EDITORIAL
BEAUTIFUL LINES
For the sixteenth season of Design Friends, every event is a line with a larger picture, each talk a thread in the fabric of creativity. Parallel yet diverse, sometimes converging, sometimes passing by, but always remaining focused on the essence of design.
Lines can mark boundaries, and shape our perceptions. They are the silent architects of form and function, connecting ideas, aligning concepts, and occasionally diverging, to create something truly unique.
As we navigate through this season, our aim is to lead you towards moments of contrast and correlation, of focus and divergence. Just as a creative hand traces lines on a blank canvas, we invite you to follow these paths, to explore where they meet, and to discover points of divergence. We will draw, together, a vision of design that is ever-evolving, ever-expanding.
For us, it is essential to remain aligned with one of the core principles of Design Friends: fostering a sense of community. We want to bring people together, to uncover fresh perspectives, to share inspiring moments, and to facilitate meaningful exchanges within a community that shares a deep
passion for design. This commitment to connection and collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, ensuring that our events are not just about discovery, but about experiencing design together.
For our sixteenth season, we have curated an exceptionally diverse and exciting lineup. We are happy that Gemma O’Brien, Marlota, Ronan Bouroullec, Francesco Franchi, Field, and Superflex accepted our invitation to come to Luxembourg. For each of their lectures we will create a monographic catalog, as we have done for every lecture since season 1.
As in previous years, we are delighted to host all of our speakers in the splendid auditorium of Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, our collaborator.
Looking ahead to our sixteenth season, we’re pleased to announce that admission will remain free for everyone eager to explore the multilinear world of design. For this, we depend on the generous support of public and private partners, as well as our dedicated members. We warmly encourage you to renew your membership or begin a new one, to find out where these lines are leading.
DESIGN
FRIENDSSEASON1609.10.2024_MUDAM
BOARD COUNSELORS
HeikeFries,Secretary
GuidoKröger,Treasurer
AnabelWitry,President
GRAPHICS& LETTERING GEMMA O’BRIEN
Words That Bloom
Australian artist Gemma O’Brien a.k.a. Mrs Eaves is an internationally renowned designer and artist known for her bold graphics, illustrative lettering, and murals. Her work has been commissioned by Apple, Nike, Google, and is held in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.
After leaving law school to pursue graphic design, she became inspired by letterpress printing and has since gone on to build a career around drawing, painting and digital design.
Outside her commercial design work, she explores language, nature and the human experience through her art practice.
Join Gemma for a discussion on her intricate typography, wall paintings, and brand collaborations from the past decade. With live demos of painting, drawing, and calligraphy, Gemma will reflect on how analog processes shaped pivotal moments in her career, and how her art practice is being influenced by her current research in Neuroaesthetics.
Australia
Let
20.11.2024_MUDAM
FASHION DESIGN MARLOTA
Avant la lettre
A journey towards the unexplored, towards that fleeting moment where creation is in gestation, a reminder of the beauty and infinite possibility that exists in the space and the instant between what was and what will be.
Mar García is the founder and creative director of Marlota, a Spanish contemporary fashion brand linked to other artistic disciplines. With twenty years of experience in the international market, Japan is one of its main markets as well as Europe.
Spain
As the newspaper “EL PAÍS” wrote in March 2024, “Marlota creates multidisciplinary events to express the values of a firm that goes far beyond fashion”.
Educated in fashion in Madrid, the United Kingdom and Germany, Mar Garcia’s passion for art leads her to create a brand in constant search of balance between opposites through transversal conversations between different artistic disciplines. Far from labels, her designs move in contradiction. From idealism to pragmatism, from the emotional to the intellectual, from the feminine to the masculine.
The emotional factor of the pieces she creates connects immaterially with art. As a way of reflecting on new ways of being, establishing a dialogue around constant change and the beauty of movement through dance, sculpture, literature, video, or photography.
