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Icograda: Maurice Woods and Henk van Assen
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TAXI
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Icograda Design Week in Seattle was an international design forum which took place in Seattle, USA last 9th July till 15th July 2006.
Defining Design on a Changing Planet, Icograda invited 22 international speakers to discuss on the role of design in this global awareness of evolution; how design has and may serve the economy and society and will also address the major topics design faces: cultural, political, economic and environmental issues at work in a global society. Last year’s Icograda Design Week is first in history to be held in USA and is in partnership with AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design.
TAXI Design Network proudly supported Icograda Design Week in Seattle as the Major Media Partner. The editorial crew from TAXI Design Network proudly reported the conferences live and delivering to you our interaction with the presenting design leaders.
For every week from April to June 2006, TAXI Design Network conducted exclusive interview sessions on the speakers based on their opinions of design in the growing world of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Please visit Icograda Design Week in Seattle for more information.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Maurice Woods
things done efficiently even if it took staying up all night. I believe most students have a difficult time with balance when they enter school because there are less stipulations and rules. You have to be fully responsible and accountable for your own actions. This can be difficult for students that aren’t prepared for all the distractions, workloads and intangibles associated with attending and excelling at the college level. For me, creating a good balance was more or less forced. I had to go to practice, study hall and maintain a certain grade point average (GPA) to remain eligible to play on the team. I hated this then but as I got older and left school, I understood the importance of pace, sports trained me to be able to balance myself and be more efficient with my time.
TAXI >> Your time management and self-discipline in juggling between academic, sports, passion and daily life are very commendable. In comparison to your vigor and the unenergetic youth these days, what will your recommendation on health improvement be that will boost the creative mind?
Maurice Woods >> Well, foremost, I think exercise is the most important and obvious recommendation I could give. Exercise, by far, helps keep the mind alert and clear to conceptualize. Too many times I sat behind the computer or at a desk contemplating an idea without any results. Getting away from my desk keeps my thought process fresh and provides a healthy alternate to sitting around.
Secondly, I advocate experimentation. Experimentation for me is a key factor toward a creative mind. For me it starts by engaging in creative exercises that may have nothing to do with the subject matter or project I am working on. Experimentation gets me thinking outside the box because I am not thinking about boundaries but imagining endless possibilities. When you open your mind to endless possibilities, you tend to not focus on one idea but engaged with the process of creating. Within the discipline of design, I understand there are limitations; designers have to have focus to reach deadlines. However, finding the right balance between experimentation and practice is a healthy way to boost your creative spirit and mind.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Maurice Woods >> One of the specific messages I would like to discuss during my presentation will probably be about designers as role models. What can graphic designers do to make a difference within their community. I have spent a lot of time using the knowledge passed along to me to make a difference, one student at a time. As an African American designer, athlete and someone who grew up in the inner city, I understand how important it is to reach out to those who sometimes don’t even know they need help. Through various outlets such as television, magazines and internet, graphic designers captivate viewers through clever campaigns or beautiful aesthetics in order to deliver a concept, point of view or to enact change. Designers as role models can influence youth with messages of positive change while introducing another way of life.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Henk van Assen
TAXI >> You have taught extensively in various parts of the U.S.A. In no biasness, which is the best place in America do you think, for an ambitious designer to start his design career and why?
Henk van Assen >> As a beginning designer, in my opinion, it is most interesting to start working in a large metropolitan environment. Big Urban centers, with a cosmopolitan and multi cultural make up, are the best places to find stimulants both as inspiration for generating design, as well as finding interesting design studios to work for, or clients to collaborate with. Additionally, this kind of environment attracts ambitious people from many professions which will help to push you forward to a complete new level.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Henk van Assen >> In our efforts to help create important messages (whether they be social, cultural, economic etc.), we should not forget we are supposed to be the professionals who have an extensive knowledge of, and experience with, design. Therefore, the importance of learning about the visual, organizational, persuasive, communicative, and productional aspects of design cannot be overstated. If we come to the “table” with this kind of expertise, we will be able to play an equal role in the overall process, at the the beginning of each project. This is a scenario we need to reclaim. Too often, design is being pushed into a corner where it can contribute only marginally, if at all.
© 2003 - 2007 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
Defining Design on a Changing Planet, Icograda invited 22 international speakers to discuss on the role of design in this global awareness of evolution; how design has and may serve the economy and society and will also address the major topics design faces: cultural, political, economic and environmental issues at work in a global society. Last year’s Icograda Design Week is first in history to be held in USA and is in partnership with AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design.
TAXI Design Network proudly supported Icograda Design Week in Seattle as the Major Media Partner. The editorial crew from TAXI Design Network proudly reported the conferences live and delivering to you our interaction with the presenting design leaders.
