Work / Here 2013

Here 2013: Set designer Es Devlin talks Kanye West and the Olympics

Words by Rob Alderson, Wednesday 23 October 2013

The latest video from our creative symposium Here held in September features Es Devin, who must have one of the busiest diaries in the creative industries.

From Kanye West and Lady Gaga to the 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony, Es is the go-to stage and set designer for engaging, inspiring and jaw-dropping visual treatments. At Here 2013 she spoke about how a random moment at a wedding set off a train of thought about her creative approach, taking us through some of her projects and considering how the digital age has changed the way we think.

Remember you can see all the Here 2013 films released so far (as well as a host of other audiovisual treats over on our dedicated site First Broadcast.

Edmain — Es Devlin at Here 2013 (Photo Cat Garcia)

Es Devlin at Here 2013 (Photo Cat Garcia)

Most Recent

More like this:

Work / Here 2013 Here 2013: Wayne Hemingway with a dose of innovation to start your day

Wayne Hemingway is a designer in the truest sense of the word, as we discovered when he spoke about his career in his insightful and uplifting talk at Here 2013. Intuitive and discerning, the Lancashire-born designer has built a career upon what he believes to be the central pillar to his craft; finding out about the problems afflicting society, and doing everything necessary to solve them.

Maisie Skidmore — 19 December 2013
Work / Here 2013 Here 2013: Rafaël Rozendaal on digital artworks and blurring the boundaries

We’ve long been fans of Brazilian-born, New York based artist Rafaël Rozendaal and so when it came to drawing up the programme for our creative symposium Here held in the summer he was an obvious choice. Rafaël is a trailblazer when it comes to digital and online artworks and we were keen to hear his insights into this particular corner of the creative world. But we were aalso treated to a look at the projects where he combines digital and physical to produce artworks which blur the boundaries between these two sometimes polarised worlds.

Rob Alderson — 14 November 2013
Work / Here 2013 Here 2013: The remarkable Nelly Ben Hayoun on her extraordinary projects

Few of those who came to our sumer creative symposium Here could forget Nelly Ben Hayoun’s talk. The French creative, memorably once described as “The Willy Wonka of science” is a ball of energy and gave us an amazing insight into her rollicking relationship with all things scientific; from building volcanoes in her living room to trying to create dark matter in the kitchen sink. She also spoke in-depth about the International Space Orchestra, an extraordinary project she ran with NASA and her plans to actually go into space in the future! Astonishing stuff all round.

Rob Alderson — 07 November 2013
Work / Here 2013 Here 2013: A look at the process of trendy filmmakers, CANADA

At our creative symposium Here this summer, we were delighted to welcome Oscar Romagosa and Nicolás Méndez from Barcelona-based directorial collective CANADA. The duo gave us a run-down of some of their music videos for the likes of Justice and The Vaccines, before giving us on a meticulous insight into their creative process. Using their latest video for the Phoenix single Trying To be Cool the pair took the audience on the journey from initial phone calls with the band and early doodles right through to the rip-roaring finished product (which you can also see below).

Rob Alderson — 31 October 2013
Work / Here 2013 Here 2013: 3D illustrator Sarah Illenberger looks at creative success and failure

In the next of our talks from our creative symposium Here held last summer, we’re featuring brilliant Berlin-based 3D illustrator Sarah Illenberger. Sarah’s talk explored how she rethought traditional perceptions of her craft to develop a weird and wonderful portfolio with projects ranging from satirising the plastic surgery craze through fine art to representing “masculine measurements” in unexpected ways.

Rob Alderson — 09 October 2013
Work / Here 2013 Here 2013: Stuart Wood of rAndom International on humans plus technology

As the nights draw in and the autumn rain starts to fall, summer can already seem a lifetime away. Our minds flit back to June in particular when we hosted our second Here symposium in the sunny surroundings of South Kensington. If you were there you’ll know just how much insight and inspiration our speakers treated us to, but if you weren’t now’s your chance to join the fun as we’re posting the talks from the event every week. They’re also over on our dedicated audio visual-channel First Broadcast, so shoot your chuff over there to get the full experience.

Rob Alderson — 02 October 2013

Work / Graphic Design Symbols of freedom "and the struggle for it": a look at the Polish School of Posters

Over recent years this pair of friends and design fiends have been keeping their eyes peeled for coveted pieces of graphic design history from Poland. Collated together in their joint venture of Projekt 26, the pair’s efforts provide insight into an area of graphic design rich in history and undoubtable creative flair.

Lucy Bourton — 21 October 2019
Work / Art Soft and pastel-hued, Coline Marotta’s paintings draw from our relationship with tech

Curious about the use of colour and how she can apply it within her paintings, Coline aims to expand her hues wherever possible. “Painting through colours is a big part of my process,” she says, “and it’s an organic movement.”

