New Zealand has image problem, says design awards judge

Press, 27 November 1986, Page 7

New Zealand has image problem, says design awards judge

By

LES BLOXHAM

in Wellington The “jangling environment” of the interior of Air New Zealand jets illustrated New Zealand’s unco-ordinated approach to image-making, said the chairman of the New Zealand Industrial Design Council, Dr Ray Thorburn, in Wellington last evening. Speaking at the presentation of the Tourist and Publicity design awards, Dr Thorburn said he had recently counted six to nine different patterns, textures, and colours on one of Air New Zealand’s aircraft. Seats, walls, panels, carpets and the “matronly uniforms” of cabin crews had nothing to do with one another, he said, and created a jangling environment that was anything but relaxing or welcoming.

Dr Thorburn, who was one of the eight judges for this year's competition, said the panel had found the same insensibility to

the way many of the 80 competition submissions had been presented. “Good design is a combination of aesthetic sensitivity and technical efficiency that is capable of being reproduced without becoming cold and impersonal,” he said. “Quality design is good for the spirit, as well as being good for the bank balance. Design with a flair and innovation will sell better than imitative solutions that are some other country’s answers, not our own.” Dr Thorburn said the judges were delighted with the enterprise, the initiative, and inventiveness of the winners. Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World in Auckland, Craft New Zealand in Cambridge, the Tourist Hotel Corporation’s Hirere Falls trampers’ hut on the Milford Track, and the Nga Tukemata exhibition at the Hawke’s Bay Art Gallery and Museum in Napier won awards in

the tourist facility category. T. and Ski Originals, maker of T-shirts and sweatshirts, won an award for its clothing range in the souvenir category; Huka Lodge won an award in the accommodation section; and the New Zealand Historic Places Trust for its restoration of the Brunner industrial site on the Grey River. Among the 11 projects which received commendations were the Canterbury Promotion Council’s “Christchurch, Canterbury Leisure Guide and Maps” publication; the New Zealand Forest Services interpretation and development of the historic goldmining site at Waiuta; and the Tourist and Publicity Department’s booklet, “New Zealand Outdoor Action Holiday,” and the Forest Service’s Croesus Track project. The Mount Cook Group’s Tiger Lily 111 boat also won a certificate of commendation for tourist and scenic trips.