Open Day Site error

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Hi everyone and welcome to episode three of

RMITs Technology Matters Series. Today we'll

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be exploring what's next in the future of

design. I'm Dene Cicci, I'm the executive

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director of students here at RMIT University.

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Before we start, I'd like to acknowledge the

people Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language

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groups of the eastern Kulin Nations on whose

unceded lands we conduct the business of the

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University. RMIT respectively acknowledges

their Ancestors and Elders past, present and

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emerging. And while we conduct our work remotely

in these times, I want to also pay my respects

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to the wider unceded lands of this Nation.

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Design has never been more important. It's

responsible for shaping the built environment,

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the digital world and the products and services

we use every day. Design creates better places,

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better products, and better processes. And

companies are fast realising that good design

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is a competitive advantage. At a time of bewildering

technological advancement, visual saturation

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and increasingly complex systems, what role

can design play in shaping our future? To

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better understand what's next in the world

of design we've assembled an expert group

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of RMIT researchers, academics and industry

professionals, working at the intersection

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of design and tech. So, let's meet our panel.

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First up we have Dr Kate Sala. Kate is a sustainability

advocate, business consultant, fashion educator

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and researcher. Kate has worked with leading

fashion houses and creative agencies across

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Europe, including SOME/THINGS agency, Bliss

and H&M group in Paris. As well as Honest

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By, the world's first fashion label built

on total transparency, which is based in Antwerp.

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Kate is an associate lecturer in the School

of Fashion and Textiles here at RMIT, and

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her research explores the relationship between

education and ethical fashion practices.

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Next up we have Noel Waite. Noel is a program

manager of the Master of Communication Design

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at RMIT. Throughout his career, Noel has worked

as an exist-- as an exhibition designer and

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curator and is a passionate believer in a

human centred design process. In 2014, Noel

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was a member of the Steering Committee, which

successfully achieved UNESCO creative city

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status, for Dunedin in New Zealand.

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Finally, we have Michael Stoddart, the director

of Digital Media Enterprise at Adobe. Having

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worked with Adobe for over 20 years, Michael

is well versed in new digital media technologies

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and has been integral in helping Adobe to

better understand the needs of his customers

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in the Asia Pacific. Michael has a wealth

of experience in business development, marketing

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management and sales. Great to have you with

us today Michael.

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Okay, so today you have the opportunity to

submit your questions to our speakers by entering

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them into the panel on the right-hand side

of your screen. Feel free to send these throughout

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anytime during the event and we'll try our

best to answer them at the end of this session.

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This webinar is being recorded and will be

sent out via email with the slides after the

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event. And don't forget to use our hashtag,

RMIT tech matters, if you're watching today.

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Okay, so let's get into some discussion. So,

Adobe recently released project Aero. It's

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a new tool for creating augmented reality

experiences. AR is an incredibly immersive

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design medium, that enables creatives to make

content that blurs the lines between physical

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and digital worlds. Michael, how have artists

and designers used AR during Adobe's recent

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Festival of the Impossible?

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[Michael Stoddart]

Thanks for the question and thanks for the

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opportunity to be here. Yes, Adobe�s Festival

of the Impossible, is our event that showcases

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what creatives can do with our new tool Adobe

Aero. Adobe Aero is a tool that allows designers

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to get into augmented reality experiences

in an easy and approachable way. And Festival

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of the Impossible, which this year is on in

July-- on July, the 13th. It is out online

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this year, online experience to see what some

of our artists can do in the augmented reality

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space. One of them, to answer your question

Lucy McRae, she is a body architect. She is

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very much involved with exploring where the

boundaries of the bodies stops and the rest

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the world starts. Lucy, she's actually an

RMIT alumni. She studied interior design,

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I think, at RMIT. Which just goes to show,

you never know where you end up with what

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you study.

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But so Lucy works in that space and is interested

in where technology and the body combine.

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Another artist, a little bit more technical,

Estelle Say. She was in Australia 18 months

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ago at our symposium event. Estelle worked

in clay, so she had an appreciation of 3D

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space. But she liked the ability to mould

and sculpt in 3D space. And she was a drawer

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and a painter, she used Photoshop. And so,

she was able to take her Photoshop illustrations

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and add a Z axis to it, that just meant that

instead of having each layer on top of each

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other, you could move through the layers in

Adobe Aero. And that gave her a chance to

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explore a whole new creative realm, starting

with what she knew from Photoshop. So, she

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was able to take her long-term skills with

Photoshop, add Adobe Aero tool set to that,

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and be able to create brand new experiences

to express both her artistic view, but also

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her design process.

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[Video playback starts] * 0:05:54.8-0:07:25.2

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[Music]

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Jesse Damiani: Immersive is going to change

the way we create art, because it's redefining

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the relationship between the creator and the

audience.

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Gabe Barcia-Colombo: For me, you know, interaction

goes hand-in-hand with making art. And in

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this immersive age, we all want to interact

with things in a different way. And so, I'm

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hoping to make people think about those interactions

through my artwork.

