by theresa.dietinger -

OFFF Festival Barcelona

I could put a few of the many pictures I took during the conference or during the time before and after, but non of them can express my thoughts and my learnings I had as well as the thoughts I will try to put down now:

Many impressions and a lot of knowledge is for sure what I take away from the talks and the over all experience of the OFFF festival in Barcelona. But while many things will go into my subconscious library of information and experiences, a few things will definitely be stuck in my head for a while and – to follow up on the analogy – will be presented at the window front so people can profit from them as well.

Something I definitely will remember and keep in mind for a long time is the amount of practice it takes to reach your goals, but the practice that is necessary isn’t only to become proficient but mainly to discover what one really wants to do and what they want to express with their work. It isn’t the work we get hired for or we do in classes – sure, we learn a lot from those projects, but the work where you can run wild and try out weird stuff is where we actually find something unique that makes our work valuable. I will definitely try to explore more and work on the weird stuff that people might not see purpose in right away but that will eventually become something where people look at it and go “wow, I wish I would come up with something like that”. If I achieve a point where people think like that when looking at what I created I can call myself successful.

Another important note I take away thanks to Carla Molin is that you can be proud of any project you do. No matter how low level or small it might seem, as long as you learn something in the process it was worth it for sure. Also, while the big projects are for sure impressive, the small projects are worth just the same as it is easy to get lost in big projects that might never be finished – especially if I am working on those projects alone. It has happened a lot in the past that I have had great ideas where I had a great start into the design and development but lost myself half way in because I lost interest or motivation in the project.

While those two main take aways are positive inputs I also want to focus on one of the negative things I noticed at the OFFF conference. Of course it is to keep in mind that the talks I watched are mostly more on the technical side, but I still want to point out that in general the majority of the speakers were male and at least 40, if not a lot older. It is out of discussion that those speakers definitely have proven to be worth of presenting their work it felt a little discouraging to see little to no people I could relate to as a 22 year old female designer who wants to work with code as well. I would have loved to see more women in this field to see that they do exist and are seen in this male dominated area.

I definitely have a lot of inspiration and motivation for new projects and already started working on a few of them right away after the trip. Hopefully, trips like that will not be an exception and I will be able to go on trips like that in the future again!

by helena.opower -

OFFF Barcelona – It all connects in the end.

What do I want to focus on in school, what do I want to do after graduation? Am I good enough? Do I have to do what I choose now for the rest of my life? What if I don’t want to do it at all? Am I studying the right thing? Is it okay not to always enjoy my studies? Is it okay to be bored? Which courses should I choose? I can’t decide! Oh Bachelor is already over, what now? Do I do a master? Am I ready for the world out there? I don’t think so… so Master. What kind? Am I good enough? Oh yeah, how glaring. What courses do I choose now though? Oh, that sounds exciting too, it’s so much at once. Who am I supposed to become? What defines me? Does anything have to define me? Isn’t it okay to be interested in many things and to fail sometimes?

With these thoughts I run through life every day for the last few years, or rather sometimes I run, sometimes I crawl, sometimes I plod along, sometimes I sleepwalk. It always seems to me as if all great designers know exactly who they are, what they can do, what they want, and as if all of this had been laid in their cradle. How frustrating!

Not so Ruben Alvarez, he started his talk with an introduction about himself that finally went beyond the usual “I’m a star designer and have been since I was handed a pen at 4 and since then I’ve known I was predestined to do animated design”. Rrrrube, as he calls himself in the media, showed himself as a person like you and me, who has many likes, dislikes and idiosyncrasies. This made him seem so approachable and human. He told his story, in which he tried for 3 years with all his strength and effort to become a professional musician, only to finally become a designer with what his teacher called ugly handwriting.

