Andrew Walsh, Accolade Event Management

Andrew Walsh went to a “fairly typical” Melbourne boys’ school, and upon leaving school pursued a career in the theatre. Although he received no formal training, over the past 25 years he has proceeded to become the creative genius behind some of the world’s most spectacular public events, including the Athens Olympics and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies.

Whether it’s co-ordinating London’s millennium event or flying a tram into the MCG, Walsh says design plays a strong role in all of his spectacular events. In particular, the recent Commonwealth Games offered lots of opportunity for designers.

“Across both ceremonies we had three in-house designers and we used about four external designers,” he says. “My role was to come up with the guiding concept, then I’d brief the various designers to come up with design elements to achieve that vision.”

The main obstacle they faced was how to fill the vast arena that is the MCG.
Walsh decided that the only way to deal with it was to think ‘inside’ the box, and define a theatre-like space.

“It sounds so bloody obvious, but because we normally work in theatre, we’re used to working inside a box of some shape, so we made a box,” he says. “In order to allow people to think freely, you’ve got to come up with a set of parameters. We created our own parameters and took it from there.”

Once they had their stage, they could set about giving the ceremonies a distinct look and feel. Without this framework, the end result can be disappointing. “If everything is just a mad fruit salad just thrown together and blended up, invariably it comes out looking horrible,” says Walsh.

One image that recurred, giving a cohesive feel to the events, was that of the somewhat controversial duck. “The duck as a design element was there as a page-turner on the story, and as a conversation point,” says Walsh. “When it appeared in the closing ceremony, that was my way to stick it up the media,” he laughs, referring to less than complimentary coverage by the press.

Computers play an integral role in the design of such major events. “Everything we do is computerised now,” he says. “I remember rendering everything on tracing paper and printing it on dyeline. I mean, I’m that old. I remember chisels and stone.” (He’s 51.)

Today’s techniques are a far cry from chisels and stone. “We design the show as a 3D animation, then we take all the artwork and transfer it electronically to the computers that co-ordinate the flying and lighting. We then fine-tune it on the systems,” he says.

However, it’s not all hi-tech. “Some of the costume designs and early set designs are still sketched,” he adds. “There’s something nice about sketches anyway. It’s very hard to sit in a meeting and use computers, although some people do.”

When it comes to the debate surrounding whether or not design is art, Walsh is in no doubt. “Good design is art, absolutely,” he asserts. “You only need to go to the Museum of Modern Art and look at the objects in there. Many started of their lives as utilitarian things – a Wolseley chair or a Neeson couch,” he says. “A Bakelite radio is a great example. They are now objects of great beauty. They transcend design to become objects of great value and importance to humanity.”

And Walsh says that many Australians designers are part of this phenomenon. “There are plenty of Australian designers up there with the best in the world, so I think that’s an indicator we’re communicating well with the design world in all sorts of fields,” he says. “There are certainly some wonderful design schools here.”

And there’s plenty of hope for the future too he says. “There are some very bright, inspiring Australians who are very into what they are doing. There’s enormous potential. We’re fortunate enough here to have enough space and security for young people to be able to do design.”

So what are his tips for new starters wanting to present their portfolio? “Presentation is very important and says a lot about the designer,” he says. “I don’t think you present a single portfolio. You need to understand who you are presenting to, and make sure the materials in it are along the lines of what they do.”

However, he adds that this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t present anything challenging. “When you present to somebody they’re looking to see all the stuff they’re comfortable with, but then they see something else and say, ‘hey, that’s interesting – it’s not necessarily what I want but it shows there’s a lot of clever thought going on there’.”

Walsh is keen to give new designers a hand up. “I work in a very rarefied field, so the same people tend to crop up,” he says. “I always try and make sure there are less experienced people within our teams. It’s important, particularly on the scale we work on and the lack of opportunities in that scale, that we give people a chance and get a fresh pair of eyes on it.”

Fresh ideas are vital in a business where every new event brings more expectation. “It’s very easy in public events to turn out another homogenous show that fits the mould,” he says. “Everyone can do the lowest common denominator and turn out something everyone expects. It’s much more interesting to do something that challenges an audience.”

And challenging audiences brings its own challenges. “Most of the things we do, because of the scale we work at, we have to invent,” says Walsh. “We’re always pushing the boundaries and inventing new technology. We take tried and tested systems so we know they are not going to fall over, and then use them in different ways.”

But for all the grand designs, when it comes down to it, it’s simplicity that most inspires Walsh. “The purest ideas are always the strongest,” he says. “If the core idea is simple and robust, then it doesn’t need affectation to make it work.”