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Stefano Corazza: Maybe this exhibit will just

create a different perspective in the day-to-day

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life. We can zoom out and see, you know, who

we are in this planet with a more like long-term

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perspective.

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Lucy McRae: As a body architect, I'm interested

in using storytelling to predict and test

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futures as a way of hovering the imagination

and ask important questions.

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Abhay Parasnis: I think AR have the potential

to completely make technology and computing

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far more invisible than it is today.

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Camilla Magrane: What interaction does, is

that it takes the experience from a passive

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one to an actual collaborative experience.

The artist is now-- creates an actual playground

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to co-create with their viewer.

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Lucy McRae: Art merged with technology and

science is such a powerful way to imagine

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where are we going.

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Camilla Magrane: It's opening up a platform

for collaboration between viewers.

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Abhay Parasnis: Technology will be omnipresent.

But hopefully if we do it right it will be

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invisible.

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Gabe Barcia-Colombo: The line is going to

disappear between what we consider traditional

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fine art and immersive or interactive art.

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[Video playback ends]

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[Dene]

Thank You Michael, it's really interesting

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the Festival of the Impossible from Adobe.

And that blurring of the lines and the opportunities

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for co-creation. Let's turn the conversation

now to Noel, and we're going to talk now about

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collaboration. So, how we collaborate on design

projects undergoing a revolution. So, Noel,

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how is cloud-based software contributing to

the revolution?

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[Noel Waite]

Thank you. So, Michael has just talked about

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a Festival of the Impossible. And the Masters

of Communication Design went online, it's

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a face-to-face studio taught course, where

we teach master�s students, communication

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design. And it's very exciting, we have one

of the best studios, I think, in-- at RMIT.

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But we left that studio in-- on about the

19th of March, this year, for pre-cautionary

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health means, basically. And we've all worked

from home since then. So, we�re one of the

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first to leave the campus. And I guess what

we've seen, is that having a cloud-based system,

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like Adobe, has enabled us as communication

designers to be distributed right across Melbourne

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and even internationally. And people have

been able to do some really, really remarkable

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design from their homes.

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So, yeah I mean, I was really lucky I got

to go to the Adobe Roadshow at the beginning

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of the year. And that was just out of curiosity,

to see what-- what's new and what's happening,

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in terms of our core tool set for communication

design. And I was particularly interested

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in Aero, in terms of interaction experience

design and also rush as well, in terms of

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social media strategies. Because we're currently

working on a social media strategy, of course,

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in terms of exhibitions that current students

curating and designing and have designed.

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Yeah.

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[Dene]

Terrific, thanks for that. Let's turn now

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to Kate. Dr Kate Sala on our panel. Last year,

the world's first piece of digital couture

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pictured here now on the screen, was created

by the fabricant. And it sold for close to

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ten thousand US dollars. Kate, how is digital

fashion transforming the industry and will

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it change the way we consume clothing?

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[Kate Sala]

Thanks Dene. That's a really exciting question

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and I think also a very timely one, considering

the changes that the fashion industry is currently

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experiencing due to the pandemic. I'd say

that the fashion industry has been in a constant

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state of flux, in response to the gradual

digitisation of our daily life. The way we

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experience fashion has changed. What used

to be, I guess, a fairly mysterious process

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to the average consumer, has now become almost

public information. Thanks to social media,

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our understanding of the inner workings of

clothing production has been elevated in fact.

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And we've now been given the opportunity to

demand greater transparency through the sharing

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of this information. So, if you think about

things like the fashion revolution and the

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hash tag, who made my clothes. That's helped

to reshape a collective understanding of garment

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manufacturing. It's also helped educate us

and connect us to any experience associated

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with the clothes we wear. And then the actual

digital fashion design, takes the digitising

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of these fashion experiences to a whole new

level.

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So, it transforms a manufacturing process,

that may be heavily reliant on material outcome.

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Such as sampling, manufacturing and production,

in some cases, of large volumes of clothing

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to a completely waste free, and in my opinion,

a highly imaginative process. So, in a time

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when physical fashion experiences like runways

and showrooms, are not necessarily viable

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options. Which is currently what's happening.

Digital fashion design provides a solution

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which embodies excitement, creativity and

innovation, in ways that I personally could

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only dream of. And there's no reason many

large companies currently find themselves

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seeking to have their collections digitised,

to replace this process. The idea of the runway

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experience, that they can no longer rely upon

to sell clothing. And The Fabricant, who created

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this incredible dress, have been approached

by many of these companies to fast-track that

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digitisation, that-- that digital process.

So, that they can connect with their consumers,

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in a digital way, in order to step around

that lack of personal interaction that they

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would have normally relied upon.

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So, you're looking at companies like huge

department stores, such as Selfridges, high-end

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luxury companies like Marine Serre, Louis

Vuitton, Prada, all looking to digital design

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in order to add another dimension of experience

into their communication folio. Which I think

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is really exciting and if I could say what

a great-- what's great about this form-- so

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it�s grown about this idea from a learning

perspective at RMIT, is that we believe digital

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introduced literacy skills in fashion design

speak to enhance our ability to communicate

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within and also beyond our communities, about

key issues and innovations within our field.

