The Movie Art of Syd Mead: Visual Futurist

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The exhibition will open on April 27th through May 19th, 2019. One third of the 150 pieces of art are… Read More » Throughout the years he has reached a legendary status among all concept and industrial designers: his modern yet grounded-in-reality style; the simple, elegant lines and harmonious proportions of his creations; the colorful, detailed environments surrounding each design; the refined gouache painting technique – realistic yet with a delightful artistic touch; all these elements create a unique combination, the ultimate concept designer’s dream. Reuniting the crew of the Enterprise, 10 years after the TV series had been cancelled, Star Trek the Motion Picture was due for release in 1979. The movie featured a giant starship, V’ger, which threatened the Earth. “It was a retread of a TV segment that had been done before,” says Mead, “[so] it wasn’t totally original.” Now the style of Syd Mead is incredibly distinctive and yet when you look through the book you realise how many of his designs shaped the "feel" of the film and to be honest I am not sure how many of them really did credit him for that. After all you can see the character of Johny 5 in Short Circuit really coming out in his work.

The man who designs future worlds - BBC Future

Week long series of critiques, presentations, lectures and an original piece of art, now in the PCC permanent collection.His body of work, as well as his more recent lectures and training courses, have inspired at least two generations of designers, including some of the most prominent designers of today, and he represents one of the few cases – if not the only – where a brand new definition was coined – Visual Futurist. With his own company in the 1970s, Mead spent about a third of his time in Europe, primarily to provide designs and illustrations for Philips, and he continued to work for international clients. [7] Through the 1970s and 1980s, Mead and his company provided architectural renderings, both interior and exterior, for clients including Intercontinental Hotels, [8] 3D International, Harwood Taylor & Associates, Don Ghia, Gresham & Smith [9] and Philip Koether Architects. [10] LaBarre, Suzanne (September 27, 2010). "Almost Genius: Futuristic Food Court by Blade Runner's Set Designer, Syd Mead". Fast Company . Retrieved December 31, 2019. ARTS (Proposed for November: Invited event presenter in connection with Arts and Architecture series)

Syd Mead Website 2023 Project History | Official Syd Mead Website 2023

Although he’s made his name in the movies, Mead maintains that a good designer can work on anything. “Cassettes, TVs and starships – one technology is just way ahead of the other,” he says. Syd Mead passed away on Monday 30th December 2019, and his loss has been felt deeply around the world. His body of work was ahead of its time both in content and vision, and we want to celebrate the life of Syd Mead, Visual Futurist. With transportation design as his first love, Syd Mead seldom misses an opportunity to provide his unique blend of futurism and believability to those projects consisting of a vehicle that travels from “A” to ‘B”. Whether it be designing solar powered unicycles, show cars, luxury yachts, cruise ships, the interiors of private 747’s, or interplanetary spacecraft, each receives the same attention to detail within a perfectly designed scenario. This combination has become a Syd Mead trademark and has been seen in everything from concept cars for Ford Motor Company to futuristic “Hypervans” which have been the subject of his latest full-color illustrations. This book is an amazing catalogue of work that Syd Mead has done - I just wish it went in to more depth but then again is that not the sign of a great book that what ever they give you are left wanting more.Concept and pre-production design for re-use of existing structure interior at Disney Land, Anaheim, California) Concept design and illustration: Theme project AWAGI) (Concept design and illustration: Theme project NEOTOPIA) Sydney Jay Mead, commonly Syd Mead (born July 18, 1933), is an American industrial designer and neofuturistic concept artist, widely known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron. Mead once said, "I've called science fiction 'reality ahead of schedule.'" Syd is commissioned to create designs for proposed electronic game as variant of TV series, ‘BATTLESTAR, GALACTICA’ Mead's one-man shows began in 1973 with an exhibit at documenta 6 in Kassel, West Germany. His work was later exhibited in Japan, Italy, California and Spain. [11] In 1983, Mead was invited by Chrysler Corporation to be a guest speaker to its design staff. He created a series of slides to provide visuals to the lecture, and the resulting presentation was a success. It was later expanded and enhanced with computer-generated images specifically created at the requests of several clients, including Disney, Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Pratt Institute and the Society of Illustrators. In March 2010, Mead completed a four-city tour of Australia. [7]