Dave Clark Design Associates Reflect on Lessons Learned from Semi Permanent 2019

Semi Permanent is a massive occurrence in the industry calendar for all creative industries. It is a chance to be inspired, to reflect on the industry and the responsibilities that members of it hold. Dave Clark Design associates were lucky enough to attend two days of the festival this year and there was a lot to take in.

Semi Permanent showcases a series of creatives from the world over. They range from illustrators and typographers, to future forward tech giants and world-changing industries, to weird and wonderful people doing things no one ever would have imagined. Any creative industry has a lot to gain from hearing these people speak.

There were four main lessons learned by the team at Dave Clark Design at this festival:

1. Know your impact.

This lesson centres around responsibility. Any creative person should be aware of the impact they have on the world around them – both big and small. Creatives have more power to change things than most people would think. They are the people behind innovation, they have the power to change minds and insight thoughts. Knowing your impact gives you the power to use that knowledge to make positive change, which is extremely important in this changing world.

      2. It’s never one person.

Collaboration is a huge part of any successful project, and Semi Permanent reiterated this message throughout. Dave Clark is proud to recognise their diverse team of creatives, who collaborate on projects day after day. It’s vital to have an awareness of how this collaboration is vital, and to encourage diversity and inclusion.

     3. Design for all senses.

It’s hard to look beyond our screens sometimes, and this was an issue raised a lot at Semi Permanent. With speakers such as Carolien Niebling, a food designer, and Jesper Kouthoofd of Teenage Engineering, it was hard to miss all the sensory experiences that were going on throughout the day. It is a very important lesson to not forget the value that the physical world can have on any design project.

    4. Lessons of identity.

Who are you? This was a great lesson to come out of the festival. It is always important to look inside ourselves and reflect on who we truly are, what our purpose is and if we are being our authentic selves. Because otherwise, what is the point?

The festival had so many great takeaways and the team at Dave Clark Design is incredibly grateful to have taken part in the experience. You can check out the full roundup of ideas and learnings from this years Semi Permanent on the Dave Clark blog at https://www.daveclarkdesign.com/en-nz/updates.