Posts tagged "Adobe Design Achievement Awards"

Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2003 Alumnus Willy Wong contributes to NYCxDESIGN plans for citywide events

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Leona Guidace | Comments (0)

Willy Wong, an ADAA winner from 2003 for his experimental identity series called The Weather Resort, has been making impact with plans for NYCxDESIGN’s celebration of design.

Willy Wong, Chief Creative Officer at NYC & Company and ADAA 2003 alumnus

Willy Wong, Chief Creative Officer at NYC & Company and ADAA 2003 alumnus

Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2003 alumnus, Willy Wong is now the Chief Creative Officer at NYC & Company, which is the City of New York’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization.  Willy also serves on NYCxDESIGN, which is a collaboration among the City Council, Mayor’s Office, City agencies and a steering committee.  The steering committee is composed of some of the City’s most renowned design institutions, educators, entrepreneurs, curators, and designers. 

 

NYCxDESIGN organizes New York City’s inaugural citywide event to showcase and promote design in all disciplines. The citywide events will be held from Friday, May 10, through Tuesday, May 21, 2013 and will collectively celebrate New York City’s contributions to the evolution of design.  Events will be hosted at a multitude of venues across all five New York boroughs, including large conventions, galleries, design institutions, and public parks.  NYCxDESIGN will bring visibility, education, and inspiring dialogue to the forefront of the city’s experience, increasing cultural awareness and appreciation for design of all disciplines.content-01

 

Wong began contributing to NYCxDESIGN because of his passion to, “…support an incredibly valuable industry and thriving community, to expand the local economy and job base, and ultimately to help the City and the world function and look that much better. As the world’s stage, NYC is where design students, designers and those who love design from every corner of the globe all aspire to see, feel, build, share and shine. And it’s an ecosystem that thrives on cross pollination between disciplines.”

 

content-02 (1)Wong also added that in NYC, design permeates through all boroughs, “…from the sustainably manufactured office furniture that decorate the interiors of Manhattan’s skyscrapers, to the urban grid on which they sit; from the asymmetrical earrings that were 3D printed in Queen’s Long Island City, then featured in a mobile app, which was developed in the Flatiron district, using bespoke web fonts crafted in Brooklyn…”

 

Wong is also President of AIGA/NY, and has been dynamic in broadening community involvement and providing opportunities for educational mentorship during the NYCxDESIGN events.  Cultural centers, such as the Cooper-Hewitt Design Center in Harlem and The Museum of Arts and Design, will have sessions available for design enthusiasts of all ages, including children.  The Times Square Alliance will partner with AIGA/NY’s Mentoring Program, by hosting a culminating project created by students from the New York City High School of Art and Design. 

NYCxDESIGN planning for citywide events

NYCxDESIGN planning for citywide events

 

With the ADAA offering a more robust and ambitious mentorship program in 2013, we’re thrilled to share the NYCxDESIGN opportunities with ADAA alumni and extended community. 

 

 

To explore more about NYCxDESIGN go to:  http://nycxdesign.com/

Check out www.willywong.com or follow @wwong

Zhongxuan Liu and Allati El Henson Participate in the Red Bull Collective Art Project

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Leona Guidace | Comments (0)

The Adobe Design Achievement Awards team was thrilled to hear that two ADAA 2012 honorees were recently selected as guest artists for a new and collaborative partnership between Adobe and Red Bull.

Adobe and Red Bull Collective Art #createnow

Adobe and Red Bull Collective Art
#createnow

Together with Adobe, the Red Bull Collective Art project has created a very unique solution for one of the most age-old challenges of being an artist; creating work that transcends through cultures and time. Reaching this challenging goal may be sporadic or fleeting for most artists. From a single vantage point or perspective, it is remains difficult to include all of the rich inspirations our world has to offer into one immediate and succinct visual.

 

But what if things were different? What if we could be inspired by a multitude of vantage points, through the eyes of many artists from around the world – simultaneously. What if we used today’s technology and tools to create rich and dynamic images that transcend cultures, because they collectively come from artists living in all corners of the world.  What if artists were invited into a visual dialogue with fellow artists, inspiring a dynamic and generational single work?

 

Adobe and Red Bull explored how artists might be able to come together virtually, to create work that is collaborative, inclusive and collective…

The first step was an invitation to emerging artists from 85 countries.  Artists would participate by layering their work, all created in succession, to eventually become a single collective piece. Each contributor would have four hours to add their artistry to the final piece. The final piece will be shown in art galleries throughout the world beginning in mid-May as a dynamic demonstration of collective creativity.

The following step was to ignite the creative process with the beginning images. Guest artists were invited to start the evolution, by creating the first few images for the single work of collective art.

Artist Zhongxuan Liu, in front of her work, "The Big Bang Clock" Photo by Jacklyn Atlas

Artist Zhongxuan Liu, in front of her work, “The Big Bang Clock”
Photo by Jacklyn Atlas

 

 

ADAA finalist Zhongxuan Liu, a student at Design School of Guangxi Arts Institute, submitted her work for consideration to be a Red Bull Collective guest artist because, she explained, “While I love working independently on projects, I feel that great designing can often stem from a collaborative experience between individuals. And from my experience, the more varied the designers’ backgrounds and life perspectives, the more exciting and fresh the ideas can become. I love the idea of being a part of a global collaborative project.”

 

 

At the same time, Allati El Henson, living in Oakland, California, seized the opportunity to share her work as a Red Bull Collective guest artist. “Designing on my own is one thing – and satisfies a big part of me, but when the art of collaboration is involved, is when design is at its most interesting point in time. The dance back and forth between two or more perspectives is what makes a piece ultimately compelling.”