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And if I could add, in terms how digital fashion

design will affect our literal consumption

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of fashion. Well, it may be that we see more

virtual, augmented or mixed reality-based

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experiences dominating the retail space. Instead

of that tactile material experience we've

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become accustomed to. So, it's-- it's exciting

and it's a wonderful time to be studying fashion

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and to be experiencing design in a different

way, and to be exploring and experimenting

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with all these new ways and processes of creating

and communicating about fashion.

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[Dene]

It certainly is very exciting Kate. And I

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wondered, does this mean I don't need to go

to a change room ever again? That would be

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a benefit to me. But thank you Kate.

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[Kate]

For a lot of people, I think it would be,

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yeah.

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[Dene]

Fantastic. Okay, moving on. So, according

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to Accenture, smart speakers are one of the

fastest adopted technologies in US history.

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Voice user interfaces or VUI�s, for those

in the know, introduced a change in the way

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people interact with machines. And are quickly

becoming part of our daily lives, Michael,

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from Adobe, do you think this means is an

emerging opportunity for designers working

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in the voice space?

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[Michael]

Dean absolutely, in fact Adobe so strongly

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believes in the future of voice as a technology,

we-- we bought a company. We bought Sayspring.

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The voice UI that you spoke about with home

speaker systems, like the Amazon Echo or the

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Apple�s HomePod. They're widely taken up

in North America, and so there's definitely

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a desire for designing for voice. But they

also have a screen. They may not be taken

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up so much in Australia, but I want to step

back and point out that we already engage

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with a lot of audio and voice UI, even using

Adobe, using Apple AirPods. I speak to the

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AirPods and I have other headphones where

I engage with them. Or whether it's in the--

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in my in-dash navigation guide in my car,

there are a lots of voice and audio interfaces.

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And when I've pointed that out to people in

the past, they've said well you're just giving

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instructions and they follow the instructions.

And I would point out that that's where we

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started, that's the initial user experience

and becomes much, much more sophisticated.

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It's like where we started with touch. Ten

years ago, the idea of having to design for

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a touch interface was unknown. It was-- it

was extremely limited and very unsophisticated.

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And with the rise of the iPhone and then other

touch UI�s, we've had to have a-- and learn

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a whole new design thinking around touch,

and not just the graphic design of touch,

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but the process through which you engage with

the touch UI. And we're going to do the same

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thing with voice and it's going to be a skill

that won't be a specific to a voice UX, everybody

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will need to learn how to design for voice.

In the same way that traditional designers

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moved from coloured oil on squashed up trees

designing for paper, to also then design it

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for digital, design it for user experience,

and they'll be adding audio and voice to their

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design tool set, in order for them to increase

the engagement and increase the experience

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that they're trying to create through their

design. Yeah, I think it's going to be an

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additional design discipline and that is designing

for voice.

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[Dene]

It is certainly an interesting new area and

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I had this image of a number of us walking

around mumbling to ourselves and people were

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not realising that we were actually engaging

with our devices. Or-- or with another person

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in another part of the country. It's some

very exciting times.

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[Michael]

Do you remember when people used to walk--

0:16:41.350,0:16:45.580

first walked around the street talking hands-free?

We don't do so much, and people thought you

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were crazy. Once it becomes socially acceptable,

which is now socially acceptable to use a

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touch interface in public, at dinner, we will

find the same thing with voice, yeah.

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[Dene]

Absolutely. Okay let's move on. So, we've

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heard of fast food, let's talk about fast

fashion. So, fast fashion has made shopping

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for clothes more affordable, but it's come

with an environmental price tag. According

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to the UN, the fashion industry emits more

carbon than international flights and the

0:17:14.360,0:17:19.939

maritime shipping industry combined. And it's

the second largest consumer of the world's

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water supply and it pollutes the oceans with

microplastics. Kate, putting you on the spot

0:17:25.450,0:17:29.680

here, how is technology helping to build a

more sustainable fashion future?

0:17:29.680,0:17:33.310

[Kate]

Yeah no, that's a wonderful question, and

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I also think that they're really brilliant

facts that you state there, Dene, too. So,

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it's really important that we have a great

responsibility to, as design practitioners

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within the fashion space, to hold ourselves

accountable and to understand what the impacts

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are of our choices. I think that technology

has undoubtedly been an impact-- sorry an

0:17:52.200,0:17:58.440

important tool for change in the fashion industry.

And has been working within the field of fashion,

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definitely for a long time, to solve many

issues that we face in regard to creating

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a more sustainable industry, if I can. So,

scientists are developing ways to regenerate

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fibres, such as polyester, nylon and cotton,

over and over again. And new innovative biological

0:18:15.280,0:18:19.530

materials are being turned into fashion fabrics,

there's a lots of innovation happening within

0:18:19.530,0:18:25.840

this space, in order to counteract a lot of

the waste and negative impact that the industry

0:18:25.840,0:18:26.840

has had.

