Through my wonderful design mentor Megan Oldfield (of Coolaide Design), I had the opportunity to attend the opening party for The Happy Show in Toronto this evening. Megan took on the colossal task of designing the exhibition and did a phenomenal job.
Stefan Sagmeister spoke briefly during the introduction, but made himself available to the crowd to answer questions and be engaged in conversations. I had to psych myself up to speak to him. It was difficult to catch him with innumerable interceptions by other attendees, plus I was hesitant to interrupt his eating of a hot dog. I was nervous. I approached him at the bar, grinning like a fool and fumbling my words. He immediately shook my hand, and was quite surprised when he asked me questions. The queries I rehearsed in my head were forgotten, and I only managed to crack out two:
What advice do you have for a newbie in the design industry?
If I were trying to attain a job at your studio, how could I impress you?
He told me he would be looking for something new, a service or skill that his company didn't already possess. Of course good ideas were a major factor. It was 50% good ideas and 50% personality and how well you mesh with the existing team.
What I wanted to ask him, if my nerves hadn't dominated the conversation, was whether he had a certain place where he tended to derive inspiration, and if he had any tips on obtaining confidence in one's work, whether that was something meant to be innate, or required work.
I still cannot believe he shook my hand!
The party offered guests unconventional carnival snacks (hot dogs, popcorn and candy) and an impressive selection of beverages. The special Happy cocktail was delicious.
The exhibition itself was very much Sagmeister. Filled with cute and quirky anecdotes, facts and observations. It fulfilled it's purpose. I was left contemplating the contents of my life and weighing them against my level of happiness.
My favourite aspect of the show were the hidden illustrations on existing fixtures and the interactivity of installations, particularly the "suggestion" card machine (you will see my result below later). Upon entering/exiting the exhibition, there is a wall with an encased button that reads "PUSH BUTTON" and "take ONE" pertaining to a card that emerges.
Please excuse my terrible iPhone photography, I'm not sure what compelled me to leave all decent cameras at home.
This photo (below) I am only including to illustrate the atrocious zoom on the iPhone. Not impressed Apple!
Yes, that is my thumb in the image below.
(But I came home and wrote this instead)
The Happy Show did indeed make me happy. However, it was more the warmness of Mr. Sagmeister that accomplished this than the exhibition itself (there was a disclaimer at the entrance, see 5th photo from the top). I am almost ready to rescind the belief that interesting design opportunities and experiences are not possible in Canada. Almost.
I am back to work at St. Joseph Media tomorrow, and potentially for the next couple of weeks. I had a surge of inspiration and progress in my portfolio redesign after perusing Jessica Walsh's website. Hopefully the momentum will continue and I will have something to post on that in the near future!
I have booked a trip back to London for February and I absolutely cannot wait! I feel as though as soon as my feet reach English soil, my veins will be flooded with radical creativity.
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