His witty and upbeat way of storytelling captured me and motivated me for my own future. It’s not about knowing who you want to be, because that changes all the time anyway. There are so many external circumstances that act on it and end up producing something completely different than you might have planned. Failure is an important part of the journey and often brings out things you never expected, but sometimes it doesn’t and that’s okay. It’s okay to struggle, it’s important to try new things and most importantly to remain human. This talk gave me so much motivation to just try, you don’t have to be perfect everywhere and it can be worthwhile to look right and left. Making mistakes can help or be a funny story at the next party. Being human, making mistakes, bouncing back and forth, looking around a bit and getting lost is what makes a person and in the end it all connects.
These were exactly the closing words of Ruben’s talk. The only thing he wants to do his whole life.

That is to connect with myself, the people that I praise and the things that make me feel alive.

Ruben Alvarez

I think those are very good closing words that I’m happy to take with me on my future journey and live by. Wherever my own journey may lead, I think interaction design is not a bad start for Connection ;).

https://www.rubenalvarez.com

https://instagram.com/iamrubenalvarez?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

by nadine.lowden -

OFFF Barcelona_Reflections

Last week, from March 23rd-25th, we had the opportunity to attend the OFFF Conference in Barcelona. The conference included a wide variety of speakers on topics from graphic and media design, entrepreneurship and business, to UX and interaction design. My colleagues and I had a great experience in a beautiful and welcoming setting. As a group, we also discussed many of the talks after, and found that quite a few had evoked strong reactions. I often found that the following discussion with my colleagues was almost more impactful that the talk itself.

In one of these discussions, it was brought up that what was shared between many of the speakers was their insistence on the importance of experimentation. No matter how “successful” the designer was, they made sure to touch on past mistakes, moments of “selling out” in order to make ends meet, and their journey in trying everything and anything. They often also highlighted that they still don’t necessarily “know exactly what they’re doing”. Personally, I found these points very comforting. I really enjoyed the disarming transparency, particularly from Mexican designer and entrepreneur Rubén Alvarez. Alvarez began his presentation by sharing his “True Bio”, which included things like “I write about what I feel” and “Sometimes I get angry if things don’t go my way”. Alvarez then used his life story to explain to us how he came to be the designer he is today, including all the mistakes and failed ventures. This candor made Alvarez’s talk the most impactful for me. Some of the other posts discuss the disappointment many of us felt at talks given by more well known designers, who arguably abused the time and attention we gave them. In contrast, Alvarez was a human first and designer second.

I was very inspired by the honesty shown by many of the speakers at the OFFF Conference. It’s comforting when people share their mistakes and failures, as it makes us all less afraid to try and fail and try again. I would like to carry that thought with me as I move forward in my studies and career.

by madeleine.hurst -

Reflection OFFF23

Almost all the talks I saw started with glimpses into the personal background from early childhood and the beginnings of their careers. While this is good for building an emotional connection with the audience, it also leaves a a bit of despair for those who haven’t found their thing yet. And although they all talked about working hard and improving over time, it gave the impression that they were born like that. With this passion for something. But what if you can’t decide which passion you want to follow and if you would be good at everything but are mediocre at some things because you don’t follow just that one path?
At some point, all those speakers stopped doing other things to do only what they enjoy, and that worked out quite well for them. But apart from making me feel like they were born geniuses, they all gave two good pieces of advice: Experimenting and Perfect is not the goal.

I was really impressed by Rik Ostenbroek and Gemma O’Brien. Both followed the call of their passion, both just did what they loved, both are amazing artists. Gemma was really inspiring and encouraging. She showed her sketchbook and what inspires her, which gave an amazing personal insight into her thinking and creative working process. Rik also gave a very personal insight into his early days. He was really the one who always just did what he wanted, up to the point where he stopped going to school. For both of them, social media and spreading their work on the internet were important factors for their success.

A more practical approach came from the studio The Mals and Gab Bois. The Mals are filmmakers and showed us behind the scenes and explained their working process. Everything they show in their videos is homemade from scratch. They don’t work with 3D software or Photoshop, they build everything by hand. One video was about orange juice and how you should shake it before drinking it, so they built a mini roller coaster and sent the juice through the loop. Gab Bois also works exclusively with real things when making her work. She explained that she only uses Photoshop to clean up the images, not to create them.

