Alan Holmes

Alan Holmes gave an interesting insight into 'what it means to be a designer'. He explained the process of 'observation - transaction - production' in terms of the design process, to communicate our story, however highlighted that in reality it is always a backward and forward process, and that turning issues into 'stuff' is vital.
He expressed that when designing for the future it can be useful to base ideas around 'fiction', as we are to a degree, unaware of what will happen ahead of time, and speculation can therefore be key. He presented the work of a selection of textile designers who challenge the preconceptions of what a designer is, create work that will have positive impacts for the world we live in, and garments that can inform us what's happening to our planet. He left me considering the following questions ;

What additional things can textiles do?

New technologies? Can we design for them?

Why do we have clothes?

Can we design for well being?

What is the job of a designer?

Tuesday 6th March Dave Haslam Lecture

A local DJ, expressed the importance of small scale, marginal creativity in relation to the music scene in Manchester. Having worked in the town for many years , he continued to recall the rise of the band Joy division, that in his opinion came from the margins, and went on to influence the music industry massively. He Stated 'cultural significance is not how many people know about an idea, but what affect it has on culture, challenging us to define the alternative, and to question everything. He gave a interesting insight into the history of Manchester's' music industry from an acute angle, and asked us to evade the mainstream when considering our creativity in developing ideas