[Herald Design Forum 2016] Interpreting technology with design

Just as history repeats itself, so does design, according to British industrial designer Dick Powell, the co-founder of the global design consulting firm Seymourpowell. “It’s impossible to go forward without knowing where you come from,” he told The Korea Herald prior to his presentation at the sixth annual Herald Design Forum held Tuesday in Seoul. “There are cycles in design because people look back in time beyond their age.”Highlighting the example of Seymourpowell’s design for a new line of

Arts & DesignNov. 9, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Believing in the power of space

Throughout her career in a field dominated by men, award-winning architect Kazuyo Sejima has always recognized that good results stem from teamwork, rather than arbitrary division in the workplace.“The key is to collaborate with lots of people, from engineers to users who experience architecture,” Sejima told The Korea Herald after speaking at the annual Herald Design Forum in Seoul on Tuesday. “Sometimes, there are conflicts and misunderstandings, but once (collaboration is) achieved, it’s a gr

Arts & DesignNov. 9, 2016

Netflix acquires global rights to ‘Pandora’

Director Park Jung-woo’s upcoming thriller “Pandora” is going global.　Netflix, an online streaming service, has partnered with local production and distribution company Next Entertainment World to acquire international rights to the film, according to Netflix on Tuesday. 　“Pandora” will be offered exclusively on the platform in nearly 200 countries starting next year. The film will be available for streaming in Korea after its release in local theaters. Starring actors Kim Nam-gil, Kim Joo-hyeon

FilmNov. 9, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Ross Lovegrove seeks to move design from the mechanical to the biological

For acclaimed Welsh industrial designer Ross Lovegrove, the essence of successful modern design is bringing humanity in harmony with nature. And today’s revolutionary technologies are making this task more possible than ever before.　“It’s the natural, logical path for design to be born out of nature, where humans with new eyes and computational power can produce more logical and beautiful things in architecture, cars and products,” Lovegrove said in an interview during the 2016 Herald Design For

Arts & DesignNov. 9, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Kickstarter invites public into creative processes

Providing creative minds a way to pitch their ideas and attract funding is the founding mission of crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, but its CEO and co-founder Yancey Strickler believes its impact is far broader.　“They’re showing their creations off in videos, walking their audience through the design process and giving them an opportunity to look into where things come from,” said Strickler in an interview after speaking at the Herald Design Forum 2016 in Seoul on Tuesday.Founded in 2009 and b

Arts & DesignNov. 9, 2016

In ‘Mister Monkey,’ solo voices create harmony

“Mister Monkey” By Francine ProseHarper (285 pages, $26.99) Francine Prose’s “Mister Monkey,” a novel about a very bad musical, leaves you with the feeling you have after watching a really good musical: exhilarated, lightened, maybe even humming. Its characters dance around each other, tangoing and twirling, voices chiming out in solo after solo -- until it all comes together in a moment of perfect harmony. You read it with the uncanny feeling that you aren’t alone; that there’s an audience read

BooksNov. 9, 2016

A journalist takes on China in ‘Boat Rocker’

“The Boat Rocker” By Ha JinPantheon (240 pages, $25.95)“You’re like a little turtle attempting to rock a boat shared by two huge countries.”Hence the title of Ha Jin’s “The Boat Rocker,” in which the so-called turtle is 36-year-old Feng Danlin, a journalist working on Long Island for a small Chinese news agency that’s trying to speak truth to power back home in Beijing.Easier said than done, which is why Feng is being lectured by a Chinese consul, making clear that if Feng continues rocking the

BooksNov. 9, 2016

James Buchanan resonates in current climate

“Enough Said” By Mark ThompsonSt. Martin’s (342 pages, $27.99)“Worst. President. Ever” By Robert StraussLyons (257 pages, $26.95)The United States of America is a place made of words.In the European imagination, the New World presented a blank slate upon which to write. (Indigenous peoples saw, and see, things differently, of course.) Without a common language, history, culture or racial identity, Americans had to create a new nation rhetorically as much as politically. From the Declaration of I

BooksNov. 9, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Advances in technology heighten value of analog: Lovegrove

Acclaimed industrial designer Ross Lovegrove’s London studio is a surreal, white space filled with ultra-modern knickknacks of his own design. 　“I surround myself with models and objects which are of my world, and I like being in my world,” Lovegrove said at the second session of Herald Design Premium Talk on Tuesday evening at Seoul’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, showing photo slides of his studio to an intimate gathering of design executives and experts.　“When in doubt, I know where I am. As an artist,

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Rethinking is fundamental part of innovation: Powell

