dSCAPE/05 Designers Night - Six of the best

Date: Friday 11 November 2005
Time: 7-11pm
Venue: Fabrica, Brighton

Rounding off the first week of the Digital Festival, the Designers Night showcased the best of Brighton talent by giving 15 minutes of unadulterated 'me-time' to six of the best designers. All six designers showcased vastly different work and emphasised that design can take many forms. Each medium was utilised for maximum effect and the speakers demonstrated that the accolade of ‘one of the best’, was well deserved.

Plug-In Media UK, the comedy duo of the evening, presented attendees with an insight in an undoubtedly enjoyable career. Earning their bacon by producing sharp and comic Flash games, Seb and Dom had reason to be in good spirits. Well received by the audience, Plug-In Media opened the night with the most humorous aspect of design.

Steve Geliot spoke for the Compton Rooftop Art Project and described his vision for an art instillation built on the premise of public and community art. Using his and his neighbours’ homes as the platform for the structure, his idea will be seen across Brighton and will become a visual focus for the city.

Tord Paulson, a freelance photographer and film maker treated attendees to a festive animation. A beautifully hand drawn animation that paid homage to the roots of the medium and proved that, even with advanced motion software, there is still much reach for traditional techniques.

Lawrence Zeegan who describes himself as illustrator, writer, educator and agent drew on this long career to show how he has reinvented himself at each phase. He also generously donated two of his books as a prize for the raffle, which was won by a very appreciative members of the audience.

Future Platforms showcased an innovative mobile phone game that celebrated the tendency for gamers to corrupt the rules and find every possible cheat. Animated birds are the stars of this light-hearted game and open questions gave the audience the chance to interrogate the uses for the idea. One pressing issue raised by the audience was the concern of the potential spread of bird flu.

The engaging and forthright Scott McPherson, amoeba showcased his work that took a number of different forms. Changing his style over his career, Scott revealed an ability to master entirely different form of design with each piece of work.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ‘Six of the Best’ dSCAPE event on Friday. It was the first dSCAPE event I have attended and felt so inspired, I had to hop on my PC when I got home! I met some great people in the intervals, which ensured I have no excuse for not returning next year. Jade Tidy, Futulab - Designers Night attendee

Special thanks to our main sponsors Business Link and White Rhino.

The designers night was a charged end to dSCAPE/05. It gave those that are confident in their styles the chance to emphasise that it is possible to follow a particular (and often peculiar) design direction without jeopardising personal interests.

See the result of the Your Digital Brighton photo competition.