0:18:26.840,0:18:33.090

So, if you look at biotech advancements, reconsider

living organisms used to make clothing in

0:18:33.090,0:18:39.260

order to create improved and more sustainable

materials. And hopefully in a not too distant

0:18:39.260,0:18:43.420

future, our clothes could be made and dyed

by living microbes, in a bid to remove the

0:18:43.420,0:18:48.510

chemical processes that make the fashion industry

so polluting. To name a few exciting examples,

0:18:48.510,0:18:53.460

you've got genetically engineered bacteria

being used to replace spider silk, which has

0:18:53.460,0:18:59.520

been termed as this fabric stronger than steel.

Companies growing fibres and dyes using algae,

0:18:59.520,0:19:05.010

which are completely close loop zero-waste

solutions, that need nothing but sunlight

0:19:05.010,0:19:10.500

and water to grow. You've also got companies

creating fabric out of mycelia, so mushroom

0:19:10.500,0:19:18.680

roots. Orange fibres being used, so citrus

juice by-products to form soft fabrics. I've

0:19:18.680,0:19:25.510

even heard and read about the building industry

taking used nappies and creating roof tiles

0:19:25.510,0:19:32.630

out of them. So, there's various different

ways in which technology is definitely helping

0:19:32.630,0:19:36.620

the fashion industry, in order to create a

more sustainable future.

0:19:36.620,0:19:40.070

And from a sustainable perspective, quite

a few of these engineered materials don't

0:19:40.070,0:19:47.810

need animals or petroleum input. So, yeah

technology's also been used in order to promote

0:19:47.810,0:19:51.620

a more transparent fashion industry. If you

look at blockchain technology and how that

0:19:51.620,0:19:57.580

can be used in in order to encourage greater

transparency in the supply chain process.

0:19:57.580,0:20:04.490

Tracking the lifecycle of garments, evidently

seeks to engage us both as makers and consumers

0:20:04.490,0:20:09.390

to empower us within the knowledge, so that

we can make those informed decisions about

0:20:09.390,0:20:15.040

what companies we choose to support with our

purchases. So, thinking about how financially,

0:20:15.040,0:20:22.420

we are propping up companies to make a purchase.

And I think also finally, from a sustainable

0:20:22.420,0:20:27.030

fashion business perspective, there's new

fashion business models, such as renting clothing

0:20:27.030,0:20:33.840

and also smartphone apps that make it easy

to swap and buy and sell second-hand clothes.

0:20:33.840,0:20:38.460

So much so, that Forbes has said that the

resale of clothes is expected to be bigger

0:20:38.460,0:20:42.430

than fast fashion within the next 10 years,

so fingers crossed.

0:20:42.430,0:20:44.040

[Dene]

Very interesting developments in that space.

0:20:44.040,0:20:47.570

I love this idea of complimenting somebody

on the bacteria that they are wearing or on

0:20:47.570,0:20:49.440

the mushroom fibre shirt they might be wearing.

0:20:49.440,0:20:51.600

[Kate]

I do too, I really do.

0:20:51.600,0:20:54.040

[Dene]

Really move that conversation to a whole other

0:20:54.040,0:20:58.930

level. Now you can ask a question during our

webinar, just by using the Q&A function in

0:20:58.930,0:21:04.180

the Microsoft Team's site. And we do now have

some questions from our audience. And the

0:21:04.180,0:21:09.500

first one, Kate, back to you. And with-- this

dig a bit deeper into this issue of sustainable

0:21:09.500,0:21:16.420

fashion. I've heard-- the question is, I've

heard that dyes used in textiles can be really

0:21:16.420,0:21:21.980

toxic and wasteful. What is RMIT developing

around sustainable dyes?

0:21:21.980,0:21:26.170

[Kate]

So, from a learning and teaching perspective,

0:21:26.170,0:21:31.370

we do look at a variety of these issues within

the classroom and we've actually got a dye

0:21:31.370,0:21:36.910

garden that RMIT has created and composting

system. So, we're looking at understanding

0:21:36.910,0:21:43.280

the way that plants can be used in that natural

cycle process, in a small-scale way in order

0:21:43.280,0:21:48.420

to dye clothing, to help inform our learning

process about the toxicity and the pollution

0:21:48.420,0:21:56.020

associated with the dyeing of clothing, and

in that manufacturing process as well. We

0:21:56.020,0:22:02.020

also have a variety of different courses on

offer that study things like bio fashion or

0:22:02.020,0:22:07.600

material alchemy. Various different ways that

we can look at materials and transforming

0:22:07.600,0:22:16.280

materials, so that we're questioning these

existing ideas around polluting the waterways

0:22:16.280,0:22:20.559

and also the chemicals that runoff from the

manufacturing process of various different

0:22:20.559,0:22:26.670

fabrics too. So, yeah, RMIT is doing a lot

in terms of helping through the learning and

0:22:26.670,0:22:32.610

teaching process, helping students to uncover

different and more innovative ways to colour

0:22:32.610,0:22:37.240

and dye and their fabrics. But also, in the--

I think, academic realm in research, there

0:22:37.240,0:22:41.870

is quite a lot being done there too. So, yeah,

I hope that answers the question.