Allati El Henson with Stefan Sagmeister at the ADAA gallery reception, Toronto. Photo by Jacklyn Atlas

Allati El Henson with Stefan Sagmeister at the ADAA gallery reception, Toronto. Photo by Jacklyn Atlas

“Worldwide collaboration has never been more exciting and pivotal to the success of young designers and students.  The Creative Cloud provides them with the ability to share from anywhere at any time, marking a major milestone in technology’s contribution to empowering artistic synergy during the creative process,” explained Petar Karafezov, Senior Manager of Digital Marketing EMEA at Adobe. “We are inspired to share in the creative empowerment of students with Red Bull.”

The Adobe and Red Bull partnership is ambitious and exciting.  Over 10,000 artists have registered to participate thus far.  The majority of the artwork submitted in the Red Bull Collective Art project was created with Adobe tools.  To hear more from artists who have participated, read Michael Chaize’s blog, describing how he harnessed the Adobe Creative Cloud for his participation.

 

At the ADAA, we’re proud to share in Zhongxuan and Allati’s recent recognition on the global front.  Check out Zhongxuan and Allati’s work here - and be a part of something big.  We hope that more emerging artists take advantage of this inclusive opportunity, or begin their own inspiring and collective projects to share with the ADAA community.

Adobe Design Achievement Awards – Alumni Feature

Posted on February 15, 2013 by jmilovic | Comments (0)

Kirsten Southwell, ADAA 2012 Winner of Mobile Design category, shares her experience with us….

 

As designers, we’re always looking for ways to better our work, to evolve as artists and individuals. We grow up, mature, and our understanding of great design grows along with us.

Kirsten Southwell with ADAA 2012 trophy for Mobile Design category

Kirsten Southwell with ADAA 2012 trophy for Mobile Design category

Kirsten Southwell, North Carolina State University and ADAA 2012 winner of Mobile Design category, shared her perspective of the ADAA experience in Toronto. Her story demonstrates how sometimes, the little things become most memorable –  when our colleagues share in our achievement, when our friends share in our joy, and when our professors lift us up, are the times when we truly grow and connect to our community.

 

“Since becoming an ADAA winner, I think I’ve gained a lot of perspective about my own abilities as a designer, as well as a greater appreciation for all of the wonderful support I have as an aspiring professional. I think that the place I have found the most support has been from the studio that I work for, Second Story Interactive Studios.  

For example, within an hour of winning the ADAA award, I was extremely touched to receive a phone call from David Waingarten, a Creative Director at Second Story. David temporarily derailed a meeting he was in, just to congratulate me and share the news with the rest of the studio.  It was a simple gesture, but it became obvious to me, that the individuals I work with enjoy sharing in my success in a way that is far more personal than by simply acknowledging it.

Kirsten hanging a Second Story logo in her studio as an image experiment

Kirsten hanging a Second Story logo in the studio as an image experiment

I was also surprised by how my alma mater, North Carolina State University, took such pride in my achievement. I received emails from all of the professors in the Graphic Design department!  Not only that, but someone thoughtfully took the time to create a large poster, announcing my achievement, then hung it up in the main breezeway of the College of Design.

A poster created to celebrate Kirsten's profile in the ADAA Gallery

A poster created to celebrate Kirsten’s achievement and profile in the ADAA Gallery

 

 

 

 

I feel my education is invaluable. I am thrilled that I have an opportunity to share the ADAA honor with the program—and specifically the faculty and TA’s—who gave so much of their time and effort to help shape the designer that I’ve become.

My friends have been really excited for me. I think it has been a little eye-opening for some of them to get a bigger understanding and context of the work that I do.  My friend, Chris, came all the way to Toronto to attend the DesignThinkers conference and share in the moment with me. He confided that after they called my name to come on stage, his heart didn’t stop racing for a few minutes later. I found that incredibly endearing that he literally experienced my anxiety – for me.

As far as what I have learned as an artist… I’ve learned the value of making an effort and taking a chance to claim recognition, and become distinguished for your work. I work at an award winning studio, and it’s great to contribute to projects collaboratively. However, receiving individual acknowledgement can only empower you, validate you, and heighten your sense of awareness for the designer that can become.

Kirsten exploring with GIF 2D and 3D, along with colleague, Pillipe Laurlheret, in the studio

Kirsten’s recent exploration, working with GIF 2D and 3D, along with colleague, Pillipe Laurlheret, in the studio

Recently, I’ve been exploring motion. Part of this is in thanks to the DSLR camera I bought with my ADAA Prize Money! It started with a desire to create high-quality GIFS as a storytelling method on the Second Story blog. This has kind of taken off into creating long stop motion animations in Photoshop and creating prototypes in Flash. Now I’m learning AfterEffects – I’m committed to exploring as a designer.

 

 

 

 

Since being distinguished by the ADAA, I was also honored as a winner in the Optimizing category of the IxDA Interaction Design Awards.   So just last month, I found myself back in Toronto to receive an award at the IxDA13 Conference.

Kirsten's ADAA trophy on display!

Kirsten’s ADAA trophy on display!

 

 

At the ADAA 2013, we too share in the joy and achievements of Kirsten and all alumni in the community.  As the ADAA embarks on our thirteenth year, we’re looking forward to recognizing more emerging artists and designers, pushing their pursuit of greatness in design. 

Congrats, Kirsten!  To view Kirsten’s honored work, visit the ADAA Gallery at www.adaagallery.com.