AN INTER NATIONAL EVENT
ABOUT THE IMPACT OF DESIGN
THE DESIGNER IS A GAME CHANGER 2014 — THEMES & SPEAKERS
SIGN ATION
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FOR ON I T A C U ED
FOR NATUR
FOR PAPER
FOR CE N E I R E P EX hat if you were W
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CONTENTS
4 SPONSORS
18 WDCD BLOG
6 THEMES
20 FILM FESTIVAL
8 SPEAKERS
22 CREDITS
Thank you
What it’s all about
Who they are
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
New & noteworthy design
Documentaries about design
Our people
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SPONSORS WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! PREMIUM PARTNERS:
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WHAT DESIGN CAN DO FOR SPONSORS
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! PARTNERS:
Gerrit Reitveld Academy
Design Academy Eindhoven
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! MEDIA PARTNERS:
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! LOCATION PARTNERS:
Apple Store Amsterdam
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
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THEMES The 2014 What Design Can Do! programme is grouped around four currently relevant themes. This year speakers and breakout participants discussed the designer’s role in the fields of economy, stories, nature and learning.
ECONOMY
CAN DESIGNERS SOLVE THE CRISIS?
STORIES CAN STORIES BE DESIGNED?
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Owing to the economic crisis, the question of what design could contribute to economic stability is more than relevant. It is largely a matter of trust and, by extension, understanding. Many financial and economic structures are so complex that nobody can actually master them any more. Visualizing those structures can clarify a lot. In the meantime, the creative industry, which for good reason is ranked as one of the top sectors of Dutch economic policy, is playing an important role in the economic transition from hyper-consumerism to a more sustainable society in which the sparing use of natural resources and tools is essential. Everybody accepts that things must change, but exactly how is still a matter for debate. Designers are seizing the opportunity to unfold projects of their own and explore concepts for clients.
In our ‘editorial age’, people increasingly allow themselves to be guided by stories that they can identify with and that shape their lives. Increasingly, telling a good story is what drives marketing and advertising. Branding has progressively become a question of storytelling. We look for inspiration, imagination, sincerity, individuality. That explains the recent reappraisal of tradition, for example. Stories lend meaning and create understanding and connection. Journalism, design disciplines and advertising acquire new roles in this changing media landscape. What Design Can Do explored the role of design in this context.
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO FOR THEMES
NATURE
WHAT IF DESIGNERS WERE ABLE TO DESIGN LIFE ITSELF?
No better designer than nature. Seldom, if ever, is it surpassed in effectiveness, efficiency or sheer beauty. More than ever before, people are emphatically taking nature as the basis for their actions. Now a new generation of designers is going a step further and using processes from the natural sciences and biotechnology to design new nature, new forms of life. These designers look at how we can apply new technologies such as synthetic biology to find innovative and sustainable solutions for all sorts of problems within society. Synthetic biology is the modification of existing, natural life forms to create new, artificial forms of life. For designers, this is a fascinating field that can throw up new roles for the profession. FOOD Within the theme of Nature, attention inevitably centres on society’s relationship to food, which has always been a topic of interest at WDCD. Discussion focuses on small-scale local and biological production versus international food production on a vast, industrial scale. Designers engage with this subject by questioning where food comes from, how it is processed, how it is marketed. Looking at food with a creative eye offers insight into the meaning and value of food to us.
LEARNING
ARE DESIGNERS BETTER TEACHERS?
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
If we agree that our survival and wellbeing rely increasingly on innovation and the creative economy, then we have to do something about how we educate people. Stimulating creativity will have to play a much bigger role in the learning process than it does at present. Education today still focuses largely on cognitive development, even though human ability in that area varies greatly. But there is creativity in everybody, and stimulating it is a way of tapping into and releasing so much potential. Around the world, designers and creative thinkers are making significant contributions to developing, altering and perfecting learning processes. By working from the perspective of their disciplines, they help people to learn more effectively and often more enjoyably.
