In my previous post on the theme of An Irish Design I asked the question: is it time to put Ireland back at the centre of European design? The post received a very good response from clients and other designers. A simple answer to the question is – design has an important part to play in not only the future development of Irish technology companies, it has a part to play in the business growth of Irish companies of all kinds.
Irish design is not a monolith – there are as many approaches to delivering creative and successful design solutions as there are designers.
Irish design is not a monolith – there are as many approaches to delivering creative and successful design solutions as there are designers, and just because a designer comes from, or is based in, any part of Ireland doesn’t mean she or he has to employ a culturally conditioned pre-set series of solutions.
If Ireland as a country is open to external influences and part of the wider cultural landscape of Europe and beyond, then there’s room for lots of creative and cultural cross-fertilization that can only be an asset to designers and the clients they work with. My own influences are French, Swiss International, Japanese and Chinese culture and design as well as the Irish culture of my birth, enhanced with several years of being based in the open city of London where many different design and cultural identities thrive and develop.
The intention is to be aware of the history of Celtic design and to use the influences to develop a specifically Irish approach in a technologically driven and playful way.
The intention of An Irish Design is to be aware of the history of Celtic design in Ireland and to use some of the influences to play with and develop a specifically Irish approach in a technologically driven and playful way. The hope is to add something to the tradition, no matter how insignificant, while not being to overwhelmed by the long shadows cast by past achievements. Irish design has the opportunity to be reignited for the Big Data era.
I’ve produced a new video and brochure on the An Irish Design theme. You can download the An Irish Design brochure here. Each of these takes some Celtic/Irish design elements and seeks to develop and extend them in a small way. These include some re-workings of some classic book covers and some ‘hand-drawn-in-Photoshop’ designs based on motifs found in The Book Of Kells and elsewhere in Irish design history.
As always I would be interested to hear your views and comments and, of course, I’m always happy to talk to you about your specific business needs and future projects. Let’s talk.