David Carson’s speech was very polarising. Most people I spoke to after the talk thought he was just an arrogant, rich, white man who wasted their time. Those who studied graphic design knew him but were not very impressed either, I think. In fact, he should not have dwelled so much on life in the Caribbean but otherwise it was an entertaining interesting lecture about not taking life too seriously.

I appreciate people who don’t care about other people’s opinions or what you should or shouldn’t do and therefore I liked his wee bit sarcastic attitude towards public opinion. I also think that if the world saw Carson as an artist rather than a graphic designer, he wouldn’t polarise so much. Because graphic design still serves a purpose in our minds, so it’s hard for us to accept that graphic design should be so experimental.

Carson started his career with being different and he didn’t and doesn’t care if people like what he does. His career is about breaking the rules of traditional graphic design. From today’s perspective, that may be outdated, but it used to bring a more artistic vibe to the field of graphic design. I think, Carson is to the design world what Duchamp was to the art world. Carson satirised the self-absorbed design world by flouting its conventions of rules and beauty. Whereas Duchamp took his readymades very seriously (at least I haven’t heard otherwise), I get the feeling from Carson’s work and behaviour that he is mocking the industry a bit. And just as Duchamp questioned the definition of art, he questioned the definition of graphic design. I think the idea was also that this artistic rather than functional approach should make recipients question their view and thinking of graphic design. At some point, it is more attractive to break with conventions, to be different and unique, than to do a good job and stick to the rules. Just as in the art world today the Impressionists are far better known than the Salon artists in the wake of Jacques-Louis David, even though they were not very respected by the public at the time. The same is true of many artists of more recent art history. What distinguished them was their break with tradition. So, in the end, maybe the best way IS to just do what you love and stick with it and success will follow.

by lea.zucker -

OFFF Barcelona 2023

Last week my fellow students and I traveled to Barcelona to visit the OFFF Barcelona fair from March 23rd to 25th. It was a lot of fun to explore the fair and Barcelona together with my colleagues and to reflect on our experiences together. I gained some positive new experiences and insights.


The venue of the OFFF was the design Museum of Barcelona. It was very cool to see so many creative minds in one place. There were some interesting talks. Unfortunately some of them overlapped or were in smaller rooms that were quickly overcrowded. In the area of interaction design there were a couple of interesting talks which I personally found the most inspiring like the one by Jjosue Ibanez and Iregular. Some of these speakers gave insights into their working methods.

Joshua Davis, an American designer and technologist, for example, talked about the development of his current design style. He showed his very beginnings and that he tried a lot of things in his development process, many of which didn’t look good. He talked about how around 2010 he realized he was too stuck in the same patterns. So he decided to move out of his comfort zone and try something new. My take away from his talk was that you always have to stay in the uncomfortable to work creatively in new ways.

Another topic about which many speakers talked about was, of course, AI. Artificial intelligence is also a worrying topic for the creative industry, as there is the idea that AI could take over creative professions. Some speakers had similar opinions on this: we should not see AI as an adversary but use it and cooperate with it, this way we can expand our skills and stay up to date with the latest developments.

We also had the opportunity to attend workshops by ZetaFonts, an independent type foundry from Florence. The workshop was a really fun and exciting experience where we learned a lot about the emotional importance of fonts. At the end of the workshop, a font for Barcelona was created from all our sketches.

Even though there were some inspiring talks at the OFFF, there were still things to criticize about the fair. For one thing, there were far too few female speakers at this fair, which I found disturbing. Some talks were more like a portfolio presentation than inspirational or impulse giving. In my opinion, the talk we got from Marta Handenawer at the agency Domestic Data Streamer was one of the best, most educational and inspiring I have seen in Barcalona.