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SPEAKERS PAOLA ANTONELLI CURATING —USA
Senior Curator Paola Antonelli added Tetris, Pac-Man and the @-symbol to the Museum of Modern Art’s design collection. ‘My job is to make people understand that design is so much more than embellishment,’ she explains. Educated as an architect, she curated exhibitions and wrote for Domus and Abitare before starting at MoMA in 1994. Here she now heads the Department of Architecture and Design, making her one of the most influential people in the design field today. Paola Antonelli’s participation has partly been made possible by Het Nieuwe Instituut with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
MOMA.ORG
RACHEL ARMSTRONG ARCHITECTURE, BIOLOGY —UK
Designer, scientist and sustainability innovator Rachel Armstrong investigates new approaches to building materials, called ‘living architecture’. On the brink of design, architecture and science, she creates open innovation platforms, exploring building practices that incorporate properties of living systems. She is a 2010 Senior TED Fellow and co-director of the AVATAR (Advanced Virtual And Technological Architectural Research) group at the Department of Architecture and Landscape, University of Greenwich.
BLACKSKYTHINKING.ORG 8
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO FOR SPEAKERS
MICHAEL BIERUT GRAPHIC DESIGN —USA
Michael Bierut is a partner at Pentagram in New York and co-founder of design blog Design Observer. He studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, graduating summa cum laude in 1980. Prior to joining Pentagram in 1990, he spent a decade at Vignelli Associates, ultimately as vice president of graphic design. Bierut is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and was elected to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. Next to his work at Pentagram, he is a senior critic in graphic design at Yale School of Art, and a senior faculty fellow at Yale School of Management.
PENTAGRAM.COM DESIGNOBSERVER.COM
JET BUSSEMAKER POLICY —NETHERLANDS
‘Complex social issues call for innovation and creative solutions,’ argues Jet Bussemaker, the Dutch Minister for Education, Culture and Science. Together with the Minister for Economic Affairs, she aims to make the Netherlands the most creative economy in Europe by the year 2020. Bussemaker studied political science at the University of Amsterdam and completed her PhD at the same university. She was also a member of parliament for a decade, and State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport.
GOVERNMENT.NL/MINISTRIES/OCW WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
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SPEAKERS TEDDY CRUZ
ARCHITECTURE —GUATEMALA / USA ‘The best ideas for urban renewal will come from sectors of conflict and scarcity,’ is the conviction of architect and Professor of Public Culture and Urbanism Teddy Cruz. Cruz is known internationally for his urban research on the Tijuana-San Diego border, advancing border neighbourhoods as sites of cultural production from which to rethink urban policy, affordable housing and civic infrastructure. He founded his research-based architectural practice, estudio teddy cruz, in 2000.
ESTUDIOTEDDYCRUZ.COM
TIMO DE RIJK
EDUCATION, THEORY —NETHERLANDS At What Design Can Do, Timo de Rijk delivered his inaugural address ‘On design culture and the future’ on the occasion of his instalment as Professor of Design, Culture and Society, a joint chair at Delft University of Technology and Leiden University. De Rijk studied art history at Leiden University and received his PhD in 1998 from Delft University of Technology on a thesis about the design of electrical domestic appliances. He is editor of the Dutch Design Yearbook and chairman of the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO).
WWW.IO.TUDELFT.NL 10
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO FOR SPEAKERS
DAISY GINSBERG SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY —UK
Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg is a London-based designer, artist and writer who explores emerging technologies. She studied architecture at Cambridge, design at Harvard and design interactions in London. As Design Fellow on Synthetic Aesthetics at Stanford University, Ginsberg recently curated an international research project on the ‘design of nature’. Her visions of the future have been exhibited at the MoMA in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, and the National Museum of China in Beijing.
DAISYGINSBERG.COM
SHAOLAN HSUEH
EDUCATION, GRAPHIC DESIGN —TAIWAN Born in Taipei and now living in London, ShaoLan Hsueh is an internet entrepreneur and venture capital investor who turned into a design hero. Annoyed by the lack of a good method to teach her children Chinese, she created her own method. Chineasy is based on a pictorial system that helps learners remember the meaning of Chinese characters. The method quickly attracted over 50,000 followers on the internet. Recently the first Chineasy book was published. A second book is underway.
CHINEASY.ORG SHAOLAN.COM WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
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SPEAKERS NELLY BEN HAYOUN EXPERIENCE DESIGN —FRANCE
Nelly Ben Hayoun has been called the ‘Willy Wonka of design and science’ and she is on a mission to bring chaos, subversion and disorder into the design and scientific worlds. Her most ambitious project to date is the International Space Orchestra (ISO), the world’s first orchestra of space scientists, recordings of which orbit the earth. Ben Hayoun is Designer of Experiences at SETI Institute, Head of Experiences at WeTransfer, a visiting professor and lecturer, a PhD candidate, and an astronaut trainee.