Marlota’s garments allow us to project that which is not seen. A disembodied sensation that materialises in the void between the fabric and the skin: the ‘MA’, as the Japanese call it, that space that envelops the body and allows movement. Linked to the emotion produced by beauty, Mar believes in the transformative power of the garments she creates. From the architecture of her patterns, she converts the fabric into silhouettes whose volumes integrate and respect the human figure in an honest way. Her pieces connect symbolically and materially with nature, in a constant search for the origin of things, where less is more, and always enough.
Images for the exhibition curated by Mar García for the exhibition at the Ateneo de Madrid on the occasion of ARCO, International Contemporary Art Fair in March 2024. Photos by Lourdes Cabrera
Process in Marlota’s studio preparing the SS20 collection.
15.01.2025_MUDAM
PRODUCT DESIGN RONAN BOUROULLEC
Variety, ideas and inspirations
Ronan Bouroullec is a renowned French designer recognized for his innovative and minimalist approach.
At the age of 17, Ronan attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art. The next year, he exhibited at the Salon du Meuble in Paris, leading to collaborations with French design companies. He continued his studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD). In 1996, his Vase “Soliflore” was added to the Centre Pompidou’s collection. In 1997, the Néotù gallery hosted his first solo exhibition. Giulio Cappellini discovered him at the Salon du Meuble, leading to his first industrial design pieces and the Grand Prix du Design from la Ville de Paris.
Known for his elegant and functional designs, Ronan has made a significant impact in the world of contemporary design. His works, characterized by a blend of simplicity and sophistication, span various domains including furniture, lighting, interior design and creations in public spaces. He has collaborated for nearly twentyfive years with his brother Erwan for prestigious design companies bringing a distinctive style and creative vision to a wide range of products.
France
Today, along side his work as a designer, drawing – which has been a regular activity since early childhood – occupies an important place in Ronan Bouroullec’s daily life. Over the last few years, his drawings have been introduced into large public and private collections around the world, including those of the Art Institute of Chicago, Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. His works have been presented in a range of contexts and places around the world: Galerie kreo (Paris, 2023 and 2024, London, 2021), Licht Gallery (Tokyo, 2021), Isetan Space (Tokyo 2024). In spring 2024, Ronan’s creations became part of the collections of the Centre Pompidou, who dedicated a solo exhibition to him.
Autumn-Winter 2024,
FRANCESCO FRANCHI
Italy
Designing a news experience
Working in a newsroom nowadays means designing a publishing experience that responds and adapts to new patterns of information consumption. Design needs to combine analog and digital platforms to shape content to be read, watched, listened to, and touched.
Francesco Franchi is a journalist and the deputy creative director of La Repubblica. He earned his degree from the Polytechnic University of Milan with a thesis on graphic journalism in daily newspapers, an academic project which turned out to be, over the years, the starting point for a remarkable professional career. He started his career at LeftLoft, during the years in which infographics were becoming more popular in Italy. In 2008 he joined Sole 24 as the Creative Director of “IL. Intelligent Lifestyle”, a magazine that won many international rewards for its innovative design. As of 2016 he has been a member of the editorial staff of La Repubblica, which he redesigned twice in three years. He is a member of AGI and is the author of several books, including “Designing News” and “The Intelligent Lifestyle Magazine”.
↑ IL Magazine, Il Sole 24 ORE, double infographic spread about high speed railways in the world
← IL Magazine, Il Sole 24 ORE, double infographic spread about consuptions
14.05.2025_MUDAM
EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
FIELD
UK/Germany
Imagining the unseen –new metaphors for future technologies
FIELD designs to excite people and inspire change through the use of advanced technology, engaging storytelling, and immersive experiences. Their work is guided by artistic intuition and strategic insights, catering to brands that lead their fields and harbour world-changing ideas. Leveraging technology, FIELD unlocks and amplifies a brand’s creative potential. Adopting a holistic perspective, they deliver stories that are both optimistic and impactful.
