Speaker Profile: Hillman Curtis
Expecting to see the Chris Orwig interview? Here it is.
(Your humble blogger pasted the wrong link into an email announcement.)
Hillman Curtis was one of the first design visionaries to join us at Flashforward, and we’re excited to confirm that he’s returning to the 2006 Seattle event to discuss his latest web and video work.
As digital video has become an ever-more-accessible medium, and now that Flash 8 makes it almost trivial to share your video creations online, many of us have been adding videography and video publishing to our professional and artistic repertoires. And as he did with web design, Hillman Curtis has been blazing the trail before us, mastering filmmaking and web delivery so he can share his inspirations, techniques and insights.
He has done so in his latest book, Creating Short Films for the Web, in which he details the creative process behind nine video projects. His Flashforward presentation will similarly examine some of his latest short films, as well as his most recent web designs, like yahoo.com.
If you haven’t visited Hillman’s portfolio site lately, you must! Plan to spend time savoring his Film and Video work in particular. His latest pieces are a documentary on the design group “Pentagram” and a “Films on Film” short about Spinal Tap.
We’ll be publishing all our speaker bios and session descriptions soon, but we’ll reproduce Hillman’s here for your convenience. Please don’t miss the chance to see Hillman’s presentation in person!
Hillman on Video
Hillman describes the relatively recent addition of filmmaking to his studio. He’ll talk about recent web design work, such as redesigning the Yahoo.com homepage, and then share how his path moved into making films. Hillman will show several films from his Designer Series and one from the Films on Film series. Each experience will be deconstructed, with focus on filming and the process of editing - of finding the story. Hillman will touch on technical challenges as well as the freedom that new (DV and HDV) technology allows. He will trace the impact that his experience as a Flash® and web designer has had on his filmmaking.
Hillman Curtis is founder and creative director of hillmancurtis, inc., a design studio with offices in San Francisco and New York City. Hillman has designed some of the world’s most visited sites, including Yahoo.com, Adobe.com, Fox SearchLight Pictures, and has led design initiatives for clients such as AOL, RollingStone, MTV, and Aquent.
His work has been recognized worldwide and garnered the industry’s top honors, including the One Show Gold, The Communication Arts Award of Excellence, The Webby, Adweek Icon Gold Award, SXSW Best of Show, and others. He has appeared as the keynote and featured speaker at design conferences worldwide and his work has been featured in a variety of major design publications.
Hillman’s first book, Flash Web Design (New Riders, USA) has sold over 100,000 copies and has been translated into 12 languages. His second book, MTIV, Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer, was released in 2002, and is required reading in many design schools, and is currently in its third printing. His latest book, Creating Short Films for the Web, was released in August of this year.
Hillman’s most recent venture has been into the world of film and video. His Designer Series — a series of short documentaries on designers such as Milton Glaser, Paula Scher, and Stefan Sagmeister, have been viewed over 250,000 times collectively and published online by the American Institute of Graphic Design. He has directed several short features — all currently making the rounds at the top film festivals — as well as two successful music videos.