NELLYBEN.COM
ROGIER KLOMP & SHUCHEN TAN FILM, GRAPHIC DESIGN —NETHERLANDS
In 2013, filmmaker Shuchen Tan and designer/ illustrator Rogier Klomp collaborated on the documentary Big Data made for Dutch public broadcasting company VPRO TV as part of the Mediafonds@Sandberg master class. Tan works as a researcher and director for Tegenlicht, VPRO’s weekly, 50-minute, Future Affairs programme. Rogier Klomp, a Design Academy Eindhoven graduate, specializes in animated documentaries, graphic journalism, political animations and illustrations.
THISISPROPAGANDA.COM VPRO.NL 12
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO FOR SPEAKERS
BERNARD LAHOUSSE FOOD SCIENCE —BELGIUM
Coffee, strawberries and asparagus make an excellent combination, vanilla being a major flavour component in all three. Top chefs around the world experiment with such unexpected food combinations based on the scientific Foodpairing method invented by Belgian bio-engineer and food scientist Bernard Lahousse. Lahousse is seen as one of the world’s foremost food innovators. Through his food research company he develops more such creative tools for the food industry.
FOODPAIRING.COM
LADUMA NGXOKOLO FASHION —SOUTH AFRICA
Dissatisfied with the tedious sweaters available for young Xhosa men initiated into manhood, Laduma Ngxokolo designed more apt clothing. ‘My vision was to create a modern Xhosa-inspired knitwear collection,’ he says. His ‘MaXhosa by Laduma’ collection was widely praised and travelled the world. Since then he has extended his range with new designs and interior accessories, and he plans to make womenswear too. ‘I preserved my culture for the next generation,’ he says.
MAXHOSA.CO.ZA WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
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SPEAKERS CARLO RATTI ARCHITECTURE —ITALY
Italian architect Carlo Ratti heads MIT Senseable City Lab where the impact of technology on the future of cities is investigated. Under Ratti’s direction the Lab invented the Copenhagen Wheel, which instantly transforms ordinary bicycles into hybrid e-bikes. Several magazines, including Blueprint, Wired and Fast Company, place Ratti among the most influential designers of our time. Ratti advises the World Economic Forum and is a curator for the ‘Future Food District’ pavilion in the 2015 World Expo in Milan.
CARLORATTI.COM SENSEABLE.MIT.EDU
PAUL SMITH FASHION —UK
What started in 1970 as a small shop in Nottingham is now a company with hundreds of shops across the globe, employing a thousand people in Europe alone. Paul Smith continues to play an integral part in the company he founded 40 years ago— he is both designer and chairman, and involved in every aspect from choosing the fabrics to approving the shop locations. ‘We’re a uniquely British brand and like to do things differently,’ says the man who revolutionized menswear with floral prints and coloured stripes.
PAULSMITH.CO.UK 14
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO FOR SPEAKERS
RICHARD THE DIGITAL, DESIGN —USA, GERMANY
As a graphic and interaction designer Richard The focuses on new forms of visual expression using computation, and on design for new social interactions and situations. He has worked with Stefan Sagmeister, was a research assistant at MIT Media Lab and today works at Google Creative Lab in New York on the Google Glass project. His work has been shown at Ars Electronica, Design Museum London and Experimenta Design Amsterdam.
RICHARDTHE.COM
LUCAS VERWEIJ CRITICISM —NETHERLANDS
Though he has been working on social projects himself, Lucas Verweij is critical about designers who want to display their commitment to a better world. ‘It is often primarily a media game of self-branding,’ Verweij wrote. ‘It cuts both ways.’ Lucas Verweij is guest professor at Kunsthochschule Weissensee and an initiator of public events in the field of architecture, design and innovation in both the Netherlands and Germany. In his current hometown Berlin he founded StadtAcker, a design platform and laboratory. He is a moderator of debates and a critic writing for Dezeen and architectural magazine ArchiNed.
EXAMPLEURL.COM WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
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SPEAKERS BARBERA WOLFENSBERGER INNOVATION —NETHERLANDS
Barbera Wolfensberger is CEO of Dutch ad agency FHV BBDO and chairman of the Creative Industries Top Sector, one of nine sectors of the economy that get special support as part of the Dutch government’s economic policy. Wolfensberger previously worked for various Dutch companies, including ad agency PPGH/ JWT and retailer HEMA, where she was Head of Corporate Identity & Communication. She is also board member of SIRE, the Dutch Foundation for Idealistic Advertising.