Links:
https://joshuadavis.com/
https://domesticstreamers.com
https://www.josueibanez.com/
https://www.instagram.com/zetafonts/

by yao.sossou1 -

OFF Conference in Barcelona on 23rd-25th March 2023

During OFF conference I have the change to

A Creative Journey with Joshua Davis at the OFF Conference in Barcelona

Attending the OFF Conference in Barcelona on 23rd-25th March 2023 was an inspiring experience for me. One of the highlights was the talk by Joshua Davis, a renowned web designer, who presented his design work and the firm he collaborated with. What struck me most about Joshua’s presentation was his innovative use of code to design creatively. He emphasized that learning from what he designs, the process, and the struggle, has helped him improve his creativity in his work. This is an essential lesson for all creatives who seek to excel in their work. Joshua’s talk inspired me to explore new ways of using technology in my creative work.


The Beauty of Intended and Unintended Design, with to Brian Collins of Collins Studio
Another inspiring speaker at the OFF Conference in Barcelona was Brian Collins, from the studio Collins. Brian gave a talk on the beauty of intended and unintended design, using the example of a famous library in Dublin, Ireland. The library was built as part of a project that should not exist in the center of Dublin. The library, known as the Book of Kells, is a book where they take the parable from the New Testament and create page after page of stories from it. What is unique about this library is the way the ink itself is integrated into the paper.

The ink came from all over the world, and they found a way to integrate it into the work. However, mistakes were made during the process, and they could not replace the people who made the mistakes. Instead, they had to turn the mistakes into something new, like a dog, a dragon, or a giant. This process created a sense of unity and a beautiful story that was integrated into the design.
Brian’s talk emphasized the importance of embracing mistakes in the design process and integrating them into the final work. He showed us how great craft and incredible technology can come together to create something truly unique and beautiful.

Typescripting with Zetafonts

One of the most enjoyable workshops we attended was with Zetafonts on typescripting. During the workshop, we reflected together with the presenter on how the font used in design can affect the customer’s perception of a product or service. We also discussed whether fonts have gender and how we can make our designs more attractive. It was fascinating to learn about the psychology behind font choices and how they can influence a person’s perception of a brand. For example, serif fonts can convey a sense of tradition and elegance, while sans-serif fonts can create a more modern and streamlined look.

We also discussed the gendered connotations of certain fonts, such as script fonts being associated with femininity and bold, blocky fonts being associated with masculinity. This led to an interesting discussion on how we can challenge gendered stereotypes in design and create more inclusive and diverse visuals.

Overall, the workshop was a thought-provoking and enjoyable experience. It highlighted the importance of font choices in design and how they can impact the customer’s perception of a brand. We left with a renewed appreciation for the art of typography and a desire to continue exploring the many possibilities it offers.


Aside from the conference, I also had the opportunity to explore Barcelona’s architecture and design. Barcelona is known for its rich history and unique architectural style. The city’s design is a perfect blend of Gothic, Art Nouveau, and Modernism, with a focus on creating open spaces for public use. The streets are adorned with beautiful sculptures and intricate facades that give the city a distinctive character.
One of the most breathtaking views of the city is from the Tibidabo hilltop. From there, one can see the city’s beautiful architecture, the Mediterranean Sea, and the surrounding mountains. The view is simply stunning, and it’s a must-visit for anyone traveling to Barcelona.


In conclusion, attending the OFF Conference in Barcelona was a genuinely amazing experience. I gained many great insights from Joshua Davis’s talk on utilising code creatively to Brian Collins’s talk on intended and unexpected design. Barcelona’s wonderful architecture and design were also a visual pleasure, and I strongly advise anyone visiting the city to explore its distinct character.

by carolin.dasilvanasseri -

OFFF 2023 Takeaways

I listened to many interesting people at the OFFF Barcelona 2023. They all were successful in their own right and had worked on really cool projects. But the most important thing I take with me from this experience, is how people treat and portray their success.

Jamhot and Rubén Alvarez for example showed so much humility and grace when it came to their success. They were open about their struggles and failures and it was obvious that their intention was to connect with the audience. Rubén Alvarez even set up his whole presentation so that the people would get to know him and what shaped him as a person. He talked about the positive and negative sides of his home country Mexico, his struggles as a kid, his studies that were unrelated to design, his attempt to break into the music industry, and his failed barber shop, just to name a few. Alvarez described how his design style evolved and how an accidental viral post on Instagram made him realize that his goal in life is to connect with people. This goal was so obvious throughout his whole talk and everyone I spoke to afterwards really enjoyed the talk for the same reasons I did.

