University of Tasmania, Australia

ArtsForum is a series of FREE public lectures held at the School of Visual and Performing Arts, Academy of the Arts, University of Tasmania, Inveresk. Both UTAS students and members of the general public are welcome to attend. Lectures are presented by staff, visiting scholars from Tasmania, mainland Australia and overseas, industry professionals and artists-in-residence.

Trent Jansen – Australian Product Designer

After graduating from the College of Fine Arts in 2004, Trent Jansen undertook one year study program at the Industrial Design School of the University of Alberta in Canada and later an internship at the Amsterdam studio of design guru Marcel Wanders – of Moooi fame. This incredible opportunity gave Trent the confidence to open his own design studio back on home turf in Sydney in late 2004.

Trent Jansen focuses on producing sustainable designs with pieces that can connect with the user and bypass the disposable mentality of many of today’s modern designs. In addition to many awards and accolades he was the joint winner of the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award in 2008 and the 2010 Edra Design Residency at Space Furniture – a residency established to cultivate local talent and bridge the manufacturing gap by connecting Australian designers with world-leading Italian manufacturers.

Trent’s work is now in production with ISM Objects in Australia, Sekimoto in Japan and Moooi in The Netherlands

Lecture  

Trent will share with the audience his point of view on the current state of international object design, considering the important formal/functional focus of early 20th Century design and the irrelevance of design practices that continue under this model today. He will discuss ‘biographical design’ as an alternative to the often-superficial narrative driven approach of many contemporary designers. This will include his latest design work, which derives from research into Tasmanian heritage and history.

DOT Professional Development