Ayla Angelos — 21 October 2019
Work / Digital Fyre Festival’s digital designer Tokyo tells its story, two years on

While festival-goers ate sad cheese sandwiches and wondered how they’d ever get home, Billy McFarland’s scam luxury event also left a trail of design industry victims including British studio Tokyo, which finally shares its work.

Jenny Brewer — 21 October 2019
Work / Photography Jump Ball celebrates the relationship between basketball and the African diaspora

Bronx-based photographer Joshua Kissi, in collaboration with the Toronto-based Sunday School Creative, highlights the relationship between young Africans in America, and from the diaspora, with basketball.

Jyni Ong — 21 October 2019
Work / Photography Stephen Milner’s new series re-contextualises surfing and porn mags through collage

Presenting sunlit imagery that pre-dates the 1990s, A Spiritual Good Time is awash with salty skin, sensitive moments and the photographer’s desire to “convey the psychological undertones of surfing and gay identity.”

Ayla Angelos — 21 October 2019
Work / Animation How Amanda Bonaiuto’s animation for Chocolate Moon turned into a piece of personal reflection

In teasing out ideas for the music video, Amanda started to resonate with the project more and more. After a move to New York, she tells us: “I notice plastic bags floating through the air nearly every other day, which feels so surreal in contrast to my experience living in Pasadena, where I would see squawking flocks of parrots more often than a plastic bag.”

Alif Ibrahim — 21 October 2019

Regulars / Double Click Double Click's back-to-school edition provides inspiration for anyone prepping a degree show

Across the UK in October, students make their way back to their desks and studios to undertake another year at university. For some, this month will have seen them starting their final year of studies, and for anyone enrolled in a creative course, that only means one thing: degree shows. So, for all of you around the world who this applies to, we’ve pulled together a little inspiration in the form of some of our favourite degree show and exhibition sites, all created by students (at the time).

Ruby Boddington — 21 October 2019
Features / In Conversation “No one had seen faux fur like it and people went mad”: Shrimps’ founder Hannah Weiland in conversation with It's Nice That

The British womenswear and accessories label began by making cruelty-free, faux-fur outerwear back in 2013, but today, it’s a brand more well known for its playful designs dreamed up by its founder.

Jyni Ong — 21 October 2019
Work / Illustration Let Salvador Dalí tell your future in a new edition of tarot cards

German author Johannes Fiebig, a writer with a particular interest in tarot decks and other similar symbolic imagery, has a new book with a dream collaborator of his: Salvador Dalí.

Lucy Bourton — 18 October 2019
Work / Animation Lucas Zanotto on his seamless animation loops and his journey into the digital

The Italian designer, director and animator, now signed to Nexus Studios, discusses how his practice has developed from the analogue to the digital.

Jyni Ong — 18 October 2019
Work / Photography Simon Lehner shows us how truth is constructed in a war simulation subculture

The Vienna-based photographer encountered a subculture that simulates war zones as authentically as possible, producing a surreal scene of war fetishisation that distils the hypermasculine aspects of war, separating it from its grim and deadly socio-political realities. “The lines between perception and reality start to blur as the events on the ground develop into their own form of social reality,” Simon tells It’s Nice That.

Alif Ibrahim — 18 October 2019
Work / Photography Denisse Ariana Pérez’s photography shows us the tender potential of masculinity

Instead of straightforward portraits of individuals highlighting their individual attributes, the Dominican photographer takes a different approach. She finds beauty in the interactions of her subjects with others, human or not – whether its the roosters they hold, other men they pose with, the water they’re immersed in or the plants that obscure their faces.

Alif Ibrahim — 18 October 2019

Work / Illustration Feel like you’re floating with Takanari Tazaki’s velvety illustrations

Be wowed by the Yokohama-based illustrator’s attention to detail. He creates an airy feeling of floating through his velvety technique, oozing colour palettes with an exaggerating sense of perspective from above and below.

Jyni Ong — 18 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Fed & Watered is a new studio with a specific output: all things food, drink and hospitality

Co-founded by Orlando Lloyd and Oliver Hilliker, the Edinburgh and Glasgow-based studio saw “a huge gap in the market for good design within the hospitality sector,” and so started Fed & Watered as a way to provide exactly that. A studio still in its infancy, Fed & Watered’s portfolio already boasts several impressive projects, which the duo chat to us about here.

Ruby Boddington — 18 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Masoud Morgan on creating a sense of destruction and suspense in 3D typography

The Berlin-based designer from Iran tells us about the influence of growing up immersed in calligraphy and his accidental entry into graphic design. Masoud says: “3D elements come into my work when I want to destroy the form of design structure and its elements. 2D elements don’t show the feeling of destruction and suspense as perfectly as I’d like.”