0:22:41.870,0:22:44.000

[Dene]

It sure does, thank you very much Kate. Next

0:22:44.000,0:22:48.680

questions for you Michael. From the wonderful

world of Adobe, Adobe has some really exciting

0:22:48.680,0:22:51.850

developments, you've shared some of those

with us. But tell us, how's Adobe working

0:22:51.850,0:22:53.610

with the students at RMIT?

0:22:53.610,0:22:57.030

[Michael]

Dean yes we're heavily engaged with working

0:22:57.030,0:23:03.590

with both the faculty and students at RMIT.

I spend a lot of time at building nine, as

0:23:03.590,0:23:07.281

a matter of fact I think I know every coffee

shop within a two-kilometre radius from building

0:23:07.281,0:23:13.080

nine. And I'm looking forward to, sooner rather

than later, getting back there. And the Brunswick

0:23:13.080,0:23:20.260

campus and everywhere else at RMIT. Yes, how

we engage, we engage with both the marketing

0:23:20.260,0:23:26.360

faculties, because RMIT has marketing discipline.

So, using our marketing stack. But I personally

0:23:26.360,0:23:35.050

am more engaged in the design faculties and

engaging with RMIT around both foundational

0:23:35.050,0:23:41.610

design, print design some people call, working

with the school there and how they're using

0:23:41.610,0:23:50.190

InDesign. But more pertinently, we're heavily

involved with the RMIT UX Awards. They're

0:23:50.190,0:23:53.660

right in the middle of a submission process,

this week and next week, hopefully some of

0:23:53.660,0:23:58.670

the audience are part of that, some of your

students who are submitting work to the RMIT

0:23:58.670,0:24:03.460

UX Awards. Adobe is very proud to be involved

with and to support.

0:24:03.460,0:24:09.710

So, we engaged there. We're going to have

the community come along and-- and give feedback

0:24:09.710,0:24:14.580

on those designs and then we will have some

industry luminaries, who will be judging those

0:24:14.580,0:24:22.960

UX Awards. So, that�s just only one part.

We are involved, as I said, with the design

0:24:22.960,0:24:27.040

and communication faculty. With a number of

other faculties across RMIT, mostly because

0:24:27.040,0:24:33.950

everyone wants to present creative expression

of their ideas. Whether that's through a specific

0:24:33.950,0:24:39.070

design capability, but even in marketing and

other disciplines, you need to be able to

0:24:39.070,0:24:44.100

express yourself in a creative way. So, we're

very proud to be involved with RMIT and RMIT

0:24:44.100,0:24:45.880

students in a number of areas.

0:24:45.880,0:24:47.650

[Dene]

Terrific, thank you very much for that Michael.

0:24:47.650,0:24:52.559

Now let's go back to building nine, the ubiquitous

building nine at the RMIT University campus

0:24:52.559,0:24:57.500

here in Melbourne. And this is a question

for you, Noel. The type-- the types of projects

0:24:57.500,0:25:01.429

do communication design students work on at

RMIT? But this is in building nine or one

0:25:01.429,0:25:03.620

of our other many buildings on campus.

0:25:03.620,0:25:06.711

[Noel]

Well as I said-- mind you, the first question

0:25:06.711,0:25:11.140

for me was about collaboration and I think

we've been having some remarkable collaborations

0:25:11.140,0:25:15.180

with my colleagues, that I've worked with

for some time. But also, all our students,

0:25:15.180,0:25:19.461

as they�re distributed across Melbourne.

And this is a master's program and a lot of

0:25:19.461,0:25:23.950

our projects are actually research informed.

And I guess we're looking at what I'd call

0:25:23.950,0:25:32.250

a t-shaped student. Our core basis is communication

design or graphic design, but again it's broadening

0:25:32.250,0:25:37.300

out into those areas of interaction experience

design but based on an individual student's

0:25:37.300,0:25:44.400

profile. So, what do they come in with and

what do they bring to the table, to us at

0:25:44.400,0:25:50.850

RMIT, with communication design. And we hope

that they develop through our program, to

0:25:50.850,0:25:55.360

basically see their next career trajectory

or take a pivot in what they're doing towards

0:25:55.360,0:25:56.880

something new and different.

0:25:56.880,0:26:02.930

So, for communication design, obviously we

run communication design studios. Michael

0:26:02.930,0:26:08.471

has been great, we've had him both in the

studio and online, with Adobe. Because we

0:26:08.471,0:26:16.350

tried out X-- Adobe XD. And I was at a leadership

workshop for RMIT and I met a woman called

0:26:16.350,0:26:24.030

Lauren, thanks Lauren, who was researching

sustainability at RMIT-- in general, aligned

0:26:24.030,0:26:28.100

to the United Nations sustainable development

goals, which I've been involved in for quite

0:26:28.100,0:26:33.500

a long time. And our great futures exercise.

But she was interested about how we might

0:26:33.500,0:26:40.860

apply them onto campus at RMIT. And I thought

that was a great way that we could use Adobe

0:26:40.860,0:26:46.040

XD, to get the students engaged and learning

about those sustainable development goals.

