Guest Speakers and Lecturers to Include:
FRANK GEHRY, THOM MAYNE, KARIM RASHID, ADAM MEFFORD, BARBARA BESTOR, INI ARCHIBONG, REED KROLOFF, GREG LYNN, THAO NGUYEN, SASHA STRAUSS, ALISSA WALKER
Food and reception has been generously sponsored by::
Turner Construction Company
Synopsis:
“It is better to be talked about than not be talked about at all.” Oscar Wilde
“Fame had brought me so much unhappiness.” Brigitte Bardot
“Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.” Erma Bombeck
“I always wanted to be famous. But I ended up being a designer instead.” Karim Rashid
What do Rem Koolhaas and Cameron Sinclair have in common? On the face of it, not much. But what they share is they are both design world “stars” in part because they are brilliant communicators.
In the last three decades we have seen the rise of the designer and architect as celebrity, resulting from increased public and media interest in design and architecture. The culture of the star architect or designer has drawn criticism, especially now in this period of economic instability and anxiety about the environmental impact of production and consumption. But look past the apparent shallowness of the “star” and what you find is a designer or architect who has cultivated a very strong identity, synthesizing his or her work, company identity and public persona in a clever and highly marketable way. This is the theme of LA Fame.
LA Fame: Myth Management and Tailored Truths will educate a small class of students about:
– the myth-making machine as it relates to architects and designers
– how to go about creating a strong identity and raising ones own visibility
The subtitle, “Myth Management and Tailored Truths,” is inspired by the late Doug Michels, of the counterculture design group, Ant Farm, and is intended to convey some skepticism about the culture of celebrity and its value to architecture and design. But at the same time it acknowledges what Michels, as well as the architects and designers speaking at LA Fame, intuitively understand: visibility and a strong brand matter.
SPEAKERS FRANK GEHRY
Architect and Principal of Gehry Partners
KARIM RASHID
Founder and principal of Karim Rashid design company; author of several books, including Design Your Self and I Want to Change the World.
THAO NGUYEN
Art and Culture agent at CAA; her clients include Rem Koolhaas and Cameron Sinclair.
THOM MAYNE
Architect and Principal, Morphosis Architects, Winner, Pritzker Prize
REED KROLOFF
Principal of jones|kroloff, a consultancy that helps institutions select an architect. Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Previously Dean of Architecture at Tulane University and prior to that Editor-in-Chief of Architecture magazine.
SASHA STRAUSS
Managing Director of Innovation Protocol, a brand strategist based in downtown Los Angeles.
BARBARA BESTOR
Architect and principal of Bestor Architecture; author of Bohemian Modern: Living in Silverlake
ALISSA WALKER
LA Design Editor for Fast Company magazine; Contributor and curator for GOOD; writer for numerous design magazines and web sites, including her own, Gelatobaby.com
INI ARCHIBONG
Environmental Design student at Art Center, winner of the Student
Designer of the Year award by American Design Honors
In the last three decades we’ve seen the rise of the designer and architect as celebrity, resulting from increased public and media interest in design and architecture. Is the media focus on the “star” architect good for that architect? Is it good for the profession? Is high visibility essential to a successful and fulfilling career?
Or, has the game of fame changed with the fragmentation of media, the market crash and a growing preoccupation with architecture as problem-solver and as collective act, in place of architecture as form-giver and act of auteurship?
LA Conference: Fame will explore these questions in a two-day conference that will be in part a meditation on the siren song of celebrity and in part a how-to guide to achieving greater visibility.
The first day of the workshop will explore the nature of fame, its allure, its benefits and its dark side. It will look at the culture of design celebrity, its origins and its impact on architects and architecture. Attendees will hear from fascinating speakers who have experienced fame; from people who have been in a position to confer fame, and from those who have observed fame and its charms and perils. The audience will be challenged to ask, what is fame? Would I really want it? Is it useful to my work as architect?
Fame is to some extent conferred upon an individual, but it is possible for an architect or designer to achieve a certain level of visibility through self-branding and marketing. Where the first day will be a discussion about fame in the abstract, the second day will be a practical, hands-on guide to techniques for acquiring, if not fame, visibility to a degree that aids an architect in his or her career. Attendees will hear from architects who have cleverly branded themselves, and from experts in marketing and branding, both in old and new media. The audience will be challenged to think creatively not just about their design work but about how to sell it; in sum, to design their identity.
Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1: WHY IS THAT DESIGNER FAMOUS, AND NOT ME?
Learn about the culture of design celebrity, its origins and the role of the media in promoting it.
Understand the traits of a charismatic designer and what makes him or her appealing to media and public (beyond design talent).
Learn about the role of other cultural leaders in conferring fame on a designer (juries, schools, arts institutions, etc.).
Learning Objective 2: DOES FAME MATTER?
Learn about the pros and cons of design celebrity, for the individual and for the profession.
Learn how fame or increased visibility can be used to achieve other goals (political influence, charitable involvement, etc.)
Learn the difference between fame and success and determine which best suits your firm and your persona.
Learn to identify ones own skill set and how best to exploit those skills to earn greater visibility.
