IDI Creative Axis - Institute of Designers in Ireland

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10 PAST PRESIDENTSThe Institute of Designers in IrelandPast Presidents Re-union with IDI PatronPresident Mary McAleeseThe Institute of Designers in Ireland held its first Past Presidentsre-union on Friday December 8, 2006 at The Gallery in Farmleigh,Phoenix Park Dublin. The Special guest of honor at the event wasPresident McAleese, who is Patron of the Institute.The President viewed an IDI exhibition of thebest of Irish design which included examplesof award winning interior, product and visualcommunications design.In her address, President McAleese praisedthe work of the Institute since itsestablishment 34 years ago and added thatIrish designers are entitled to be very proud ofthe role they have played in Irelands successstory. President McAleese presented HonoraryMembership of IDI to Mr Martin Naughton anda Fellowship to Mr Gerry Brouder toacknowledge their huge contribution topromoting Irish design.The event was organised to announcedetails of the IDI development plan andto launch the Frank Ryan Student Bursary.Special guest speaker Toby Scott of theCentre for Design Innovation, presentedto the assembly and it is intended thatthis will become an important annual eventin the Institute's calendar.President Mary McAleese's speech:Tá an-áthas orm bheith i bhur láthair aran ocáid seo. Tá me buíoch dibh as ancuireadh agus an fáilte forchaoin a chursibh romham.I want to thank you all for the very warmwelcome, and special thanks go to CameronRoss, for inviting me to join you at the PastPresidents' Seminar and to present theFellowship Award and honorary membercertificates. As patron of the Institute ofDesigners, it is particularly good to be heretoday.We take good design for granted thesedays, as if the products of human labour fallperfectly and fully formed from the sky. Notso very long ago though, many of theappliances and gadgets around the homelooked more like items in a display ofindustrial archaeology. In fact, it has allhappened so fast that visiting small localmuseums I often see on display, to theamusement of my children, domesticimplements which I have used myself not solong ago. I don't accept that either they or Iare antiquities.It is to the credit of the Institute that thereis such a demand for good design,appreciation of good design and availabilityof good design today. The line between artand technology has been blurred, or moreaccurately blended, and we have grownaccustomed to an imaginative marriagebetween beauty, and functionality, aestheticsand usefulness.We expect designers to get basicfunctionality right, to show evidence that theyhave understood the technical expectationsof a product or service. They might evenenhance and develop those to an admirablelevel but then comes the area wheredesigners let loose a creative impulse that
PAST PRESISDENTS11takes us into a sphere beyond our oldcomprehension of purpose or task. Somepeople might call it the "wow factor" andthere is often more than an element ofwonder and surprise. There is also aleavening effect for good design also takespublic taste and expectation and educates it,just as it takes today's design and improveson it tomorrow.Of course none of that happens without thepursuit of professional excellence bydesigners in every discipline and thisInstitute has a very proud record of setting anagenda that insists on getting the best fromthe Irish design profession.It's not so long ago that our major exportwas beef on the hoof and, truth to tell, thatdid not present many design challenges.Today Ireland is one of the most competitiveand successful and globalised economies,trading an impressive array of goods andservices right around the world as well as athome. For designers in the old and newmedia, from industrial designers to DVDdesigners and all bases in between, survivaland development depend on being able tobring something special to those home andinternational markets where so many otherplayers are vying for attention and for a place.You are entitled to be very proud of the roleyou have played in Ireland's success story,whether through the indigenous ormultinational enterprise sectors, for Irishdesign has, by sheer effort, achieved cuttingedgesuccess in many areas and hassuccessfully gained an increasing share ofinternational business. But now, of course,having tasted success and watched it act as aleaven throughout society, bringing greaterprosperity than Ireland has ever known in herhistory, the truth is, people are hungry formore. And so today's innovative solution isalready hurtling towards obsolescence andthat keeps pressure on you, and on theeducation systems for designers, to be everrestless in pursuit of innovation andcreativity.The publication of the "Best of IrishDesign" book and the design 'roadshows' runby the Institute this year have played a keyrole in targeting the business and the designcommunity across Ireland and they havehighlighted the business benefits of design,as well as exhibiting the 'Best of Irish design'.Today though, the IDI Fellowship andHonorary Membership goes back to basics, tothe individual human person where all gooddesign starts. It recognises the role played byleadership in the design world and howessential it is to have inspired andinspirational people at the heart of the designindustry in every sphere. These are peoplewhose professional lives have helped ourcountry to become renowned throughout theworld as a culturally exuberant economicpowerhouse ? something we could haveregarded as unlikely only a short few years.This year's new Fellow, Gerry Brouder andnew Honorary Member, Martin Naughton, areboth to be congratulated on receiving thisimportant recognition of the hugecontribution they have made to pushing Irishdesign, and Ireland itself, to new levels ofambition and fulfilment of that ambition.Today is their day. We honour them bothwith gratitude that Ireland produces suchpeople today and that they so enthusiasticallymeet the challenge that lesser people wouldrun a mile from. The good news is thatIreland is truly only at the start of revealing itsfullest potential. This is the first generation tohave turned the tide of outward migration, tohave had the widest access to high-qualityeducation and training, to have had thechance to stay and build their careers inIreland. This is the first generation to feel theenergy surge and the self belief that comesfrom success. It's a journey we all want tostay on and, with your help, we will watcheven more remarkable chapters evolve. Oncewe looked to the future, half in hope and halfin despair, for that historically elusive thingcalled opportunity but things have changed.Now it is the present that is a very excitingplace. That is particularly true for Irishdesigners and we know that by using today'schances well they are already making thefuture a place to be proud of.Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh. Go n-éiri go geal libh. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.
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Page 9 and 10: EDUCATION7Shaping Perceptions -Oppo
Page 11: REGIONALNEWS9Students who successfu
Page 15 and 16: FRANK RYAN13through the foundation
Page 17 and 18: EVENTS15father of thematic exhibiti
Page 19 and 20: RICHARDSEYMOUR17do’. To demonstra
Page 21 and 22: EVENTS19Is Rome burning? Are design
Page 23 and 24: EVENTS21Report on Intellectual Prop
Page 25 and 26: DESIGNINNOVATION23grow, the researc
Page 27 and 28: EYE25however, is that they have a v
Page 29 and 30: CANDY27Oliver Jeffers and many many
Page 31 and 32: DESIGNWEEK29The Morrison for Koewei
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IDI Creative Axis - Institute of Designers in Ireland

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