Joshua Davis was also really honest in his talk. He outright said that he did certain things just for the money in order to keep making the art that he enjoyed and felt fulfilled by. He experimented a lot and one could tell that he really enjoyed what he was doing. This transparency was really refreshing, especially after listening to some people who were just showing the highlights of their careers. What i disliked about Davis’ talk though was the structure. He went through each year of his entire career which was a bit exhausting to listen to especially the first half where a lot of the things he showed were very similar.

Lastly, i also want to touch on how David Carson presented himself and how he portrayed his success. This was a talk we discussed for a long time afterwards because we were so negatively surprised by what we witnessed. The beginning felt like someone was showing you their screenshot folder of funny things they see on the internet and when Carson finally started to talk about his work it felt like he didn’t really want to be there and that we should be grateful for all crumbs he was giving us. Maybe I feel this way because I wasn’t familiar with him as a person but to me this was very disrespectful towards the audience. I don’t like how he treated his success and how entitled he felt to do and say whatever he wanted because people were accepting it.

Joshua Davis

https://joshuadavis.com

Rubén Alvarez

https://www.rrrrube.com

Jamhot

https://thisisjamhot.com

by nagyija.bogas -

Barcelona OFFF – 2023

It’s been a few days since we came back from Barcelona, and I am happy that we had this opportunity to be a part of OFFF Barcelona 2023. Besides seeing what other people are working on career-wise, we could also spend time together, reflect on the conference, and share thoughts with each other.

One of the key takeaways from both Joshua Davis and Gavin Strange’s presentations is the importance of being adaptable and continually learning in the field of art and design. Both speakers emphasized the need to be flexible and open to something new as new technologies and design approaches emerge.

Joshua Davis, for example, spoke about the evolution of his own design practice, which began with static graphic design and has since evolved to incorporate interactive installations, motion graphics, and even code-driven generative design. He emphasized the importance of continually exploring new tools and techniques and being willing to collaborate with other designers and developers to create innovative work. He showed that creating great things takes time, even years.

I was really impressed to see that the music video of Phantogram band (Fall in Love) was created with his generative art because this was one of my favorite songs when I was around 15 and I would always think about how cool the animation was and didn’t even suspect about something like generative art.

Gavin Strange similarly emphasized the importance of being open to new experiences and learning opportunities, whether that means attending workshops or conferences, experimenting with new tools, or simply being willing to take on new challenges. He emphasized the importance of being curious and having a desire to learn, as these qualities are essential for staying up-to-date in the rapidly-evolving field of design. He talked a lot about how it is important to not be afraid to be bad at something at the start and just have fun with it because what matters most is the process itself. He also emphasized the importance of being true to yourself, without thinking about what others will think.

Also, I fell in love with his presentation style, mostly because he used a lot of gothic fonts, which are my favourite ones! 

We also had the opportunity to visit a workshop by ZetaFonts, a type foundry from Florence. The workshop was a really fun and interesting experience and in the end, we created a Barcelona font from our sketches.

Ultimately, the takeaway for interaction design professionals from these presentations is that staying relevant and successful in this field requires a constant willingness to learn and adapt. Whether it means exploring new tools and techniques, collaborating with other designers, or simply staying curious and open-minded, the most successful designers will be those who are able to embrace change and continue growing and evolving over time.

Links:

https://joshuadavis.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsQjC5zVnt8

https://www.jam-factory.com

https://www.zetafonts.com

by nadja.pirchheim -

Barcelona OFFF2023 – Main Takeaways

It’s been some days since I returned from Barcelona. The conference was incredibly interesting and I am grateful to be a part of this experience. Together with my fellow interaction design colleagues, I share some nerve wracking adventures as well as beautiful memories. 

When reminiscing about the OFFF Conference I remember a few special moments which stuck in my mind. 

