A season of inspirational lectures launches in London & Manchester this September. The line up includes Tony Davidson, Irma Boom, Paul Davis, Ivan Chermayeff and Paul Lavoie showing their work and discussing their influences. The lectures begin on 5 September and end on 14 November. Read on for more information on the lectures, or go straight to D&D to book!

Tony Davidson, Executive Creative Director, Wieden + Kennedy
Wednesday, 5 September 2007: 6.45pm – 8.15pm
Urbis, Cathedral Gardens, Manchester, M4 3BG
Train/Tram: Victoria Station

As a child Tony Davidson learnt his trade by lying upside down on the settee and competing with his four siblings to ‘guess the commercial’. He started his career in advertising in 1985 as a junior art director at BMP where he teamed up with Kim Papworth. At Leagas Delaney they created the Adidas Euro ‘96 ‘Nicknames’ campaign, launched Tanner Krolle handbags, and did their Pepe commercial. At BBH they worked on Audi, and Lynx and created Levi’s ‘Flat Eric’. In Sept 2000 Tony & Kim set about building-up the then flagging ship of Wieden + Kennedy London, created Nike’s ‘Run London’ online and won 2 D&AD Black Pencils for their work on the Honda ‘Power of Dreams’ campaign. Tony is also passionate about pushing Wieden + Kennedy into new areas and has helped develop several WK products and art shows.

Tony will be showing his award-winning work and discussing his influences and experiences as D&AD President.

Irma Boom, in association with The London Design Festival
Tuesday 18 September 2007: 7pm – 8.30pm
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
Tube: Waterloo/Embankment

Irma Boom’s prolific work explores the creative boundaries of print and the imagination. She is not interested in precise typography or perfect print; it is the idea that always dominates.

Boom works internationally in both the cultural and commercial sectors. Since opening the Irma Boom Office in Amsterdam in 1991 she has designed scores of books, as well as teaching at Yale in the US and the Van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. Her work for the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Ferrari, Camper, Vitra International and the United Nations is internationally renowned. ‘If there is something in common about my books, it is the roughness’, she says.

Boom was the youngest ever laureate to receive the prestigious Gutenberg Prize for her body of work and her design for ‘Weaving as Metaphor’ by American artist Sheila Hicks was rewarded as ‘The Most Beautiful Book in the World’ at the Leipzig Book Fair.

Irma will be showing us through her work and guiding us around her imagination.

Paul Davis
Wednesday 10 October 2007: 7pm – 8.30pm
Logan Hall, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL
Tube: Russell Square

Illustrator Paul Davis is a master satirist with a firm grasp on the inanity of the human condition. His work crosses the art/design divide and paves the way for communication to be playful, subversive and culturally significant. After ten years or so in the ‘wilderness’, working out what he wanted to say and how to say it, Davis was commissioned by The Independent on Sunday’s Sunday Review in 1996 to put together several full-page watercolours of clothes and accessories by Gucci, Calvin Klein and friends. This project gave way to worldwide projects for Harvey Nichols, Terence Conran, Virgin Atlantic and IBM.

Along with several published titles, Paul is the drawings editor of The Drawbridge, has just self-published a broadsheet with Alexander Gelman and is currently working on a book about London with photographer Jocelyn Bain Hogg.

Paul will be showing his work and revealing everything.

Ivan Chermayeff, Chermayeff & Geismar
Wednesday 31st October 2007: 7pm – 8.30pm
Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street, Off Kingsway, London WC2A 2AE
Tube: Holborn

A prolific designer, illustrator, and artist, Chermayeff has created memorable, iconic images for literally hundreds of clients. He studied at Harvard, the Institute of Design in Chicago, and received a BFA at Yale. In 1957 he formed Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar with Tom Geismar, who he met at Yale, & Robert Brownjohn, a friend and former student of Ivan’s father, architect Serge Chermayeff.

By 1960, Brownjohn had left and Chermayeff and Geismar pioneered abstract corporate symbols with designs for the Chase Manhattan Bank and others, and in 1963 began their 38-year consulting relationship with Mobil Oil Corporation.

Ivan’s posters, publications and art installations for contemporary buildings have received nearly every award bestowed by the profession, including gold medals from the AIGA and the Industrial Art Medal from the American Institute of Architects. Chermayeff & Geismar have published two books on their work ‘TM:’ in 2000 and ‘designing’ in 2003.

Ivan will be showing standout designs from fifty years of pioneering work and will be talking about his career, design philosophy, inspirations, and process.

Paul Lavoie, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, TAXI
Wednesday 14 November 2007: 7.00-8.30pm
Logan Hall, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL
Tube: Russell Square

Named one of the world’s leading independent agencies of 2006 by ‘Campaign’ last year, TAXI was co-founded by Paul Lavoie and Jane Hope in Canada in 1992. Using the powerful combination of advertising and design, they set out to give brands a more coherent and stronger voice in the marketplace.

TAXI immediately became recognised in the industry for its fresh, unconventional approach, creating consistently strong brands for companies like BMW ~ MINI, Nike, Viagra and TELUS. In 2004, they moved to New York to open TAXI NYC. Clients include AMP’D Mobile, Rail Europe Group, Versus, Blue Shield of California, CSTV Networks, and Fox Sports. Paul is the current President of the Board at The Art Directors Club of New York, as well as a board member of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Brand Center.

Paul will be showing work and talking about the true spirit of creativity and innovation in a changing world.