Wired – System Aesthetics (2018)
18.06.2025_MUDAM
PUBLICSPACE DESIGN SUPERFLEX
Art as infrastructure
Denmark
SUPERFLEX was founded in 1993 by Jakob Fenger, Bjørnstjerne Christiansen, and Rasmus Rosengren Nielsen. Conceived as an expanded collective, SUPERFLEX has consistently worked with a wide variety of collaborators, from gardeners to engineers to audience members. Engaging with alternative models for the creation of social and economic organisation, works have taken the form of energy systems, beverages, sculptures, copies, hypnosis sessions, infrastructure, paintings, plant nurseries, contracts, and public spaces.
Working in and outside the physical location of the exhibition space, SUPERFLEX has been engaged in major public space projects since their award-winning Superkilen opened in 2011. These projects often involve participation, involving the input of local communities, specialists, and children. Taking the idea of collaboration even further, recent works have involved soliciting the participation of other species. SUPERFLEX has been developing a new kind of urbanism that includes the perspectives of plants and animals, aiming to move society towards interspecies living. For SUPERFLEX, the best idea might come from a fish.
Dive-In, 2019. Dive–In was originally commissioned by Desert X in collaboration TBA21–Academy with music composed by Dark Morph (Jónsi and Carl Michael von Hausswolff). Photo by Lance Gerber, courtesy of Desert X
→ Superkilen, 2012. Urban park in Copenhagen. Sound system from Jamaica, Red Square. Commissioned by City of Copenhagen and RealDania. Developed in close collaboration with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Topotek1. Photo by SUPERFLEX
↓ Superkilen, 2012. Urban park in Copenhagen. Red Square. Commissioned by City of Copenhagen and RealDania. Developed in close collaboration with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Topotek1. Photo by SUPERFLEX
Flooded McDonald’s, 2009. RED, 21 min. Still image. ↑→
Photo by SUPERFLEX
One Two Three Swing! conceived for Hyundai Commission, Tate Modern Turbine Hall, 2017.
Foreigners Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes!, 2002. Posters in Copenhagen. Photo by SUPERFLEX
↓ Foreigners Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes!, 2002. Wall painting and posters. Photo by Anders Sune Berg
MARCH2025
SCREENING
Luxembourg City Film Festival
Design is a crucial component in creating impact. Sound, visual effects, lighting, set, and costumes are just a few of the many design elements that can influence the emotional perception of films.
To build on these synergies, we have established a strong relationship with the Luxembourg City Film Festival since 2018.
Over the past few years, we have presented films about exceptional creatives and designers (Bjarke Ingels, “Big Time,” in 2019, “Rams ” in 2019, “Mau ” in 2022, Geoff McFetridge, “Drawing a Life,” in 2024), as well as films about diverse interactions with design in different countries (“Design Canada ” in 2020, “33 Words about Design ” (Russia) in 2021), and everyday objects in product design (“Monobloc, the Chair that Conquered the World ” in 2023).
Be sure not to miss our selection for 2025.
Full details about the festival, which will take place from March 6th to 16th, will be available soon at www.luxfilmfest.lu.
SEASON15
DESIGN
FRIENDS WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THEIR MEMBERS AND PARTNERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
GOLD MEMBERS
Carolina Albrecht Lazo, Séverine Bauer, Viktor Dick, Mauro Doro, Runa Egilsdottir, Claudia Eustergerling, Heike Fries, Ludovica Gammaitoni, Charline Guille, Vinzenz Hoelzl, Tamara Jechiu, Reza Kianpour, Anne Kieffer, Annick Kieffer, Sylvain Kirsch, Mike Koedinger, Guido Kröger, Françoise Kuth, Catherine Lebrun, Francesco Meneghin, André Michaux, Joanna Muz, Riccardo Perello, Michel Petit, Carlo Polfer, Dana Popescu, Justin Powell, Hyder Razvi, Jean-Paul Reuland, David Rosner, Miriam Rosner, Paul Schwebach, Silvano Vidale, Frank Wilzius, Patrick Wirtz, Anabel Witry
CORPORATE MEMBERS
Bakform, BFF architectes, EGB Interior Design, kaell architecte, Witry & Witry, yellow ball
IN COLLABORATION WITH
PARTNERS
SERVICE PARTNERS
Aux côtés des designers depuis 1946
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ? What’s ?