Learning Objective 3: MYTH MANAGEMENT AND TAILORED TRUTHS
Learn about the importance of brand creation – bringing together your work, persona, and the presentation of your work in one consistent and integrated package.
Learn about how New Media is reshaping the way in which designers reach the public and how you can capitalize on it.
Learn, through practical workshops, a set of new skills that will enhance your identity: clearer writing and web page design, better visual and verbal presentation, so that you will leave the LA Fame Executive Education seminar ready to share your message.
Fame
myth management and tailored truths
july 20-21, 2010
Faculty Moderator: KCRW’s Frances Anderton (bio)
Guest Speakers and Lecturers to Include:
FRANK GEHRY, THOM MAYNE, KARIM RASHID, ADAM MEFFORD, BARBARA BESTOR, INI ARCHIBONG, REED KROLOFF, GREG LYNN, THAO NGUYEN, SASHA STRAUSS, ALISSA WALKER
Food and reception has been generously sponsored by::
Turner Construction Company
Synopsis:
“It is better to be talked about than not be talked about at all.”
Oscar Wilde
“Fame had brought me so much unhappiness.”
Brigitte Bardot
“Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.”
Erma Bombeck
“I always wanted to be famous. But I ended up being a designer instead.”
Karim Rashid
What do Rem Koolhaas and Cameron Sinclair have in common? On the face of it, not much. But what they share is they are both design world “stars” in part because they are brilliant communicators.
In the last three decades we have seen the rise of the designer and architect as celebrity, resulting from increased public and media interest in design and architecture. The culture of the star architect or designer has drawn criticism, especially now in this period of economic instability and anxiety about the environmental impact of production and consumption. But look past the apparent shallowness of the “star” and what you find is a designer or architect who has cultivated a very strong identity, synthesizing his or her work, company identity and public persona in a clever and highly marketable way. This is the theme of LA Fame.
LA Fame: Myth Management and Tailored Truths will educate a small class of students about:
– the myth-making machine as it relates to architects and designers
– how to go about creating a strong identity and raising ones own visibility
The subtitle, “Myth Management and Tailored Truths,” is inspired by the late Doug Michels, of the counterculture design group, Ant Farm, and is intended to convey some skepticism about the culture of celebrity and its value to architecture and design. But at the same time it acknowledges what Michels, as well as the architects and designers speaking at LA Fame, intuitively understand: visibility and a strong brand matter.
SPEAKERS
FRANK GEHRY
Architect and Principal of Gehry Partners
KARIM RASHID
Founder and principal of Karim Rashid design company; author of several books, including Design Your Self and I Want to Change the World.
GREG LYNN
Architect and Principal of Greg Lynn Form.
THAO NGUYEN
Art and Culture agent at CAA; her clients include Rem Koolhaas and Cameron Sinclair.
THOM MAYNE
Architect and Principal, Morphosis Architects, Winner, Pritzker Prize
REED KROLOFF
Principal of jones|kroloff, a consultancy that helps institutions select an architect. Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Previously Dean of Architecture at Tulane University and prior to that Editor-in-Chief of Architecture magazine.
SASHA STRAUSS
Managing Director of Innovation Protocol, a brand strategist based in downtown Los Angeles.
BARBARA BESTOR
Architect and principal of Bestor Architecture; author of Bohemian Modern: Living in Silverlake
ALISSA WALKER
LA Design Editor for Fast Company magazine; Contributor and curator for GOOD; writer for numerous design magazines and web sites, including her own, Gelatobaby.com
INI ARCHIBONG
Environmental Design student at Art Center, winner of the Student
Designer of the Year award by American Design Honors
ADAM MEFFORD
Founder, Mindshare
JULIE TAYLOR
Principle, Taylor & Company
FRANCES ANDERTON
Emcee of LA Fame; Host of DnA: Design and Architecture
Or, has the game of fame changed with the fragmentation of media, the market crash and a growing preoccupation with architecture as problem-solver and as collective act, in place of architecture as form-giver and act of auteurship?
LA Conference: Fame will explore these questions in a two-day conference that will be in part a meditation on the siren song of celebrity and in part a how-to guide to achieving greater visibility.
The first day of the workshop will explore the nature of fame, its allure, its benefits and its dark side. It will look at the culture of design celebrity, its origins and its impact on architects and architecture. Attendees will hear from fascinating speakers who have experienced fame; from people who have been in a position to confer fame, and from those who have observed fame and its charms and perils. The audience will be challenged to ask, what is fame? Would I really want it? Is it useful to my work as architect?
Fame is to some extent conferred upon an individual, but it is possible for an architect or designer to achieve a certain level of visibility through self-branding and marketing. Where the first day will be a discussion about fame in the abstract, the second day will be a practical, hands-on guide to techniques for acquiring, if not fame, visibility to a degree that aids an architect in his or her career. Attendees will hear from architects who have cleverly branded themselves, and from experts in marketing and branding, both in old and new media. The audience will be challenged to think creatively not just about their design work but about how to sell it; in sum, to design their identity.
Learning Objectives