Ottawa, Canada

GDC Fellows are individuals who have been recognized by the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) as having made an exceptional contribution to the Society and to Canadian graphic design over the past fifty years. The GDC asked each of its fellows to develop a poster commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Society… and here is my submission.

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“Design is the application of intent. Graphic design targets the eye, and ultimately the mind’s eye, of both the individual beholder and the broader audience. Strategy, concept, message, and visual vocabulary connect sender and receiver by means of graphic acuity and attraction… you see?”

—RLP

Macau SAR

I felt privileged to be able to attend the gala Awards Ceremony of the 6th Macau Design Biennial (at the newly opened Fisherman’s Wharf) as a guest of the Macau Designers Association (MDA). I had been in Macau two months earlier as one of the international jurors of the well-orchestrated biennial, a successful event that drew more than 600 submissions, organized with the support of the Civil Administration Department Macau SAR, the Macau Art Museum and the Culture Department of Macau SAR.

I was particularly impressed with the quality of poster design and visual communications created for Macau’s venerable cultural organizations. The exhibition of selected and award-winning work is on display at the spectacular Handover Gifts Museum of Macau, and award-winning pieces become part of the permanent collection of the Macau Art Museum. A published catalogue is expected later in the year.

Taipei, Taiwan

Robert L. Peters (Canada) was one of 9 international judges invited to review a total of 1,246 works submitted from 35 different countries as part of the 2005 Taiwan International Poster Design Award organized by the Department of Commerce, MOEA. The other judges were Ken Cato (Australia), Theodora Mantzaris (Britain), Kari Piippo (Finland), Shigeo Fukuda (Japan), Reza Abedini (Iran), Lin Pan-sung (Taiwan), Taddy Ho (Taiwan) and David Wang (Taiwan). 84 finalists were selected, and 17 works were honoured with awards.

More information is available on Rene Wanner’s poster website here.

Rockport, Massachusetts

As stated in Rockport Publishers’ news release, ”Worldwide Identity offers inspiration from 40 countries and showcases more than 300 identities from around the globe from branding the City of Sydney in Australia, to private-label Hong Kong tea, to Brazilian supermarkets, to Levi’s in Singapore, to Danish crown corporation heraldry, and wine in South Africa. Worldwide Identity, compiled in collaboration with Icograda, explains the process of identity design by defining both the ‘Brief’ and the ‘Solution.’ This clear and concise manner assists us in seeing how innovative, distinctive, and appropriate identities arise from designers thorough understanding of mandate and cultural context.”

The book’s author Robert L. Peters states: ”Designers have given shape to the identities of corporations, organizations, locations, events, products, and services that surround us. Information, ideas, and communication are the new currency in today’s virtual world and in this age of ideas, graphic designers play an increasingly vital role in creating economic success, shaping communities, and forming culture. Identity lies at the very core of society, and is the key to our understanding of self. Understanding culture is imperative in avoiding identity crisis and rootlessness, and is a prerequisite for the effective shaping of identities and communication. Everywhere in our shrinking world, we can witness increased homogenization, erosion of indigenous culture, the emergence of serial monotony, and the loss of both individual and collective identity. However, at the same time, the Internet has allowed the world to literally be ”brought to the doorstep” of designers, along with the opportunities this presents.”

Worldwide Identity showcases identity projects from around the world, compiled in association with the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda). The book includes a contextual essay about each of the 40 countries from which works are drawn, along with information including maps, flags, and comparative metrics such as national population, area, languages, and GDP per capita. It also includes directories of Icograda member associations around the globe, and all contributors.

Robert L. Peters is the founding principal of Circle, an international visual communications consultancy based in Winnipeg, Canada. He was president of Icograda from 2001-2003, and is active internationally as a consultant and design strategist, writer, policy advisor, juror, and guest lecturer.

Published by Rockport in partnership with Icograda, Worldwide Identity is available in bookshops worldwide, and can be purchased online. Contact Liz Polay-Wettengel at Rockport Publishers for excerpt material, images, author interviews, or any other information: Tel. +1 978 282 3511, liz@rockpub.com, www.QuaysidePublishingGroup.com

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Worldwide Identity:
Inspired Design from Forty Countries
Author: Robert L. Peters

ISBN: 1-59253-187-3, Rockport Publishers, Inc.
Hardcover, 256 pages, 400 color images.
Size: 228 x 280 mm (9 x 11 inches)
$45.00 US / 29.99 / $63.00 CAN

Read book reviews at Amazon. Read the ‘Identity Matters’ editorial (as a PDF, 792 K) from the Opinion/Commentary article originally published in the July 2005 issue of Communication Arts magazine [CA #337, Illustration Annual 46]).

[ Book review by Robert L. Peters ]

Matchibako–Japanese Matchbook Art of the 20s and 30s
Maggie Kinser Hohle, Mark Batty Publisher, 2004
ISBN 0-9725636-5-2

Matchibako (matchbooks) is an engaging gem of a book that offers an insightful glimpse into the fast-changing culture of Japan during the early to mid-20th century by means of 42 matchbook designs and accompanying texts. Author Maggie Hohle (a prolific author of books on Japanese culture and design, and a regular contributor to Graphis magazine, among others) truly knows her subject matter. She engagingly introduces the reader to the coffeehouse world of stylish mogos (modern girls) and mobos (modern boys) while also providing insightful perspective on a little-known period of Japanese history–a postwar time of unprecedented prosperity, shifting attitudes (such as the encouragement of individuality), rapid transformation in social customs, broadening outlooks, and a blossoming of consumerism.

The Taisho period in Japan (1912-1926, beginning with the death of the Meiji Emperor and corresponding to the reign of Yoshohito Taisho) saw the introduction of Western culture (jazz, movies, etc.) and material goods from overseas. This was also the beginning of an open-minded fusion of these new styles and influences with traditional Japanese elements, thanks largely to the emergence of an educated middle class with access to new means of communication, and to an influx of international news and media that inspired consumers and artists alike. This liberating effect with its ‘changing leisure market’ is depicted through the matchibako found ‘in both the Western style hotels and the sushi bars often located next door’–these matchbooks act as ‘tiny posters’ expressing the graphism of the era in an avant-garde vocabulary, and are today ‘tiny remainders of the period showing the influence of both Cubism and the Bauhaus’ as well as demonstrative evidence of the era’s simultaneous convergence and divergence of diverse pop cultures. Although few of the featured matchibako have to do with smoking or the use of matches, they do advertise the services and products of the ‘modern world’ with aplomb–coffee shops, night clubs, cafeterias, theatres, department stores, socks, bread, cosmetics, taxis and barbers.

This 5×5-inch accordion-fold book punches well above its weight, and it more than fulfills its promise as a ‘delightful collection of images and enjoyment from the other side of the globe.’ Maggie Hohle’s rich descriptions and the apt interpretations she provides to accompany these exquisite, ephemeral works help us Westerners overcome the contextual foibles and idiosyncrasies that might otherwise be ‘lost in translation.’ My recommendation: savor Matchibako accompanied by kanzake (warm sake) and in the company of a cuddly cat (as I did)–or better yet, buy two copies and give one as a charming gift to grace the collection of your favorite graphic designer, Japan-buff, or connoisseur of the Arts Nouveau, Deco and Moderne.

—RLP