13 January 2023 – Ian Callum Lecture

This blog series is going to contain reviews of the weekly events I will be attending, as a part of my Design and Technology course at GSA. The first blog in the series is going to review a lecture by Ian Callum of Callum designs.

Ian Callum is a GSA graduate and former head of design at Jaguar. It was really interesting to hear about some of Ian’s work and to learn about the story behind some of his iconic designs, and I am going to talk about a few comments that stuck out to me.

Ian said

‘Design creates order out of chaos, however, chaos is often required as a prerequisite to being creative.’

I like this point, and I believe that very structured environments won’t produce innovative and exciting ideas, because I think that ideas are so often sparked from the most random things.

He also made the point that using the most cutting-edge technology doesn’t necessarily mean your product will be better. The example he referred to was auxiliary functions in cars being controlled by touch screens, and that if you are driving at 60mph it would be much easier to control the aircon with a dial, rather than use a high-tech touch screen. I think that designs are often over-complicated now to utilise new technology and that sometimes the old ways to do things are the best.

Ian talked a lot about the idea of brand identity and how important it is today. A brand should have values, and these are what keep a brand's identity clear over decades whilst designs are rapidly changing. With the rise of consumerism, I agree that branding is more important than ever. If people like a brand's values then they are more likely to buy into their new products, as they assume it will align with their values.

Ian’s talk was very interesting, and he has produced some incredible designs throughout his time in the industry. I will be looking at his work in more detail and taking inspiration from his designs in the future.