For every week from April to June 2006, TAXI Design Network conducted exclusive interview sessions on the speakers based on their opinions of design in the growing world of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Please visit Icograda Design Week in Seattle for more information.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Maurice Woods
 | TAXI >> You played basketball as an undergraduate and professionally worldwide for 7 years after graduation while pursuing a parallel career as a freelance designer. How far is truth when one say that sports help students excel in school when balance is a habit most students cannot cultivate…
Maurice Woods >> Any student can excel in school if they apply themselves. However, it is true that sports can help students excel. This is due to the degree of discipline and balance involved–anyone participating in organized sports understands this. I played basketball for over 20 years. During my career there was always an organized schedule of activities, exercises, meetings, and appointments for over three quarters of the year. Everyday I had a plan that I had to abide by with consequences if I had not accomplished them. When it came down to school, I had to balance a demanding basketball schedule and still keep up with my studies. I became really good at multi-tasking and getting |
TAXI >> Your time management and self-discipline in juggling between academic, sports, passion and daily life are very commendable. In comparison to your vigor and the unenergetic youth these days, what will your recommendation on health improvement be that will boost the creative mind?
Maurice Woods >> Well, foremost, I think exercise is the most important and obvious recommendation I could give. Exercise, by far, helps keep the mind alert and clear to conceptualize. Too many times I sat behind the computer or at a desk contemplating an idea without any results. Getting away from my desk keeps my thought process fresh and provides a healthy alternate to sitting around.
Secondly, I advocate experimentation. Experimentation for me is a key factor toward a creative mind. For me it starts by engaging in creative exercises that may have nothing to do with the subject matter or project I am working on. Experimentation gets me thinking outside the box because I am not thinking about boundaries but imagining endless possibilities. When you open your mind to endless possibilities, you tend to not focus on one idea but engaged with the process of creating. Within the discipline of design, I understand there are limitations; designers have to have focus to reach deadlines. However, finding the right balance between experimentation and practice is a healthy way to boost your creative spirit and mind.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Maurice Woods >> One of the specific messages I would like to discuss during my presentation will probably be about designers as role models. What can graphic designers do to make a difference within their community. I have spent a lot of time using the knowledge passed along to me to make a difference, one student at a time. As an African American designer, athlete and someone who grew up in the inner city, I understand how important it is to reach out to those who sometimes don’t even know they need help. Through various outlets such as television, magazines and internet, graphic designers captivate viewers through clever campaigns or beautiful aesthetics in order to deliver a concept, point of view or to enact change. Designers as role models can influence youth with messages of positive change while introducing another way of life.
Exclusive Highlight on TAXI Design Network
Interview with Henk van Assen
| TAXI >> How different are the perspective and aesthetic preference the students of the Fine Arts and students from Design have from each other?
Henk van Assen >> Although many Design and Fine Arts programs cohabit in art academies, schools and universities, I do believe there is quite a difference in the goals, methodologies and processes driving the different programs. At the risk of over-generalizing, I have observed over the years that people are either attracted to working within a set of parameters (design) or blossom within a lack thereof (fine arts). Luckily, students from different departments influence each other and, thanks to a steady growth of interdisciplinary curricula, increasingly so. At the same time, I am a staunch proponent of being protective of the practices and theories that make a profession what it is. As far as aesthetics and use of different media, I see more and more overlap. Of course, a true working knowledge of typography remains within the world of graphic design. |  |
TAXI >> You have taught extensively in various parts of the U.S.A. In no biasness, which is the best place in America do you think, for an ambitious designer to start his design career and why?
Henk van Assen >> As a beginning designer, in my opinion, it is most interesting to start working in a large metropolitan environment. Big Urban centers, with a cosmopolitan and multi cultural make up, are the best places to find stimulants both as inspiration for generating design, as well as finding interesting design studios to work for, or clients to collaborate with. Additionally, this kind of environment attracts ambitious people from many professions which will help to push you forward to a complete new level.
TAXI >> Is there a specific message that you look forward to share over your presentation at Icograda Design Week in Seattle?
Henk van Assen >> In our efforts to help create important messages (whether they be social, cultural, economic etc.), we should not forget we are supposed to be the professionals who have an extensive knowledge of, and experience with, design. Therefore, the importance of learning about the visual, organizational, persuasive, communicative, and productional aspects of design cannot be overstated. If we come to the “table” with this kind of expertise, we will be able to play an equal role in the overall process, at the the beginning of each project. This is a scenario we need to reclaim. Too often, design is being pushed into a corner where it can contribute only marginally, if at all.
© 2003 - 2007 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.