It has indeed been a
wonderful year for design. We have seen the big, the small, the inventive and
the mind-blowing. But 2012 truly made the UK design community proud to be
British. So it is, perhaps, no surprise, that for the top spot we salute the
best of British and award Danny Boyles opening ceremony at the 2012 Olympic
games First place!
One of this nations
most creative minds had the entire country looking to him to show the World
that we are still a nation of true strength and innovative brilliance.
And didn’t he deliver!
The Isles of Wonder; Meadows, industry, the NHS, women’s vote, a
23-ton bell, a 3-ton oak tree, Tim Berners-Lee, 10,500 athletes, future athletes,
15,000 volunteers, Lord Voldemort, Mr Bean, speed boats, David Beckham in speed
boats, fireworks, light shows, moving rings and of course, Bond. Bond and the
Queen that is…jumping out of a helicopter!
A truly great show and
incredible way to start the 27th Olympic games. A 3hr 45min show
that 900 million people tuned in to watch live across the world.
There is too much to
mention in one blog, so in the spirit of a top 10, here’s a top 3 of why we
thought the opening ceremony is the most exciting thing that inspired us this
year:
No.3: Those little screens by every seat in the
stadium that turned the whole place in to a huge TV screen.
Each screen acted as
giant pixels, that on mass, when in close proximity and when viewed from a
distance made one huge circular screen with the most amazing content!
It transformed the
stadium. It made the viewing gallery become part of the show. Every interaction
was relevant to what was happening down below and either complimented the story
or distracted the eye whilst the set was being changed. The vision to create
something like this was outstanding and a great example of integrated
technology.
No.2: Thomas Heatherwick’s Cauldron.
The best kept secret
of the games and an underlying story in its own right. People from each of the
204 participating countries were walking around with these beautiful copper
objects. One by one, each would be offered up in the centre of the stage in a
circular pattern on the floor. Once lit, they then began to slowly rise and
come together to create a huge burning cauldron that would remain as focal
point for the games. At the end of the games the cauldron was dismantled and
each country took home its petal to help inspire the future generation of
Olympians.
The unity that it
represented and the way that it did it has never been seen before. Yes there
have been many different shaped cauldrons in the past, but nothing like this.
This reminds us that no matter what the challenge, we can always do things
differently.
No.1: The story telling itself through the
transformation of space.
Everything needs a
story. But once you have one, telling it isn’t always easy. But on a mass scale,
Danny Boyle did it through what he called the “biggest
scene change in theatre history”. And he wasn’t wrong. Those sets. What a masterpiece!
One minute a peaceful green
meadow with animals and all, then a 3-ton oak tree lifts in to the air leaving
a hole that 2,500 workers emerge from. At the same time, from within the fields
a huge industrial monster is woken from its sleep and rises to the sky with 7
smoke stacks breathing life to a new era. During this new era it appeared that
workers were forging a huge ring out of molten iron that then rose in to the
air to be joined by 4 other rings. When joined they ignited and rained down on
the workers below!
Truly inspirational.
The story continued
with tales of tributes to the NHS, a giant house of music, even the dropping of
7bn pieces of paper in to the stadium that represented each person on the
planet. It all seamlessly told a bigger story that kept us all watching for
hours!
This change in pace
and sheer scale and realisation just blew us away! It shows us that the
physical can be so much more than just 4 walls. Combine the right team of
people and anything can be achieved no matter how adventurous.
This moment in 2012
made us all feel terribly proud to be British. But none more than the creative
industry. It showed the world that we can create masterpieces that will be
remembered forever, no matter how hard times are…dare I say, were.
We have a good feeling
about 2013. A shift has certainly taken place over the past 6 months in our
studio that shows positive signs. The percentage of retail vs F&B is
significantly up. We’ve opened 6 stores within 8 weeks in the run up to
Christmas. There are more entrepreneurial starting-ups knocking on the door.
And the big boys have started to invest in design once more.
So that’s that! The
Top 10 things that got us most excited in 2012.
We wish you all the
best for 2013 and challenge you and your projects to go bigger and better than
ever before. You never know, you might even make the Top10 next year!
Merry Christmas.
TYC
