A highlight at the recent Urbis Designday was the Design In Tension interactive experience created by MINI and Ponsonby-based ideas agency Fly, brought to life in the Auckland MINI Garage.
“When Fly and MINI got together to create Design In Tension, it got us thinking how well designed things deliver on function and aesthetic beauty in a harmonious way,” says the blurb on the specially created Fly-MINI site (scroll down for the URL).
“But to deliver harmony, requires tension. Design In Tension is a visual expression of tension and how it produces creative movement in our thinking, emotions and actions.
“We created an exhibition at Auckland MINI Garage for the weekend of 20-21 March. The centrepiece was a 5.5 x 2.4 metre installation composed of five layers of acrylic, with digitally printed and vinyl cut graphics.
“Each layer contained a component of the art, which came into perspective when the viewer stood at a precise point three metres in front of the installation. Each layer of the art was scaled by a mathmagician, so that the elements further away would come into perfect perspective with the layer that was closer to the view.
“While each layer was a piece of design with a story in and of itself, the creative tension was created by the elements coming in and out of perspective – dependent on your viewpoint – creating your own perspective of design in tension.
“The art told a story of five interconnected layers in the MINI driving experience and celebrates the all-new MINI five-door hatch, taking you on a journey from the external environment through to an internal experience. From the bright city lights, to the air flowing over the sleek design of the MINI, then inward to the unique design features and engineering excellence. Finally converging with the excitement and thrill experienced from the adventure. Altogether, creating movement that is pure.”
The art was created by Walter Hansen, a Wellington based artist with an obsession for typography, graphic shapes and solid colour. Hansen’s work tells multilayered stories that converge into one central theme; layers of necessary complexity that add up to something singular and simple, but not too serious.
People who attended the installation, were able to screenprint their own piece of design. They revealed the tension in the design by applying tension to the screen. As the tension was revealed, it created a new perspective and revealed hidden features. Each screenprint, valued at $150, was a valuable keepsake of the experience.
The winners of the WIN DESIGN competition were “Robin, Bhavesh, Jonathan and Creina” who have won a limited edition signed artist proof. This creative bunch are working with Trent Rule of Momentum Framing Gallery to frame their art in their design perspective (a total value of $300).
CREDITS
Production Co: Fly
Creative Director: Johnson McKay
Design Director: Tim Hansen
Design: Helen Mai
Client: Simonne Mearns / MINI NZ
Cameraman / Editing: Jonny Hettig
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