10 Comments

That is really sad news that most design conferences only break even at best when there is so much time and effort applied. Looks like a great event so hopefully more will make their way there next time.
Logo Design Monster
2010-05-11 20:46:58

hi patrick!

i am a visual communication undergraduate from singapore who attended the conferences at the KL design week as well! thank you for sharing at the conference. it definitely gave some of us who are interested in working publication design some idea of the dynamics of working in a creative magazine house. indeed, it was rather disappointing to see the scarce crowd. fortunately, what was shared was really great, especially for us students. thanks once again!
bryangelo
2010-05-12 05:34:11

Patrick, good to have met you in KL.

having spent 14 years in Singapore and the wider region, I am getting a little tired of the "top-down" approach by governments in their attempt to drive nations as creative-hubs. what's not understood is the sort of organic, grassroots growth that is really required when cultivating the creative industries. sure, government support is fantastic and greatly received, but it cannot be too forceful in expectations of quality, speed, key-performance-indicators or even trying to match-make industry to current thinking.

a whole new approach has to be taken from the bottom up in the areas of education, corporations and the wider public at large. more risk has to be taken and allowing experimentation and supporting risk and failure much more, is crucial. It is also important to not railroad growth and allow the sort of wayward, unstructured development to take place in its own sweet time.

I had a great time in KL at KLDW. I personally feel that Malaysia is in a strong position to learn from its immediate neighbors and begin a path of supporting its design industry in a much different way. KLDW can be an integral part of a much bigger plan if all parties think this through. As they say in Malaysia, "Malaysia Boleh".
grayum
2010-05-13 12:39:16

Hi Patrick.

Love your presentation on that day, was quite impress when seeing the process of the cover making... it makes me wanna subscribe for CR right away!
Driv
2010-05-14 06:35:58

I was there for the whole three days and I have to be frank - the whole conference was nothing but show-off moments for the speakers. No engaging subject matters were presented during the whole three day conference - I have to exclude Feng Zhu in this because he did have some interesting insights on how Hollywood concept artist work. It was nothing but a big waste of money.
Darren
2010-05-17 06:15:26

thats a really great conference for me... i was there for all the speaker's presentation... personally i like Douglas from G.O.D, Niko Stumpo, +81, Creative Review n of coz David Oreilly... They rock!!!!!!!!!!! Hope to c more on next year KL design week... keep it up!!!!! its worth my money... :)
Mutant
2010-05-18 11:18:56

thats a really great conference for me... i was there for all the speaker's presentation... personally i like Douglas from G.O.D, Niko Stumpo, +81, Creative Review n of coz David Oreilly... They rock!!!!!!!!!!! Hope to c more on next year KL design week... keep it up!!!!! its worth my money... :)
Mutant
2010-05-18 11:59:03

I was also in attendance the whole three days. (the only Aussie in the room).

For me, I felt it was good and not so good. I had recently moved to KL, and as a graphic designer, I felt incredibly lucky to have found KLDW. I felt overall that *most* speakers had at least one nugget of inspiration for me. There were a few speakers which were just showing work without going deeper into an explanation of why they did what they did. This was the bad part. I was hoping for a deeper understanding of some of the thought processes, rather than a slideshow of work. This may have been saved somewhat by the Q+A sessions at the end of each day, however we never seemed to get this session going properly due to running overtime each day. This was my second disappointment.

Maybe in future conferences we can have a larger emphasis on the Q+A sessions, with fewer speakers, so that there is more of an interaction and dialogue. Something that engages the mind more, and not just the eyeballs. I feel that this might even attract more 'non-students' and currently working types, as well as 'higher-profile' speakers who are keen to impart their views, experience, and wisdom with a chance to get something in return.

I have written a more in-depth review of KLDW on my blog: http://bkpr.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/kldw-2010-redux/

I really enjoyed your talk Patrick. You indeed talked about process and also were very vocal in the Q+A session. Cheers.
Bart Kowalski
2010-05-30 17:42:29

Hi Im kiki, Im one of the attendee, as a student myself , I feel overall the conference was good, i think its matter what student and professional people wants to hear differently, as im still a student will only start to understand the process of it when we going into the reality world to work, so im still comfortable with some of the speakers like to show off what they have done, its their sharing with the students. For student they want to listen to their aesthetic work and for professional they like the process of the works. So i guess in future the organizer should divide session for student and working professional. Tough :P...there might some student like both.

Anyway, thank you all for making this a memorable week for us.
Kiki
2010-05-31 13:42:51

I met a designer at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur who took part in the Design Week and he said that this exposure will help designers from Malaysia to make a mark.
Aland
2010-05-31 17:14:49

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