Over the last week or so we have seen the return of the London Design Festival for its 20th Anniversary. Amongst some visually stunning designs and installations, were some critical and important messages. It was not only inspirational, it was superbly educational. The amount of circular focussed design installations and products means we are certainly moving in the right direction.
Some of the highlights were discovering new and surprising sustainable materials at Material Matters. Listening to Patricia Urquiola speak all about her design background and goals for the future and admiring Island Steps by Steuart Padwick, a 3D Printed, 100% cement free concrete installation, both inside the Magazine London building @ Design London.
Then losing yourself in the mesmerizing, Into Sight installation by Sony over in South Kensington. Plus there were many many more.
As always it is difficult to see and attend everything so unfortunately missed out on the chance to attend the The Future Collective® talks on Design for Better 2.0. Lets hope there is some sort of publication with highlights for this one.
As good as this all was, there is still a huge opportunity to improve and question what and how materials are used? What becomes of the displays now it has all finished? What kind of impact and footprint does the event have? and what is the plan for next year? One bad material in particular stood out, there was an awful lot of vinyl being used for graphics and directional in and around the various venues.