100% Social Media
Your trusted consultancy and service provider. We offer support in enabling high-quality experiences for users, customers, employees and citizens.
the ideas!
Visit our shops in Leudelange and Ingeldorf and let your creativity guide you!
steinhauser.lu
REVIEW
SPECIAL STAMP
Celebrating 15 years of Design Friends
POST Philately granted a special stamp to Design Friends for its 15th anniversary. We extend our warm thanks to Vera Heliodoro, Vinzenz Hölzl, Annick Kieffer, Mado Klümper, Bianca Maaß, Isabelle Mattern, Zoë Mondloch, Sebastian Schichel and Olga Silva for their original and diverse submissions to the jury.
On 27 March 2024, Claude Balthasar, Head of POST Philately, unveiled the design for the special stamp and presented a commemorative frame to Olga Silva, whose design was selected.
REVIEW
SCREENING DRAWING A LIFE The iconic work of artist Geoff McFetridge 08.03.2024
PREVIOUSPUBLICATIONS
01 CHRISTOPH NIEMANN Illustration Design 2009
02 MICHEL MALLARD Creative Direction 2009
03 FUN FACTORY Product Design 2009
04 ANDREAS UEBELE Signage Design 2010
05 HARRI PECCINOTTI Photography 2010
06 KUSTAA SAKSI Illustration Design 2010
07 5.5 DESIGNERS Product Design 2011
08 NIKLAUS TROXLER Graphic Design 2011
09 JOACHIM SAUTER Media Design 2011
10 MICHAEL JOHNSON Graphic Design 2011 11
12
13
14
POMPILIO Fashion Design 2011
DIEZ Industrial Design 2012
SCHNEIDER Sound Design 2012
LOMBARDO Editorial Design 2012
15 SAM HECHT Industrial Design 2012
16 SONJA STUMMERER & MARTIN HABLESREITER Food Design 2012
17 LERNERT & SANDER Art & Design 2013
18 MURAT GÜNAK Automotive Design 2013
19 NICOLAS BOURQUIN Editorial Design 2013
20 SISSEL TOLAAS Scent Design 2013
21 CHRISTOPHE PILLET Product Design 2013
22 MIRKO BORSCHE Editorial Design 2014
23 PAUL PRIESTMAN Transportation Design 2014
24 BRUCE DUCKWORTH Packaging Design 2014
25 ERIK SPIEKERMANN Graphic Design 2014
26 KLAUS-PETER SIEMSSEN Light Design 2014
27 EDUARDO AIRES Corporate Design 2015
28 PHILIPPE APELOIG Graphic Design 2015
29 ALEXANDRA MURRAY-LESLIE High Techne Fashion Design 2015
30 PLEIX Video & Installation Design 2016
31 LA FILLE D’O Fashion Design 2016
32 RUEDI BAUR Graphic Design 2016
33 ROMAIN URHAUSEN Product Design 2016
34 MR BINGO Illustration Design 2016
35 KIKI VAN EIJK Product Design 2016
36 JEAN-PAUL LESPAGNARD Fashion Design 2017
37 PE’L SCHLECHTER Graphic Design 2017
38 TIM JOHN & MARTIN SCHMITZ Scenography Design 2017
39 BROSMIND Illustration Design 2017
40 ARMANDO MILANI Graphic Design 2017
41 LAURA STRAßER Product Design 2017
42 PHOENIX DESIGN Industrial Design 2018
43 UWE R. BRÜCKNER Scenography Design 2018
44 BROUSSE & RUDDIGKEIT Design Code 2018
45 ISABELLE CHAPUIS Photography Design 2018
46 PATRICIA URQUIOLA Product Design 2018
47 SARAH-GRACE MANKARIOUS Art Direction 2018
48 STUDIO FEIXEN Visual Concepts 2019
49 FRANK RAUSCH Interface Design 2019
50 DENNIS LÜCK Designing Creativity 2019
51 IAN ANDERSON Graphic Design 2019
52 FOLCH STUDIO Strategic Narrative Design 2019
53 MARC TAMSCHICK Spatial Media Design 2020
54 TYPEJOCKEYS Type Design 2020
55 MOTH Animation Design 2021
