Name:
RINZEN

Age:
12 months

Location:
Australia

Mac or PC:
Mac, Mac, Mac

Site(s):
www.rinzen.com
www.rmxxx.com

Tell us a little bit about the history of Rinzen:
2 parts RMX, 1 part job dissatisfaction, 1 part spontaneity, 3 parts fun -- stir well and serve with a hearty mix of illustration, print, web and sound design.

Who are the people behind Rinzen:
Rinzen is 6 people: Steve, Adrian, Karl, Craig, Katrina and Rilla.

Where did the name Rinzen come from:
It's a Japanese word which has various meanings – Sudden Awakening, Commanding, Awe-inspiring (!!). Its not a word in common usage in Japan and even the guys at Furi Furi had to look it up for us.

As Australian designers do you think that Aus designers have a name on a global scale, and are respected by the wider community or do you still think we are fairly unknown as a design country:
Yes, Australia is definitely unknown. Unlike countries like Sweden, we don't have centuries of design tradition which are part of the national identity. Australian Architecture is streets ahead of Graphic Design in developing a distinctive national style and being respected internationally. Architects work within unique environmental restrictions where as Graphic designers are more affected by international trends.

What is the message you try to convey in your work, as individuals and as a collective:
Design is Skanky.

A lot of your work has a very Asian influence, do you think Australians have a particular generic style? If so, what would it be:
While we completely agree that at least half of Rinzen are obsessed by Japan, each of us have a different set of influences which combine to make something (well, I hope) a bit different. Personally, I think it would be hard to have grown up in Australia in the 70s/80s without being a tiny bit influenced by Hello Kitty, Astro Boy or Monkey (but then, I would say that). There is no generic Australian style at all - unless of course you count revolting brushscript opera houses.

Many people are saying that print will soon die out... as a collective that works a lot in print what do you think about this:
No way. Print smells good.

Who would you say to watch out for in the near future in Australian design:
There are heaps of exciting collaborations in Australia right now: Most of them are doing completely self-initiated stuff like PAM and North (Rhys Lee and Georgina Cullum).

What can we expect from Rinzen in the near future:
At the moment, we're launching two new RMX Projects.
RMX EXTENDED PLAY involves designers, illustrators and artists from around the world including Sweden Graphics, Tycoon Graphics, Volume One, Future Farmers, E-boy, Evan Hecox, Shynola, The Office for Fun and Profit and Norm. Remixing began in January this year over a 6 month period, with players working to a strict set of rules: All the pieces are vector only, must be produced within a week deadline and all fonts are self designed. The collection has been published by Die-Gestalten Verlag and will be available in design book stores throughout Australia and Europe from October – and the US from March next year.

RMX EXTENDED PLAY will be launched in Sydney at Ariel Booksellers on Wednesday 26 September (6.30pm) featuring djing by Forcefeed:Swede and visuals by Rinzen and Superfun. The Brisbane launch follows shortly after at Modus Studios on Friday 12 October (7.30pm). Come one, come all!

We have also done a project exclusively for the IdN Fresh Conference Sydney, featuring a different spin on the remixing concept. It involves 39 players including Nendo Graphics, Buro Destruct and Power-Graphixx – as well a strong contingent of Australians such as NeoMu, Mesh22, The Revolution, Kitten and Design is Kinky. The outcome is a panoramic frieze which has been packaged as a 3.6 metre long poster (composed of 5 parts) and will be available for sale at Fresh and on RINZEN.COM and RMXXX.COM by late October.

You can see all three RMX projects in exhibition at the Fresh Conference.....

We ask all our profiled designers this and are keen to hear your answer as Australians: what do you know about Australian design/designers:
1. Hill's Hoist
2. Wine Cask
3. Lawn Mower
4. Boomerang

Any final comments:
Gill Sans has left the building.

Thanks Rinzen!