0:26:46.040,0:26:52.880

And remember that we only have another 15

years to meet those targets before-- in 2030,

0:26:52.880,0:26:56.590

before we have to start all over again and

set the new sustainability targets.

0:26:56.590,0:27:01.180

Wayfinding, that's been mentioned today. We've

had a remarkable partner through engagement

0:27:01.180,0:27:06.970

with RMIT, with Heidi Museum of Modern Art.

And we managed to get 20 of our students,

0:27:06.970,0:27:12.309

along with Landscape Architecture and public

art students, out to Heidi, to do a field

0:27:12.309,0:27:19.100

trip. But because of this the COVID-19 level

3 situation, all our students have had to

0:27:19.100,0:27:23.980

fall back on DSpace research. So, normally

from a human centred design perspective, we

0:27:23.980,0:27:30.090

would look at the site, we would observe people

experiencing both beautiful grounds at Heidi

0:27:30.090,0:27:35.670

and engaging with the marvellous art collection

they have out there. Both inside the buildings,

0:27:35.670,0:27:40.980

but obviously in the grounds with the sculpture.

And that's been really remarkable, we did

0:27:40.980,0:27:47.300

a presentation very recently to them and the

resourcefulness of our students, I think,

0:27:47.300,0:27:51.330

has been the thing that's really struck me

through this. We don't know what they have

0:27:51.330,0:27:56.300

in their home studios, but I've seen a few

of them and there's a remarkable mixture of

0:27:56.300,0:28:03.100

both digital technology, but also analog technology

and I�ve seeing some beautiful crafted wooden

0:28:03.100,0:28:04.270

materials as well.

0:28:04.270,0:28:07.040

[Dene]

With COVID-19, I guess it's really reinforced

0:28:07.040,0:28:12.710

the opportunities to collaborate internationally.

So, turning back to you, Kate. We have a question

0:28:12.710,0:28:17.360

here from the audience, with the current changes

we're all experiencing, do you think international

0:28:17.360,0:28:21.660

collaboration will become more of a regular

occurrence in the design industry?

0:28:21.660,0:28:25.250

[Kate]

Yes, I definitely do, thanks Dene. And also,

0:28:25.250,0:28:31.350

a bit of shout out love for the Brunswick

campus of RMIT. Just thought I�d throw that

0:28:31.350,0:28:36.420

in there now, as well as a little building

nine love. Collaboration, yes, so a lot of

0:28:36.420,0:28:43.020

the studios that we run through The Bachelor

of Fashion Design as well as Bachelor of Fashion

0:28:43.020,0:28:46.799

and Textiles. Sustainable innovation have

collaboration as the underpinning to the way

0:28:46.799,0:28:52.720

we structure and scaffold the learning. So,

we very much believe in bringing in various

0:28:52.720,0:28:56.960

minds, not just nationally, not just from

Australia, but also internationally from other

0:28:56.960,0:29:02.570

schools. And we depend on those relationships

that we've built with various different practitioner,

0:29:02.570,0:29:09.330

fashion practitioners, designers, artists,

academics, researchers from around the world,

0:29:09.330,0:29:15.590

in order to share perspectives. Because I

think it's a solid belief that we see innovation

0:29:15.590,0:29:20.790

coming from collaboration and teamwork and

the sharing of ideas, and not through working

0:29:20.790,0:29:23.080

in institutional silos in isolation.

0:29:23.080,0:29:28.460

So, that is definitely something that we prioritise

and we-- we seek to embed in all of the learning

0:29:28.460,0:29:33.911

and teaching that we promote within the school

of fashion. And-- and yeah, something that

0:29:33.911,0:29:39.309

I think will play an important part also,

speaking a lot about technology and technology's

0:29:39.309,0:29:43.480

impact on fashion, in the future of fashion,

I think also through the discipline, we will

0:29:43.480,0:29:48.890

see a lot of collaboration in that technology

space as well too, for fashion.

0:29:48.890,0:29:51.320

[Dene]

Terrific, we�ve all had some experience

0:29:51.320,0:29:54.980

of isolation over the last few weeks. So,

I now have a question for all the members

0:29:54.980,0:29:59.460

of the panel, without notice, I'll start with

Noel, then we'll go to Michael, then back

0:29:59.460,0:30:06.980

to you Kate. And the question is, following

COVID-19 and as we emerged from stage three

0:30:06.980,0:30:11.970

restrictions, what is your perspective on

how the future of design will be influenced

0:30:11.970,0:30:15.710

or change for the long term? Let�s start

with you Noel.

0:30:15.710,0:30:19.850

[Noel]

You�ve kind of got me on my favourite topic,

0:30:19.850,0:30:24.950

actually. In a way, you know, a favourite

definition of design that a friend of mine

0:30:24.950,0:30:30.260

used to use, is that we're future grazers.

