Inspire 07
See who took home Cream O' the Crop Awards at Inspire 2007.
More than 700 attendees filled the Lucas Theatre on Friday, Feb. 16 for the Savannah College of Art and Design’s inaugural Inspire 07 symposium. Participants were treated to presentations from some of the most well-known broadcast designers working today, including Marco Spier of Psyop, Jakob Trollbäck of Trollbäck + Co., and Jose Gomez and Andre Stringer from Shilo. The event also featured a showcase of SCAD student work and a "network design" panel of creative directors from prominent design studios (Patrick McDonough, PMcD; Ellery Gave, creative director, Capacity; and Vasil Hnatiuk, creative director, Roger). A special screening of Alison Chernick's film "Matthew Barney: No Restraint," played to a large audience and closed the daytime activities.
Event chair Jill Taffet, who is also chair of the broadcast design and motion graphics department at SCAD, said she was thrilled with the turnout for the event. "Industry participation and attendance was way over what we expected," said Taffet. "We had to shut down gold and platinum registration a few days early because we had sold to capacity." Industry professionals that participated were also pleased with the event.
The "Cream O' the Crop" awards show kicked off the evening events and honored broadcast design and motion graphics work in 16 categories. Design studios Psyop, Buck, and Brand New School were awarded "Design Studio of the Year." Motion graphic design studio Shilo was the most honored, with three Cream O' the Crop awards for main title, animation and design with live action for their Gap campaign. Click here to see the full list of award winners.
Other highlights of the award show included SCAD students Anh Vu and William Campbell sharing the honors for "Student of the Year." "Receiving the award is one of the most memorable and rewarding moments that I have ever experienced, as I was recognized for all of my hard work, passion and dedication," said Vu. The award included the prize of Web hosting for life from sponsor (mt) media temple. Taffet and Justin Cone moderated the awards show. Cone is the founder and editor of the industry site motionographer.com, as well as a SCAD graduate student in broadcast design and motion graphics.
What was supposed to be a one-day symposium stretched into a second day with a portfolio review breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 17, at the historic Marshall House. Nineteen SCAD broadcast design and motion graphics students had the opportunity to network and have their work critiqued by industry leaders. Companies including MTV, Psyop, Buck, Roger, Trollbäck, PMcD, Digital Kitchen, Capacity, Jib Jab, Stardust and Primal Screen participated. Students were thrilled with the opportunity to rub elbows with industry luminaries. "The event gave us the opportunity to interact with professionals as peers and see our field in a new, more accessible way," Campbell said.
Taffet said she was excited, not only by the opportunities afforded SCAD students, but also by the positive impressions the event created among guests. "The feedback I have gotten from professionals and students alike has been overwhelmingly positive," said Taffet. "The professionals were very impressed with the conference, the Savannah College of Art and Design and its students.” Vasil Hnautik of Roger said, “It was great seeing all the new talent and projects happening at SCAD."
When asked about the future of Inspire, Taffet was confident that it would become another one of SCAD's many successful annual events. "I'm looking forward to an even more inspiring Inspire 08," said Taffet. Brien Holman of the creative studio Exopolis attended the event and agreed. "The students at SCAD have an amazing resource that will hopefully continue on through the years," Holman said.
