pq
November 10, 2005

What's your opinion on the best town in NZ for designers? Which city offers the best inspirational architecture? Which city has the nicest stores for creative clothing, tasterful home decoration or designer accessories? In which city do business people demonstrate the most understanding for the decessity of good design? In which city do you find the highest numbers of other designers?

Am excited to get your feedback!

Greetings from Berlin, Germany,
Petra

Barry
November 11, 2005

Auckland. Of course there is a lot of crap, you may have to look harder for good thoughtful design (everything seems to be about instant gratification these days) but there are diamonds in the rough all over this city. You also have to look hard for affordable design, this city seems to be all about good design being exclusively for the very rich (I find that notion extremely boring). Especially when talking furniture/interior design.
I admit I haven't spent much time in Wellington at all, but good design and design influence seemed to be more readily available. Less user participation required. To me thats half the fun.
Inspirational architecture? of what nature? public buildings, residential?
Most of New Zealand is lavishly smeared in residential dross. Its been said that one of the great failures of modern architecture is its failure to educate the masses on the value of modern architecture. This has never been more evident that in the outer reaches of Auckland following this latest (massive) housing boom. There is community upon community of utter shite residential development not worth the ground its built on - you just have to look at the long list of leaky building claims and the knee-jerk legislative response to dealing with it to see that. Its left a string of unhappy buyers and a few mega millionares (how do you sleep at night?) in its wake.
Anywhere in New Zealand you have to look hard to find good examples of fine residential architecture, but when you do they are spectacular.
For public buildings, I'd say Wellington has the edge but there are good examples all over the country in the most unlikely places - the new Whangaparaoa public library is completely wonderful.

pq
November 19, 2005

Hello MeMeMe, hello design friends,

I saw MeMeMe's comment an thought I'd give you an impression of the design scene in Germany and Berlin :) This is of course my personal view coming from my own experiences and those of my friends or colleges, and a rather negative one I'm afraid. Id love to hear from you, if you think differently or have made different experiences.

I think the second world war killed the creative infrastructure, Germany is known for in the World. The ripples of reality have just not reached the other countries jet, so Germany is still the "Bauhaus country", where design has a high value in society. I see that differently. I think that intelligent, creative people who think, live, work and act in the tradition of Goethe or the Bauhaus have been removed from power during and after the war in all major areas of society. In post-war Germany, people with international creative standards are rarely found in leading positions (don't get me wrong, the jobs are there, but they are filled with the wrong people, people without the education you think they should be having, without the qualifications you'd expect they would have based on the responsibility they are holding). There is a ridiculously large amount of good, creative people living "on the bottom" or "under their value" who never make it into the positions they should be occupying (and are occupying in other European countries) based on their qualification and talent. The buddy system, bribing and corruption are strong in Germany. Mediocrity rules on an astonishing high level.

That's why walking through cities like Berlin is so exciting and frightening at the same time. You see all these small stores filled with unbelievably creative designer objects and fashion,you experience the vibrant art cene, but at the same time, you know that almost none of these people will fill the "empty creative hole in the middle and the top of the German club of decision makers, because the buddy, nephew or nice who just finised art school will be "handed down" the job no matter if he/she has the qualification or not.

That makes working in Germany as an Art or Creative Director unsatisfying, because it is (to an uncommonly high degree for a "first world country") not about creativity and the quality of work, not even in large, presticious projects with large budgets, where clients have a lot to loose when it turns out bad. Therefore I wouldn't recommend any creative person to move to Germany at this point in time, I would say, at least for the next 10-20 years.

There is one exception: I guess it would be great for designers starting out in their career, working here for half a year or a year to suck up the creative vibes and that incredible Berlin street design feeling (all that "botteled up creative energy that cannot find it's outlet into business, politics, culture or German society and therefore "lives" on the streets of Berlin, circling around itself). But then... you'll have a hard time building a "normal" life here over a period of 20, 30 years without making major sacrifices on the overall quality of life. Germany is great for engineers and people in technical jobs, but designers and all creative people (including architects, interior decorators, illlustrators, photographers etc) struggle immensely and have a much harder time to live a normal life in Germany than anywhere else in Europe.

Me, myself, I've lived in Los Angeles for many years but decided on Germany, because I wanted to work in "my country" (and I did for the last 10 years) but I am sadened to say that the Germany I love and I identify with does not exist any more (or at least not at this point in German history). Well, ok, I should say, it does exist, but only in isolated spots, in certain quarters of Berlin, for example, but not as a recognisable character trait of German everyday life.

So I'm sorry to say, that on this side of the fence, the grass is not green at alll, at the moment ;) I would guss that there are other, more designer-friendly comunities / cities / countries on this planet. What do you say - is NZ designer friendly? Is California? Is Canada?

Greetings from Berlin, Germany
Petra

PS: hey, if there's anything you would like to know about Germany or Berlin or whatever, just send me an email under: petra.quilitz@thebrandmakers.de :)

MeMeMe
November 21, 2005

"oktober" and "the church", aren't these guys up in auck as well!?

Pete
November 21, 2005

Oktober have closed up their Wellington branch and are now based only in Auckland.

Pete
November 22, 2005

Yeah I'm sure. The building with all the signage is still there, but looking at their site says it all.

PipProd.
January 10, 2006

Dunedin, well thats all I can speak of from experience..
Inspirational architecture? it sure does thats one thing you will find, im no christian but the churches rock!! amazing detail made to amaze, and attract people to dunedin way back in the day from england! The churches certainly have the power to make you feel tiny and useless when you considering the times such 'gifts to god' were created.
The architecture if you look around in a small radius goes from way back to right now, its nice to be able to look at the ages developing without having to move around. The university of otago has contributed to this amalgam of funny looking and interesting buildings, mainly cos they have lotsa money and need buildings at the given time, but they are like a history book on campus - you can go around in your wee design history groups and learn a lot from art nouveau to abstraction and prefabricated masses o concrete boxes not to mention halarious contemporary constructions (eg Commerce).
Dunedin has some of the best fashion shops from cheap and fun to high end and prissy, what I like about stores is that the quality and shop environment is always *i hate the word but cant b bothered* but good.
Things are always different thanks to creative peoples down here and its hearty fun hunting the shops down with friends. A favourite is Outre if your interested, they have art, arty clothing, acessories, sculpture so many goodies and the shop and service is sooo nice. PLUME on the other hand can get a coathanger up itself, talk about pretencious, dont dare walk in with ripped jeans if you dont want to be looked or talked, down upon, its also expensive and usually so fashionable its UGLY!!! sorry getting a bit worked up.
There arent a lot of design jobs around down here and not a lot of design people, if there are and your new its not very easy to get involved. But I have only just finished university where theres so much going on I probably just need to learn a thing or to, which I am looking forward to.
Dunedin is nice. Need more art design jobs/groups tho and less 'glassons design jobs' if you know what i mean.?

ArgentOrange
February 17, 2006

Definitely Welly. Is that just because I live in Auckland?
But seriously, this is a city that makes it viable for an artist to develop, from providing affordable studio space to an atmosphere for creativity to thrive - AKL, good as it has been to me, is just fairly too industrial - even when you think you've found a lovely park, you'll stumble onto a warehouse, or a lumberyard or a quarry. Welly has a center - and a heart. AKL is just too spread out. And Wellington is definitely more cosmopolitan; they have enough sense to show Miyazaki's films in the evening and not downgrade them to kiddie matinees just after the 2nd week. Also I'm prejudiced, because I saw a comicbook magazine on Cuba Street featuring "Filipino comicbook artists invade US" - and guess where I'm from?