That we kind of spend a lot of time in the

0:30:30.260,0:30:35.630

future, but maybe the near future, not those

long, long term futures. I�m actually quite

0:30:35.630,0:30:40.970

optimistic and positive about this moment

and I guess there's a couple of things, it

0:30:40.970,0:30:48.010

starts with people. But in the long term,

you know, designers always operated in a collaborative

0:30:48.010,0:30:52.970

and networked way and with a number of other

professionals. And this has been the big challenge

0:30:52.970,0:30:58.850

for designers, when do they know the limits

of design practice and design knowledge? And

0:30:58.850,0:31:06.679

when do they seek expertise from coders, people

doing algorithms, from other fashion-- other

0:31:06.679,0:31:15.330

sort of design sectors, from industrial design,

from interior architecture, architects, fashion

0:31:15.330,0:31:17.250

designers and the broader art scene.

0:31:17.250,0:31:22.290

So, we've got this massive creative community,

so how are we going to develop these sustainable

0:31:22.290,0:31:27.419

liveable cities? And I guess from a communication

design perspective, it's about people and

0:31:27.419,0:31:32.110

it's about talking to people. Because you

know, for us, a creative city of literature

0:31:32.110,0:31:38.460

was about stories and there has been some

remarkable stories in this city. But I think

0:31:38.460,0:31:41.930

we'd like to share those stories with each

other, share them with the world. I mean--

0:31:41.930,0:31:48.320

I meant-- I see we had a-- we've got a Vietnamese

audience, so big shout out to you. We have

0:31:48.320,0:31:54.620

a remarkable graduate from our program, who�s

looking to develop her type graphic expertise,

0:31:54.620,0:32:00.049

because she's worked on a Vietnamese typeface.

And in particular, very difficult diacritics

0:32:00.049,0:32:05.340

or glyphs that are required for that particular

language and we hope that she would go to

0:32:05.340,0:32:10.900

a scholarship in the United States, to develop

that. So, these are the kind of things that--

0:32:10.900,0:32:15.940

it is-- it's both-- it's a global problem.

We have to look globally, but we also have

0:32:15.940,0:32:16.940

to fix things locally.

0:32:16.940,0:32:19.970

[Dene]

And you�re right, it's very rich with opportunity

0:32:19.970,0:32:25.630

in response to the COVID-19 issues. So, turning

now to Michael. What-- and I put the question

0:32:25.630,0:32:28.900

to you Michael. What is-- what do you see

to be the future of design and how might it

0:32:28.900,0:32:31.530

be influenced as a result of COVID-19?

0:32:31.530,0:32:37.220

[Michael]

Yes, I think this is a pivotal-- pivotal moment

0:32:37.220,0:32:44.000

in history and it will change design. And

both the design-- learning of design and design

0:32:44.000,0:32:49.390

practice. I think it will happen in two ways--

and again, what Adobe thinks it happens in

0:32:49.390,0:32:55.800

two ways. One is the separation of design

from production. A lot of terrific design

0:32:55.800,0:33:01.380

students that I work with, spend a number

of years straight out of design school doing

0:33:01.380,0:33:07.740

a lot of production. And I think what COVID

has done, is allow companies to realise that

0:33:07.740,0:33:13.351

they don't have to be physically together

in order to implement the design. That it's

0:33:13.351,0:33:19.040

okay to have someone else external implement

your design. And I'm saying we should all

0:33:19.040,0:33:24.340

know how to produce our designs, but it we

should allow our creative thinkers to be more

0:33:24.340,0:33:31.380

creative, so that they can utilise the internationalisation

of production. And that's what COVID has done,

0:33:31.380,0:33:37.760

I think, COVID has allowed the powers-that-be,

to let go of the reins and allow production

0:33:37.760,0:33:40.240

to happen even more so, anywhere around the

world.

0:33:40.240,0:33:45.419

It's also very collaborative, so the reverse

of that is, creativity and design is, by its

0:33:45.419,0:33:52.830

very nature, collaborative. I view design

as having a purpose, view design for something,

0:33:52.830,0:33:56.610

whether that's a commercial outcome or even

an emotional response. As opposed to art,

0:33:56.610,0:34:02.660

which is very much in and of itself. So, what

COVID has done, is enabled people to collaborate

0:34:02.660,0:34:10.079

more frequently and to more readily reach

that desired outcome, that desired purpose

0:34:10.079,0:34:16.349

for design. It's become much more collaborative

and I think what-- hopefully, what we'll carry

0:34:16.349,0:34:23.599

out of this COVID time, will be the willingness

and the immediacy of collaborating across

0:34:23.599,0:34:28.970

the desk or across the world, as part of the

design process. I also see, just quickly,

0:34:28.970,0:34:35.239

a lot of-- a lot of our creatives trying out

lots of different things. I'm seeing print

0:34:35.239,0:34:39.460

designers trying out user experience design,

user experiences design trying out video.

0:34:39.460,0:34:43.019

Because we've all had so much time in our

hands, that we're learning new things.

0:34:43.019,0:34:48.299

So, I think we'll learn new things, we'll

try out new things to add to our armoury of

0:34:48.299,0:34:53.000

design technologies. I think we'll be more

free in our collaboration and I think it's

0:34:53.000,0:34:57.180

going to actually be a good time for design

coming up.

