The Informational City

London is a city full of visible and invisible layers of information and of digital and analogue spaces. New technologies have prompted designers to question the use of traditional communication methods (e.g. posters, billboards), as well as the ways in which design and motion might be more effective in its mediation of information. The way information is sent, received and mediated presents new challenges and opportunities. 



The intent of this evening lecture event is to make visible the different ways in which design and architecture interfaces with digital and analogue technologies and how we might begin to address information networks for the 21st Century. 
We are pleased to confirm that speakers are Erik Spiekermann, Edenspiekermann and Tim Fendley, Applied Information Group.

Erik Spiekermann, Edenspiekermann

Erik Spiekermann, born 1947, studied History of Art and English in Berlin. He is information architect, type designer (itc Officina, ff Meta, ff Meta­ Serif, ff Govan, ff Info, ff Unit, ff Unit Slab, Tern, Axel, LoType, Berliner Grotesk and many corporate typefaces) and author of books and articles on type and typography. He was founder (1979) of MetaDesign, Germany’s largest design firm. Projects included corporate design programmes for Audi, Skoda, Volkswagen, Lexus, Heidelberg Printing and way finding projects like Berlin Transit, Düsseldorf Airport and many others. In 1988 he started FontShop, a company for production and distribution of electronic fonts. Erik is board member of ATypI and the German Design Council and Past President of the istd, International Society of Typographic Designers, as well as the iiid. In 2001 he left MetaDesign and is now managing partner and creative director of Edenspiekermann with offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, London and San Francisco. He redesigned The Economist magazine in London for its relaunch in 2001. His book for Adobe Press, “Stop Stealing Sheep” is in its second edition as well as published in German and in Russian. His corporate font family for Nokia was released in 2002. In 2003 he received the Gerrit Noordzij Award from the Royal Academy in Den Haag. His type system DB Type for Deutsche Bahn was awarded the Federal German Design Prize in Gold for 2006. In May 2007 he was the first designer to be elected into the Hall of Fame by the European Design Awards for Communication Design. Erik is Honorary Professor at the University of the Arts in Bremen and in 2006 received an honorary doctorship from Pasadena Art Center. He was made an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry by the RSA in Britain in 2007 and Ambassador for the European Year of Creativity and Innovation by the European Union for 2009.

Tim Fendley, Creative director, Applied Information Group

Tim Fendley founded Applied Information Group to push the boundaries of information design. A central focus is making cities more understandable by providing useful information, evidenced by projects in London, Glasgow, Brighton, Dublin and Vancouver. Tim’s work draws on his cultural and commercial experience in environmental, editorial, identity and interactive design for clients such as Bosch, Ferrari, Graphics International, Gilbert & George, Glasgow 1999, Orange and Lexus. Tim was the lead designer of the Bristol Legible City initiative. He has a passion for cities and mapping and a methodology that encompasses diagnostic testing in real situations mixed with product design prototyping techniques.

Tim’s current fixation is to make sense of London. He is leading the system design for Legible London, a capital-wide pedestrian wayfinding scheme for TfL, currently in pilot phase. When it is complete, it will be the most extensive of its kind in the world.

Partners:
School of Graphic Design, London College of Communication www.lcc.arts.ac.uk


Information Environments, University of the Arts London http://www.informationenvironments.org.uk
Institute for Urban Information http://www.urbaninformation.org/

London College of Communication (LCC)
Formerly London College of Printing, LCC is the largest constituent College of the University of the Arts London and our students automatically become members of Europe's largest university dedicated to art, communication, design and related technologies. The School of Graphic Design, constitutes a unique learning community made up of staff, fellow students and guest speakers from a diverse range of creative disciplines and cultures. www.lcc.arts.ac.uk



Information Environments (IE)
The University of the Arts London research unit for Information Environments (IE) defines its research remit as any physical or virtual spaces where information is generated, received and experienced. The Unit is particularly interested in spaces that are populated by communities such as those found in common areas of urban spaces, museums, the Internet and learning environments, and where the exchange of ideas, concepts and knowledge is communicated.
www.informationenvironments.org.uk

The Institute of Urban Information (IUI)
The Institute of Urban Information promotes understanding and awareness of how better provision and use of urban information can improve the city environment and services. The IUI is involved in research, publishing and holds seminars and conferences on policy and the public sector.
http://www.urbaninformation.org/