FHV.BBDO.NL CREATIVECOUNCIL.NL
WILLY WONG
BRANDING, DESIGN —USA Willy Wong is Chief Creative Officer at NYC & Company, the City of New York’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization. In leading the creative, digital and marketing teams responsible for the brand stewardship of the city, Wong is doing a good job: the goal of 50 million annual visitors, set for 2015, was reached by 2011. Wong studied graphic design at Yale School of Art and Asian studies at Dartmouth College.
NYCGO.COM 16
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO FOR SPEAKERS
ROB WIJNBERG & HARALD DUNNINK JOURNALISM, DESIGN —NETHERLANDS
Journalist Rob Wijnberg and designer Harald Dunnink are the brains behind De Correspondent, an online platform for journalism launched in mid-2013. An independent, ad-free journalistic website funded entirely through subscriptions, De Correspondent deals with ‘breaking new,’ which the makers define as offering insight into how the world works. News, says Wijnberg, is about what happens today, but what happens every day is much more important in shaping our lives. Previously Wijnberg was editor–in– chief of newspaper NRC Next. Dunnink is founder of creative digital agency Momkai.
MODERATORS
DECORRESPONDENT.NL
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
DAVID KESTER —UK David Kester is Board Director of London-based publishing firm Thames & Hudson, renowned publisher of close to 200 illustrated books a year. Before taking up this position in 2012, he spent almost a decade as chief executive of the Design Council in London, a body he described as a ‘sort of one-stop-shop organization for design at the heart of the economy’.
HADASSAH DE BOER —NETHERLANDS Hadassah de Boer started her career as a journalist and presenter at Amsterdam’s TV station AT5. In 2002 she became a popular talkshow host in the cultural field on national television. She also directs her own programmes. Besides her TV work, De Boer acts as chair and moderator at conferences and other events.
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VISIT OUR BLOG Fashion tips from the Pope, floating schools, bodywarmers for piglets, cleaning the seas with carpets, turn tropical fruit into tiles, save millions with type. You’ll find it all at our daily blog at:
BLOG.WHATDESIGNCANDO.NL Like the conference, WDCD’s blog is a platform for the social potential of the design profession. With new posts added every day, the blog gradually grows into an accumulation of design cases that bring change and renewal and address the societal questions of our time. Visit our blog on a regular basis and don’t hesitate to react, either by replying to a post or sending us an e-mail at info@ whatdesigncando.nl. Your ideas, tips and projects are more than welcome.
AID | ENERGY | FOOD | HEALTH | SOCIAL
A SYRINGE, A STOVE AND A SHELTER
CITY | SOCIAL
HOW DESIGN HELPS TO ADDRESS A SOCIAL ATROCITY
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WHAT DESIGN CAN DO FOR BLOGS
NATURE
AID | LEARNING | STORYTELLING
ELVIS-MOUSE LIKES ARMPIT CHEESE
A GOOD READ FOR CHILDREN EVERYWHERE
CULTURE | POLITICS | SOCIAL
ECONOMY | NATURE
LETTERS FROM CAPE TOWN 1: HOMOPHOBIA UNMASKED
DUTCH DESIGN IS A BODYWARMER FOR PIGLETS
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
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FILM FESTIVAL WDCD14 saw the first edition of the What Design Can Do Film Festival. During the week preceding the conference eight documentary films related to What Design Can Do were screened each evening at De Balie in Amsterdam. Each screening was preceded by an introduction from a design insider. We’re planning to make this WDCD Film Festival a recurring event and we appreciate all suggestions for films you would like us to screen in future festivals. Do send us your tips at: info@whatdesigncando.nl. This year’s festival presented these great films:
IF YOU BUILD IT 2012
A portrait of designer-activists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller who work with local high school students in Bertie County, the poorest part of North Carolina, to transform both their community and their lives.
AI WEIWEI: THE FAKE CASE 2012
A detailed report by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei himself on his detention and prosecution in 2011.
THE HUMAN SCALE 2012
Documentary based on the ideas of Danish architect Jan Gehl. The film features thinkers, architects and urban planners from across the globe who share Gehl’s vision to build cities that take into account human needs for inclusion and intimacy. 20
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO FOR FILM
PAUL SMITH–GENTLEMAN DESIGNER 2012
A film by Stéphane Carrel looking into the secrets of Paul Smith’s success and how he built his brand empire around English pop culture.