0:34:57.180,0:34:58.940

[Dene]

Absolutely, I think there�s some real opportunities

0:34:58.940,0:35:02.780

there to say, but defining and discovering

new ways to have impact, I certainly-- one

0:35:02.780,0:35:07.210

of my reflections, is during the last couple

of months, I�ve actually formed a closer

0:35:07.210,0:35:12.569

bond with my colleagues at the RMIT universities

in-- in Vietnam and Saigon and Hanoi campuses,

0:35:12.569,0:35:17.299

just using the technology and connecting virtually.

It's been quite impactful. Turning now to

0:35:17.299,0:35:22.789

Kate for the final response to the question,

what do you see to be the future of design

0:35:22.789,0:35:25.119

in response to COVID-19? Over to you Kate.

0:35:25.119,0:35:27.450

[Kate]

Thanks Dene. I think-- look, a lot of it has

0:35:27.450,0:35:32.499

already being covered so eloquently by Noel

and Michael, and I think that definitely I

0:35:32.499,0:35:36.729

have to reinforce those ideas. I believe that

collaboration is-- is key to the way that

0:35:36.729,0:35:42.319

we see the future of fashion design to be

evolving. More again, national and international

0:35:42.319,0:35:48.480

collaboration, and an emphasis on understanding

what we can leverage from one another and

0:35:48.480,0:35:52.809

from those partnerships, and how we can share.

So, I liked that idea that Noel was kind of

0:35:52.809,0:35:57.960

touching on, the idea of the shared narrative.

So, we all these experiences and stories,

0:35:57.960,0:36:03.440

that oftentimes we don't necessarily understand

how impactful they can be, until we share

0:36:03.440,0:36:08.619

them. And I'm hoping that through this time

of learning, that we've all had to transition

0:36:08.619,0:36:14.589

to, in an online space, we've understood the

power of slowing things down. Like the learning

0:36:14.589,0:36:20.830

has had to slow down, in order to accommodate

not only the pace-- the new pace that we�ve

0:36:20.830,0:36:26.440

found ourselves within. But also, to accommodate

the external stresses that we find ourselves

0:36:26.440,0:36:32.400

under. And I think that only helps to emphasise

how important it is to stay connected.

0:36:32.400,0:36:36.400

So, to be connected with our peers, to be

connected with people who are interested in

0:36:36.400,0:36:41.220

the same ideas within our discipline, but

also to cross-pollinate, like Michael was

0:36:41.220,0:36:46.609

talking about. So, reaching out to people

that sit potentially beyond the borders of

0:36:46.609,0:36:52.660

our field and ask how can I help to increase

what you're learning about, what you're innovating

0:36:52.660,0:36:59.599

with, or the discussions that you're having

in order to create a better world, in all

0:36:59.599,0:37:07.309

honesty. And in order to have less of an--

a tangible impact, less of a, you know, wasteful

0:37:07.309,0:37:11.880

impact, and more of a positive impact. And

I think, honestly, that that does come through

0:37:11.880,0:37:18.829

collaboration, through sharing of our stories,

and collective inquiry. And removing-- a lot

0:37:18.829,0:37:25.119

of time, removing the ego from that interplay

and from that-- that exchange. So, I'm hoping

0:37:25.119,0:37:31.190

that that does happen, especially within the

field of design. Because I know that through

0:37:31.190,0:37:35.989

prioritising those aspects, that we'll see

wonderful things happen. And especially when

0:37:35.989,0:37:40.710

acknowledging the sustainable development

goals and the responsibility that we all have

0:37:40.710,0:37:46.200

within that space, to adhere to minimising

our impacts and increasing the connections

0:37:46.200,0:37:49.759

and the beneficial connections that we have

with each other.

0:37:49.759,0:37:51.900

[Dene Cici]

Absolutely, I think they make some good points

0:37:51.900,0:37:55.559

there, thanks. We�re entering in a very

exciting time, once we move beyond the tragedy

0:37:55.559,0:38:00.460

that has been COVID-19, at a global scale,

of just some of the creativity that's going

0:38:00.460,0:38:05.859

to emerge and even some of the increased mindfulness

around issues like sustainability and connection.

0:38:05.859,0:38:08.499

I think we're looking ahead, some very exciting

times.

0:38:08.499,0:38:12.369

So, look, with that point, I'd like to thank

everybody for their questions today. We had

0:38:12.369,0:38:16.230

some great questions from the audience. If

you couldn't get your-- your question answered,

0:38:16.230,0:38:20.930

don't worry, you still have an opportunity.

Please feel free to email your questions through

0:38:20.930,0:38:27.710

to this email address. Campaigns at RMIT dot

edu dot au. And we'll try to respond to you

0:38:27.710,0:38:28.710

as soon as possible.

0:38:28.710,0:38:33.671

I'd like to say very big thank you to Noel,

Kate and Michael, our experts today. And thank

0:38:33.671,0:38:38.030

you to everyone for attending today's webinar,

technology matters the future of design, thank

0:38:38.030,0:38:39.030

you.

0:38:39.030,0:38:40.030

[End transcript]

TBA