Opportunities to gain insight, challenges for action.

Andreas Schneider designer / Germany, residing in Japan

The theme of this Congress is VISUALOGUE: Quality of Information. What image does this bring to mind?		The means to generate/manipulate/target information to support the particular agenda of specific interest-groups become ever more powerful. At the same time, the quality of information provided by the mass media is indeed very poor. The barrage by heaps of meaningless details only deepens distraction/confusion. Quality requires involvement and commitment. Images: remote controlled bombings and assassinations, short sighted promises of a genetically clean world...
Please describe one of your recent concerns or themes of interest, either within your field or personally.		The source of our confusion and means which could empower us to sober up. I think that attention/reflection on the role of <material> could become a lead. The aleatoric charm of digital/virtual worlds makes us forget, that not only the physical material, but also the material of our reasoning is evolving from relationships- emancipating from a larger context, and prepared to fit into yet larger contexts. The search for methods and tools to deepen our understanding through sharable/accountable experience.
What are your expectations for this Congress? Alternately, what fruit do you expect the Congress to bear?		The relaxed environment that would allow us to divert our undivided attention away from scheduled events to unexpected encounters/ideas. The congress is about people. Opportunities to gain insight, challenges for action.
Please provide us with a message directed to the younger generation (design students and young working designers).		Such a request seems to make me look quite old;-) - if any message at all, I'd rather direct it to myself: - don't get seduced by the courting of formalistic beauty - don't fall victim to the satisfaction of solving detail problems, while higher level issues are left ignored - don't compromise for the sake of avoiding more engaging challenges - make decisions based on purpose, not the selection from offered choices - follow your curiosity, even though it may lead you into territories that seem to be far away from <design> - embrace constraints as triggers for new opportunities
Concerning your partnership with various clients, please describe the kind of relationships you have built in the past, and/or the kind you expect to build in the future.		Unfortunately, the image of designers as artisans is still quite persisting- Often we have to blame ourselves though. We tend to prefer the comfort of cultivating an argumentation based on aesthetics, out of reach to common sense. It would be great to have a shared language, where <design> is understood as the mediation between producers, distributors and users.
Please answer the following question in the form of a message directed toward mature professional designers. Clearly, our modern communities are grappling with regional and cultural discord and face serious economic challenges. Given this environment, how might designers make the most vital contribution to society today?		The challenges are not only economical but also ecological. While the former deal with the rationalising and practice of rules, the latter question our identity and involvement. Both challenges range from rather accessible ones such as personal households to more complex environments such as outer space... One task of Information Design is to expose the inner working of these challenges. The clear identification/communication of a problem is the first step to its solution.
In light of this answer, what are your thoughts about the meaning of--and possibilities for--the design profession in the society of the future?		The listing of designers' core-qualifications needs to be reviewed. Designers should be equally capable to interact with local and global communities. This requires a high degree of social and cultural competence. Also, designers are expected to proficiently deal with managerial, business and legal issues. The pace of developments in science and technology challenges our ability to anticipate concerns of the next 10, 50, 100 years. Certainly, new educational models need to be worked out.
What message would you like to convey to the audience in your lecture/presentation?		Information Design is not an esoteric discipline. It concerns everybody. I would especially like to encourage decision makers in institutions with high public exposure, such as governments and welfare organisations, to invest in Information Design. This will benefit all of us and reward them with trusted recognition, the foundation for co-operative relationships.
We have scheduled an international forum for those who teach in design-related institutions to take place prior to the opening of the Congress. Please give us your point of view on design education.		I think that the recent trend, to establish design departments at schools with a general focus on social sciences, business or engineering are very positive. However, without a shared vision on a unifying framework and methodology which can be understood and used by all involved, neither party will benefit much from such cohabitation... The same holds true for attempts to internationalise through cross border collaboration. Local communities and industries could become important pace-makers to develop curricula with verifiable targets.