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Game.Set.Match: Layer Tennis Epilogue

Posted by Scott

03
Layer Tennis was a blast…thanks to everyone for watching and commenting.  Thanks to Rob Cordiner for a great set and to Coudal and Co. for putting us on.  I have to say it was a very interesting experiment.  I read the forums and some blogs afterwards and in hindsight, may have done a few things differently.  I think Rob and I have very different styles and maybe I could have served the match better by trying to play off of that fact a little more.  Going into the match I had decided I was going to do a little bit of a throw-back to my earlier days of busier and more colorful designs, hoping the added complexity would make for some more interesting results.  I also made a point to try and include some of my favorite characters from past works (the crow, lizard and bear are my old pals from times past…i.e. Computer Arts Magazine days).  After reading the forums it seemed some people were put off by the re-hashing vibe, and sorry to those of you who felt that way, but as you know I tend to have nostalgic leanings. I really would have liked to go further with a core concept, but things get murky in the heat of battle and you lose sight of the big picture.  I feel sort of disappointed by volley 5. I had meant to include more of Rob’s piece from volley 4 but somehow it got lost in the shuffle and only after it was posted did I realize how few of his elements I had retained, sorry rob!.
All in all it was a great experience though and I think it produced some interesting imagery.  I really wish we’d had a bit more time, but I understand that 3 hours total for a match is really pushing it to being with (although it seemed like about 40 minutes from where I was sitting). I want to end by saying that I think this is a great concept and it was an honor to be able to participate. The way Coudal has taken a rather solitary activity like design and turned it into an event to be followed in real time is pretty amazing. The format was completely counter to my own process and it was a breath of fresh air to see design in this new light. Long live Layer Tennis!

11 Comments Leave A Comment

5

Luis Alves says:

November 10, 2007 at 9:45 am

First of all I’ve to say that I really enjoy the layer tennis, its a really cool idea. the results of the game were really nice, but I think the plays of Rob Cordiner were a litle bit poor, and volley 8 was a big dissapointment. But overal I enjoy it very much. Keep up the good work!!!

7

James says:

November 11, 2007 at 6:52 pm

Good job on the Layer Tennis. Also good job on analyzing your decisions in retrospect.

I liked how you were both working off of each other at the beginning.

I think that I recognize something that caused the two of you to lose the design “connection” that you were forming.

I think something that confuses the layer tennis concept is the “battle” concept. I like the “game” concept better. Instead of seeing each other as competition, is it not true that design is a big enough opponent in itself? The battle of all designers is to overcome dogma and create something new – fresh. Somehow that concept is lost on our culture. We seem to love the archetypical arena more than the internal struggles that design presents us with as a challenge. Design is a master that leaves us battling our internal struggle.

Collaborative work, as Layer Tennis could be described as is what I read in your “pre game” statements. I was looking forward to the two of you collaborating more than anything.

Keep up the great work! Stay inspired; stay inspiring.