No Value in Replicas

November 20th, 2009

Last night’s second ’Values’ debate – an initiative of Futurespace and Corporate Culture – was a huge success. With high profile members of the design and publishing industries pitted up against each other with the question: ’Is there any value in Replicas?’.

Witty repartee, scathing insults and passionate debate kept the audience entertained, while the night’s adjudicator, Max Thompson (Hamilton Thompson), kept the whole thing on track with his wry sense of humour and impeccable comedic timing.

The affirmative – Darren Palmer (Darren Palmer Design), Greg Carmichael (APP) and Steve Coster (DEGW) – set a solid foundation for the debate, arguing that the ‘replica economy’ is worth a lot of money, that replicas make design available to the masses, that “the end always justifies the means” and that sometimes furniture doesn’t need to last forever.

Despite a sound debating technique, the affirmative were unable to win over the audience. Overall they were most impressed by the argument put forward in the negative, with Angela Ferguson (Futurespace), Paul McGillick (Indesign) and Andrew McKenzie (Niche Media) taking out the debate, arguing that authenticity is where true value lies.

The meeting of minds was quite lively at times, with Angela Ferguson taking a stab at the British (despite the adjudicator’s obvious English heritage) and Steve Coster wrapping up his team’s case with a barrage of jovial personal insults – all in the spirit of things, of course.

Richard Munao – Managing Director Corporate Culture – closed the evening by thanking the teams for an engaging and humorous debate (despite the fact that the affirmative “didn’t have a chance”). Munao also pointed out the value of continuing the conversation surrounding replicas and the wider issue of Intellectual Property, and the importance of bringing the community together to open dialogue.

Stay tuned to indesignlive.com for a video from the debate, where you can hear all the the speakers for yourself.

Next week Corporate Culture Sydney will be holding a Sustainability forum with representatives from Instyle Contract Textiles and Contemporary Leathers – stay tuned for more info.

corporateculture.com.au

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