On the evening of Monday 22nd March 2021 the college hosted the Young Masters: Unpredict-ABLE event as part of the wider Geelong Design Week, an initiative of the Geelong UNESCO City of Design.
The audience were treated firstly to three wonderful presentations by Lachlan Patrick (OGC 2014), Nick Manton (OGC 2016) and Will Ritchie (OGC 1997). Each presenter shared a story of their career journey so far as they responded to the prompt… Share with us something unpredictable in your journey to date? It could be finding this career path, a single conversation, or a moment when everything changed.
These talks were both enlightening and entertaining delivered with intellectual insight, humour and grace. Starting with Lachlan’s explanation of his meticulous ‘career plan’ developed in Year 9 that intended to guide ‘the rest of his life’ and then the many machinations, twists and turns that have since followed to now being a Mechatronics Engineer and STEM program developer and educator at the Geelong Tech School. Then Nick, a young graphic designer-illustrator heavily influenced by his passion for music, explained his ‘light bulb moment’ when another Old Collegian in Eamon Donnelly (OGC 1999) who visited Nick’s Year 11 Visual Communication Design class to talk about his own career as an illustrator. This chance meeting become the catalyst for Nick to commit to his passion and I am sure we will continue to see great work from this young designer. Then finally, Will Ritchie, who holds a PhD in Molecular Biology, took to the stage speaking about spending much of his formative school years ‘staring out classroom windows drawing birds’. Will’s candid discussion of the power of art was just as articulate and detailed as his wildlife artworks are. The way Will merges of art and science is evident in the most hyper real depictions of wildlife and landscapes, truly breathtaking.
The second part of the evening then was a Q&A discussion moderated by Tuba Kocaturk, Professor of Integral Design, Deakin University, School of Architecture and Built Environment. Tuba moderated the discussion superbly over the 45 minutes, navigating responses to the provocations of: Designers as connectors; Design as “human-centred” approach to problem solving; and, The role of Imagination & Communication in Design.
The panel consisted of four of our well-established young designers in their respective fields. There was Kate Fitzpatrick (OGC 1993) co-founder and architect at Auhaus Architecture, David Gilbert-Kent (OGC 2002) founder and Director of Geelong creative agency, Three Names Creative; Ferne Millen (OGC 1996) a multi-disciplinary, creative artist whose main focus is on storytelling through photography and installation, and Casey Egan (OGC 2004) Ripcurl’s Global Head of Design, Men’s Surf Wear. Each panellist was able to articulate through their own experiences and practices the most informative reflections, anecdotes and responses to the provocations. From explanations of their creative processes to connecting people and stories through design; the importance of design to our very own lives; storytelling, engagement and purpose; to a final reflection on who has influenced their own design journey. Influences such as modernist architects Le Corbusier and Wright, musician Archie Roach and Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei; a parents Vinyl Record collection from the 70’s and 80’s and then Levi Strauss from 1853! To me the response from Casey Egan of ‘Levi Strauss’ was a response to sum up the evening, it spoke of the power of simple design, design to suit a need, the universal language of design, the adaptability of good design, and finally, the longevity of well-considered design.
To see the College taking part in the Geelong Design Week and given the many generations of students, now artists, designers and creative contributors to society, that have moved through the Austin Gray (or House of Guilds) Centre for Design and Creative Arts, one thing that was definitely not going to be unpredictable was the standard of this event… it was going to be high. Then the staging, branding and audio visual supported this, it was a visual treat, most professionally curated. This event was an entertaining and informative design treat! Our community is so fortunate to be able to connect with so many wonderful, talented and generous Old Collegians. Congratulations to everyone involved.
Kevin Jess, Head of Design and Creative Arts