GOOGLE AND THE WORLD BRAIN 2013
A film on Google’s failed effort to digitize every book in existence and, with that, to create a higher form of intelligence. Opposition from authors defending their copyrights finally put an end to the project in 2011.
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE ORCHESTRA 2013 Merging science, technology, design and opera, this film by Nelly Ben Hayoun captures the behind-the-scenes action during the creation of the International Space Orchestra.
DESIGN & THINKING 2012
Two Taiwanese graduates from Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Mu-Ming Tsai and Iris Lai, report on the concept of Design Thinking.
WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! 2014 EDITION
THE NAKED BRAND 2013
A story about how corporations can help save the planet by telling the truth and working hard to create better products and a better planet. 21
CREDITS INITIATORS Richard van der Laken Graphic designer Co-founder of De Designpolitie Pepijn Zurburg Graphic designer Co-founder of De Designpolitie Femke van Gemert Textile designer and trend forecaster Tirso Francés Graphic designer Co-founder of Dietwee Ontwerpers Laurens van Wieringen Product and furniture designer Founder of Studio Laurens van Wieringen GENERAL DIRECTOR / CREATIVE DIRECTOR Richard van der Laken BUSINESS LEADER Marian Spier FOUNDATION BOARD Job van der Pijl chairman Liesbeth in ’t Hout secretary Arnoud van Dommelen treasurer WDCD AMBASADORS Melle Daamen director of Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam Mark de Kruijk director of Westergasfabriek Renny Ramakers co-founder and director of Droog Sjarel Ex Director Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Timo de Rijk Professor of Design Cultures Tet Reuver Owner/initiator Labminds Rob Huisman Former director of BNO Els van der Plas Director of The Amsterdam Music Theatre, De Nederlandse Opera and Dutch National Ballet Lisette Schmetz Design Consultant
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Ole Bouwman Creative Director at Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture David Snellenberg Founder of Dawn Piet Paris Fashion Illustrator Jochem Leegstra Creative Director at ,...staat EDITORIAL BOARD Richard van der Laken Pepijn Zurburg Femke van Gemert Laurens van Wieringen Bas van Lier Tirso Frances Jeroen van Erp Founder of Fabrique Willem van der Sluis Founder of Customr Tim Vermeulen Arno Twigt Founder of QUA Ries Meertens Owner Coaching Creative Companies PRODUCTION Chris van Bokhorst CVB Productions & Projectmanagement for Creative Industries Remco Wagemakers Sonora productions Esther van Voorst Hospitality Producer INTERNS Natasha Berting Janelle Aarts Robin Reems Eveline van Dalen Julia van Heusden Nina Balk
What Design Can Do! is made possible by the cooperation of our partners and sponsors mentioned on the previous pages.
PHOTOGRAPHY Leo Veger CAMPAIGN PHOTOGRAPHY Arjan Benning COMMUNICATION, PUBLICITY, BOOK & WEBSITE DESIGN De Designpolitie: Art Direction Pepijn Zurburg Sara Landeira Production Jolien Grent Print design Mark Bain Website & emailings Rob de Vormer PUBLIC RELATIONS RPPR Rhiannon Pickels Come Office for strategic & creative presence Bob Witman
© 2014 What Design Can Do! Amsterdam. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Although every effort was made to find the copyright holders for the illustrations used, it has not been possible to trace them all. Interested parties are requested to contact What Design Can Do! Warmoestraat 155 III, 1012 JC Amsterdam, The Netherlands, info@whatdesigncando.nl www.whatdesigncando.nl
SOCIAL MEDIA Oliver de Leeuw Nameshapers WDCD FILMFESTIVAL Laurens van Wieringen Willem van der Sluis WEBSITE FRONT-END DEVELOPMENT & CMS PMS72 PRINTER LenoirSchuring PAPER Antalis Coloraction
BOOK & WEBSITE EDITORS Bas van Lier Billy Nolan Femke van Gemert REPORTERS/EDITORS Gabrielle Kennedy Anne Miltenburg Roelien Plaatsman Ha-Giang Trinh Marit Turk
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WHAT DESIGN CAN DO! CELEBRATES THE POWER OF DESIGN AND ITS PROBLEM–SOLVING ABILITIES THIS TWO–DAY EVENT IN AMSTERDAM EXPOSES DESIGN AS A CATALYST OF CHANGE AND RENEWAL, AND WAY OF ADDRESSING THE SOCIETAL QUESTIONS OF OUR TIME.