A Design Renaissance at Icograda 2000

"Visual design, perhaps more than any of the design professions, will change drastically over the next decade," Icograda President David Grossman said. In order to examine the changes and the future of design, especially in the face of revolutionary changes in technology, the Icograda congress is breaking its tradition of holding odd-year gatherings for a millennium conference in Seoul.

Titled "Oullim," a Korean word meaning "harmony," the conference begins tonight at the auditorium of the Convention Exhibition, also known as COEX, in Kangnam.

Ahn Sang-soo, Icograda's vice president, said multimedia and the technology that powers it are changing the face of design. "The paint brush becomes a mouse. The canvass becomes a monitor," Mr. Ahn said.

As of last week, 1,400 people had signed up for the design seminars, to be held Oct. 25 to 27. Registration is being held in the auditorium foyer. Wednesday's lectures will focus on "East and West," Thursday's on "Nature, Humans and Technology" and Friday's on "Past, Present and Future." The speakers are renowned international designers in fields such as typography, book design, advertising, arcade game design, film and other media.

Events include the Oullim East Asian Poster Exhibition, the Oullim Poster Aperto Exhibition, a moving image festival and a Friday night techno party.

Icograda was founded in London in 1963, with the purpose of establishing an international council of visual communicators. This year's event is organized by the Korea Institute of Industrial Design Promotion, the Korean Society for Experimentation in Contemporary Design and the Visual Information Design Association of Korea.

The Icograda will resume its odd-year gatherings with "Continental Shift," a 2001 conference in Sandton, South Africa. The Sept. 10-14 conference will include a meeting of the general assembly, which has been put on hold for the Seoul event. For more information, contact Bae Min-ok at (02) 766-9580, or write to oullim@cavanpco.co.kr. Additional information is available at their Web site － www.oullim.org.

by Joe Yong-hee