The trade show of March 2001 started a new era for Dean Homicki. Sparked by a bid that he won to create what he calls “tactile indicators” with LAB Architects for Federation Square in Melbourne’s Victoria, his sights were set on presenting DTAC with the tagline “Safety Just Got Sexy” and a campaign to guide the vision-impaired through small, stainless steel circular designs that, as he states, “acted like brail for the floor”.
DTAC – The new company 2001 – Designbuild trade show that would shape the next 11 years and merge Homicki’s design and entrepreneurship on an unprecedented scale.
The contract he landed to create the tactile indicators for Federation Square occurred during a simultaneous push for new and interesting architecture nearby that had just begun to really take off in the late 1990s. Only helping the desire to create a more visually stunning public masterpiece, the tactile indicator business was a definite turning point.
‘The tactile ground surface indicator’ (TGSI) – Homicki went on to design an international systemised business that would shape the future of the entire disability industry.
Homicki’s explicit attention to every last detail made his DTAC tactile indicator designs an uncompromised and high quality thing of simple, durable beauty. Along the same line, only the best digital signage would represent the “Safety Just Got Sexy” idea. Homicki paid a small fortune for his booth’s signage at the trade show of 2001 to make sure it showcased the invested energy and time he put into his work.
It was a point in his career that marked a certain honor in creating pieces that he is proud of, pieces that rose to the occasion with the same integrity he had retained through good times and the bad as an individual designer in a complicated and competitive industry.
‘Mini Albert’ – D+ by Dean Homicki – 2001-2004 – Sand Blasted white opaque acrylic – Image John Gollings
During the same time period, from 2001 to 2003, Dean Homicki also started another line of lighting designs that fell under a customization service on the side of dahdah that he called D+. Over this two year period, he created pendant lighting pieces for residential and commercial applications that hovered over a space with subtle grace.
‘Full Albert’ & ‘Beatrice’ pendant lamps – D+ by Dean Homicki 2001 – Image John gollings
Using sand-blasted acrylic pieces that fanned out, the diffused pendant luminaires named Albert, Beatrice, “030610” and Anna-P were technical to manufacture –with a central core and tangent angular fans that locked in with teeth – but delightfully easy on the eyes.
‘Anna P pendant light’ – D+ by Dean Homicki – 2001-2004 – Sand Blasted white opaque acrylic – Image John Gollings
In addition to the smaller lighting pieces, D+ also landed a huge lighting project in 2002 for a large residential complex. The lighting fixtures became 2.4-meters tall and 600-mm wide, with a similar core to the smaller lighting fixtures that featured interlocking fans.
‘GIANT Albert’ – D+ by Dean Homicki for Bates Smart Architects, Fresh water place – 2001 – Sand Blasted white opaque acrylic – Image Emma Cross
Each lamp was suspended by stainless steel wires that hung from base plates hidden behind the plaster of the ceiling using bolts that Homicki designed especially for this project. With four huge fluorescent tubes that came down the middle, the magnificent, effortless light fixtures brought him that much closer to his love for large-scale, architectural design.
‘Mini Albert’ – D+ by Dean Homicki – Sand Blasted white opaque acrylic – Telstra Corporation Offices, Melbourne Docklands 2001
This document ‘EVERY LAST DETAIL’ – D+ to DTAC’ is coauthored by Sonja Hall & Dean Homicki. It is free to copy, use and alter providing attribution and reference to deanhomicki.com.au is noted. ‘EVERY LAST DETAIL’ – D+ to DTAC’ – Dean Homicki – Designer, Entrepreneur, Mentor