56 JONAS LINDSTRÖM Photography 2021
57 VERONICA FUERTE Graphic Design 2021
58 CHRISTOPHE DE LA FONTAINE Product Design 2021
59 DAVID KAMP Sound Design 2021
60 THOMAS KURPPA Brand Design 2021
61 NEW TENDENCY Product Design 2022
62 MARTHA VON MAYDELL Illustration Design 2022
63 STUDIO KLARENBEEK & DROS Design Research 2022
64 JOUPIN GHAMSARI Photography Design 2022
65 LOTTERMANN AND FUENTES Photography Design 2022
66 SUPER TERRAIN Graphic Design 2022
67 EIKE KÖNIG Art Design 2023
68 CHRISTOPHER NOELLE Light Design 2023
69 DENNIS HINZE Sport Fashion Design 2023
70 KLASIEN VAN DE ZANDSCHULP Interactive Design 2023
71 VALENTIN VODEV Industrial Design 2023
72 GERMANS ERMIČS Sculptural Design 2023
73 MADE BY JAMES Type & Logo Design 2024
74 SNASK Branding & Video 2024
75 CRAFTING PLASTICS! STUDIO Design Research 2024
76 STUDIO BRUCH Graphic Design 2024
MEMBERSHIPS
INDIVIDUALS
Gold Members — 100 €
Extra Expression of Appreciation
Extra Support of Design Friends and their program
Incl. six catalogues signed by the designers
Incl. vouchers for two drinks on special events
Incl. a meet-and-greet with the designers during post-talk dinner (by individual participation)
Mention on www.designfriends.lu and annual publication
Members — 30 € & Student Members — 15 €
Expression of Appreciation
Support of Design Friends and their program
Incl. six catalogues
Incl. voucher for one drink on special events
ORGANISATIONS, COMPANIES AND INSTITUTIONS
Sponsor packages include 10 nominative memberships and more. Please contact us for details, office@designfriends.lu
Standard Corporate Memberships — 500 €
Includes 10 nominative Memberships (staff only)
Extra Expression of Appreciation
Extra Support of Design Friends and their program
Incl. 10 x six catalogues signed by the designers
Incl. 10 x vouchers for one drink on special events
Mention on www.designfriends.lu and annual publication
Small Standard Corporate Memberships — 250 €
Includes 3 nominative Memberships (staff only)
Extra Expression of Appreciation
Extra Support of Design Friends and their program
Incl. 3 x six catalogues signed by the designers
Incl. 3 x vouchers for one drink on special events
Mention on www.designfriends.lu and annual publication
(valid Season 16, from September 2024 to July 2025)
Memberships are available online www.designfriends.lu
COLOPHON
Published by Design Friends asbl CONCEPT
Heike Fries, Silvano Vidale LAYOUT
Jill Mersch
EDITED BY
Heike Fries — with the support of Anabel Witry and Mark Penfold COORDINATION
Heike Fries
PRINTED BY
Imprimerie Schlimé
ISBN 978-2-919829-04-0
Printed in Luxembourg
© Design Friends ASBL, Luxembourg 2024 (Europe)
With the support of
Design Friends asbl
32, rue du Pont
L-6471 Echternach
A sincere thank you to Claudia and Dana for their support as board members from seasons 11 to 15. We are also pleased to welcome Hyunggyu and Vera to the board as we embark on this new chapter together.
SEASON 16
BOARDMEMBERS
Anabel Witry, President
Heike Fries, Secretary
Guido Kröger, Treasurer
Vera Heliodoro
Reza Kianpour
Hyunggyu Kim
COUNSELORS
Zoë Mondloch
Hyder Razvi
Olga Silva
Silvano Vidale