waterproof qualities, the products were put in full water bottles in gym and pool vending machines in New Zealand creating a product display, distribution channel and talking point.

05. How to build brand value

Too much innovation is created for the sake of it, merely because the technology or product format is available. Successful innovation should drive brand value, be meaningful and relevant.

There tends to be a disappointing lack of innovation in the chocolate category beyond flavours, however in the last year Cadbury have shaken things up. Through the brand story of 'Joy', they've developed products to target different audiences with more exciting ideas, especially through Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations and Marvellous Mix-Ups ranges (a collision of sweets and chocolate to create a new confectionary experience), all the while staying true to the brand.

Words: Natalie Candy

Natalie Candy is a senior planner at Coley Porter Bell.