Alif Ibrahim — 17 October 2019
Work / Photography "I felt I saw the world with different eyes": Jaimy Gail on photographing the concept of normalcy

Born and raised in The Netherlands, Jaimy’s photographic series Normaal Doen was borne out of a comment made by the Dutch prime minister and grew to discuss the wider topic of visual normalcy too.

Lucy Bourton — 17 October 2019
Work / Illustration “Being open to different influences helps drive experimentation”: Dalbert Vilarino on his restless style

The Toronto-based illustrator talks us through his recently published zine documenting his favourite sketchbook drawings from the past two years.

Jyni Ong — 17 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Daniel Stuhlpfarrer melds phonetics, architecture, and iconography in his variable typefaces

“The projects I love the most are those where I can combine my enthusiasm for type design, graphic design and the accompanying technical components,” Daniel says. The Berlin-based designer, therefore, finds a home in the possibilities of variable fonts.

Alif Ibrahim — 17 October 2019

Work / Photography Mike Osborne’s images of Washington DC are a darkly comedic glimpse at American power

The Austin, Texas-based photographer chats to us about his recently-released book Federal Triangle. Produced over three years while Mike was equipped with a press credential, the series provides a brief insight into how “the proverbial sausage gets made.”

Ruby Boddington — 17 October 2019
Work / Digital Cigarettes, bums and plenty of stone: Meet digital artist Diego Sanchez Barcelo

Humorous and playful, this London-based artist’s 3D designs and animations can be seen on music videos, MTV.uk’s social channels, as well as starring in commercial work for HSBC, Chloé and The Arc.

Ayla Angelos — 17 October 2019
Sponsored / Found in Adobe Stock Keith Rankin explores the archetypal man vs machine story using Adobe Stock images

We’ve commissioned the Ohio-based illustrator to explore the world of Adobe Stock and make a new series of works using Adobe’s vast library.

Jyni Ong — 17 October 2019
Work / Events The design conference masquerading as one huge party: This year’s Us By Night got personal

Think back to the last time you experienced some serious FOMO, or experienced a bloody great time because you were there, at Us By Night. We take a look back at the festival’s highlights and how, this year, it was all about personal stories.

Jyni Ong — 16 October 2019
Work / Graphic Design Motion designer Peter Steineck wants creative communities to show up and make time for each other

The Minnesota-based creative’s work often features cheeky illustrations and eye-catching loops for editorial, live projections, and television. “I’m starting to think: how do I make physical objects that people would want to have and not just throw in a storage closet or on a bookshelf?”

Alif Ibrahim — 16 October 2019
Work / Publication A look at London Review of Books’ cover archive over the past 40 years

This October, a staple for any culturally-astute publication reader, London Review of Books, celebrates its 40th anniversary. With a fascinating archive stretching over decades, it not only marks several significant literary moments of the past 40 years but, through its covers, comments on artistic and graphic trends and interpretations of the cultural, political landscape too.

Lucy Bourton — 16 October 2019

Regulars / Bookshelf TwoPoints.Net presents its Bookshelf highlighting the importance of studying other disciplines

Martin Lorenz and Lupi Asensio present five influential titles from the renowned, Barcelona and Hamburg-based design studio.

Jyni Ong — 16 October 2019
Work / Illustration Hunter French packs movement and meaning into his almost-innocent illustrations

A certain chaotic innocence born from an all-too-observant illustrator plays out in Hunter’s scenes, who builds on his ideas in a maximalist manner “until it goes awry or is somewhat satisfying.”

Alif Ibrahim — 16 October 2019
Work / Photography Photographer Eric Chakeen on his “pragmatic” commercial process versus his personal work

For Del Mar, California-born, New York-based photographer, the most exciting thing about his job, is that he can never know it all. Describing how the medium checks so many boxes for him, he explains: “I can be obsessive about things and there are so many genres of photography, styles to practice, cameras to play with etc. So I never really get bored with it as I am still learning more constantly.”

Ruby Boddington — 16 October 2019
Work / Illustration Infused with the light of the sunset, Marinel Sheu’s illustrations emanate a sense of calm

A common theme running throughout Marinel’s work is a pink-hued sunset. The reason for this is simple – every time Marinel’s at home working on something, it’s this part of the day that “gets” him the most. “It’s a very valuable thing for me to get to see the sunset."

Ayla Angelos — 16 October 2019
Work / Digital Creative coder Neal Agarwal on bringing the internet back to its weird days

Recounting on the days of flash animation and a time when “the internet felt like a digital burning man”, the creative coder wants to see a new generation of people creating for the web out of pure creative desire.

Alif Ibrahim — 15 October 2019
Work / Film Isaac Lock’s hilarious documentary goes behind the scenes of Fiorucci’s revival

The Somesuch director was granted unrivalled access to Janie and Stephen Schaffer, who acquired the brand in 2015 and led its comeback. The resulting documentary is a prolonged wry chuckle in the form of a feature film.

Matt Alagiah — 15 October 2019