Gavin Strange

The very first talk I been to on Thursday was with Gavin Strange and wow, I was blown away. It is by far the most amazing speech of the conference. I really enjoyed it, because his presentation was so diverse, it was funny, inspiring, experiential and emotional. The visuals and the intro was eye candy in a unique way. Gavin works as an Art Director in Bristol, UK and he worked for quite some time in the industry. During his presentation he made clear, that he struggled to find his “own” style, as every designer has to find their “unique” style to be successful. But after some time he quit searching for it and this is where he became free in his doing. Gavin works in several areas for instance animation, art direction, graphic, music etc. Recently he discovered a musical interface and even if he has no clue how it works, he enjoys experimenting and he also presented his musical progress live on stage. He also knows, that he is not good at it and has just started, but he didn’t care and thought it was funny to play music for the audience. 

The main takeaway of his speech is that it is okay, if you have not found your “own, unique” style as a designer and always keep on experimenting and exploring. You don’t have to be good at it but progress comes with practice. 

Gemma O’Brien 

Another talk I think was really refreshing was Gemma O’Brien. She is an artist and designer known for her letterings and murals. I enjoyed finally seeing a woman on the main stage presenting her work and I did not regret it. The way of her speech was pleasant and inspiring. She is very successful and worked together with global brands. Gemma talked about the journey of becoming an artist and the obstacles she faced during her career. Also about how afraid she was using colors as she was only painting analog. As soon as new technology came around she started exploring painting with colors and how she loved it. Even when she thought she achieved everything on her bucket list at a very young age, she decided to make a cut and do something completely else, like running a marathon. 

What I have learnt from her is, that it is okay to be hesitant with certain things but you should try and overcome that fear because you might actually love it. Also, that sometimes a break is needed to find new inspirations and energy. Collect artwork from others and let them inspire you (as she was showing the audience her collection book). 

Joshua Davis 

Joshua Davis is very successful in the field of generative art. He started quite young when technology was by far not the technology we know today. Joshua mainly showed his work from the recent years and the brands he worked with. In my opinion, you really can tell, that he made a lot of money by selling his NFT art. Also he worked with some interesting brands e.g. trashcans.What Joshua Davis wants to tell is that it is okay to work with brands you think is not your dream collaborator but sometimes you have to lower your expectations, when it pays your bills. 

Gab Bois 

Gab Bois is a photographer/product designer from Montreal, Canada. I was super excited for her speech on Saturday, as I follow her on Instagram for a while now and was always curious about her process. Gab talked about her childhood and how she started creating art since then. Also she spoke about her process of finding inspirations for the art as well as how she is creating the final products. I think it was really interesting to see how you can create things with ordinary components. 

David Carson 

Probably the most discussed speech of the conference. Later this evening after the talk we sat together in the apartment and had a discussion about his presentation. I have to say I am quite torn apart as I was expecting a lot more of his presentation and less toe incidents. But also I haven’t known him and his designs before. In my opinion those people who have known him and have been fans for some time, they celebrate everything what he does on stage – doesn’t matter how weird it is. Also as Mr. Fabry said, this is what he does on stage and he wasn’t surprised at all. So there are two parties – the ones who know and celebrate and the ones who do not know and are shocked. 

The key takeaway of his speech is: You can do EVERYTHING on stage, when you reach a certain point in your career ladder. 

Now: Enjoy some of my pictures 🙂 

Links:

https://www.gemmaobrien.com

https://joshuadavis.com

https://www.gabbois.com

http://www.davidcarsondesign.com

https://www.jam-factory.com

by tina.bergmann -

Visual Storytelling Experiment #1: Lighting

For this blog post, I tried to experiment with the visual storytelling concepts I learned about while doing research last semester. I did two rough sketches to try out how the light situation in an environment can change its mood. Scenes seem more unsettling to us when details of it are hidden, like in the nighttime image the viewer would not know what is hidden in the shadows, creating a sense of uneasiness.

The well-lit image seems more friendly and inviting to us because we can clearly make out all the details. This technique of hiding certain parts of the image to create uncertainty does not only work well for daytime/nighttime situations but it can be used in any context, of course.