In the eyes of British industrial designer Dick Powell, design is an elixir of life for businesses. Design and innovation -- the two ingredients considered paramount to any success in business nowadays -- make things better for individuals, communities, companies as well as the environment, the cofounder of design innovation consulting firm Seymourpowell and chairman of D&AD has argued. Powell has for the last several decades transformed the boundaries of design to create functional, yet aesthet

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Vision drives design

Living in the heart of the Silicon Valley, US design executive Bob Baxley is just a short drive away from some of the biggest names in technology and innovation, including Apple, Facebook and Google. Most recently the head of product design at Pinterest, he now advises companies on the importance of design. “I get the same question over and over, which is ‘How can we be more design-driven?’” he said at this year’s Herald Design Forum, held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday.  Design executive B

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Designers delve into collaborative works

Alberto Alessi, the CEO of Italian houseware company Alessi, and Ko Tae-yong, a fashion designer and CEO of Beyond Closet based in Seoul, talked about expanding the horizons of design through collaboration at the first session of the Herald Design Premium Talk on Tuesday. At the exclusive event held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul Regency Room, the Italian design guru and the rising star in Korean fashion agreed on the significance of collaborating not only within the industry, but also across industri

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Get out of comfort zone for innovation: Lovegrove

In a world where new products and technology are being introduced every day, a Welsh industry designer challenged the idea of modernity, suggesting a new perspective of returning to the fundamentals.Speaking at the 6th Herald Design Forum held Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Ross Lovegrove, the designer of Sony’s Walkman cassette player, asked some fundamental questions concerning design and humanity to the audience of some 800 people. 　 Ross Lovegrove speaks at the Herald Design Forum 2016 he

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Distinctive design key to success in auto industry: Henrik Fisker 　

Speaking about his philosophy on innovative design for automobiles at the Herald Design Forum 2016 on Tuesday, Henrik Fisker, the legendary Danish-born automotive designer known for his sophisticated electric vehicle designs, said, “Emotional connection is what attracts more consumers looking for something new and innovative.” Companies that always choose the safe way “are bound to disappear in the next 10 years,” he said.From his vantage point, the automotive industry, especially the electric v

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Fashion designer Choi Eu-don embraces both art and business

London-based Korean fashion designer Choi Eu-don gave a lecture titled “Art Embracing Business: Business Embracing Art” at the Herald Design Forum 2016 in Seoul on Tuesday. Choi, who serves as the CEO of his namesake fashion brand Eudon Choi, recently re-launched the brand’s e-commerce site to reach more consumers worldwide.  Fashion designer Choi Eu-don speaks at the Herald Design Forum 2016 held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)“Designers usually deal with w

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Herald Design Forum kindles coalescing of ideas

Herald Design Forum -- Asia’s largest conference exploring influential design ideas -- gathered over 800 participants Tuesday, many coming from disparate fields, for a day of unparalleled inspiration. At the Grand Hyatt Seoul, design specialists, scholars, students, bureaucrats and diplomats listened to the near-revolutionary ideas of industry gurus. Under the banner “Design for convergence,” the forum delved into ingenious ways design, technology and business are coalescing thinking, connecting

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] Architectural designs to respect nature, humanity

New design and different looks do grab people’s attention. The essence of architecture, however, lies in allowing the structures to blend in with the surrounding nature and helping people freely enjoy the space with each other, said Kazuyo Sejima, a Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect.Pritzker Award-winning architect Kazuyo Sejima. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)Speaking at the 6th Herald Design Forum held Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, the Japanese architect shared her experiences

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2016

$1m in gold coins from 1715 shipwreck on the market

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A New Orleans investment firm has begun marketing gold coins from a 300-year-old shipwreck discovered off Florida’s coast.Blanchard and Co. is one of two dealers offering the coins from an area where 11 treasure-laden ships of a Spanish fleet were smashed onto reefs by a hurricane on July 31, 1715. The other dealer is California-based Monaco Rare Coins.John Albanese, a New Jersey-based coin expert who brokered the sales, said in an interview Friday that most of the 295 coins

CultureNov. 8, 2016

To beer or not to beer: Belgium fears for brewing crown

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- Belgium is historically one of the world's top beer countries but Thomas Costenoble, organizer of the Brussels Beer Challenge, fears that trouble is brewing.This international contest in the Belgian capital, now in its fifth year, features 1,250 beers from 36 countries and 80 judges to sample the tipples on offer.But Belgians increasingly fear that their centuries-old dominance is at risk from foreign upstart beers that are not afraid to break with tradition.“Belgium is still a

FoodNov. 8, 2016