The Design Museum‘s annual Designs of the Year Awards are back for the fifth year, celebrating the best in global designs from the past twelve months. Industry experts have nominated designs across seven categories: Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Product and Transport and the results are showcased at the museum.

DESIGNS OF THE YEAR, 8th February-15th July 2012

DESIGN MUSEUM

28 Shad Thames, London SE1 2YD (020 7940 8790)

The nominees cover a strong mix of designs including the Olympic Torch 2012 for London designed by Barber Osgerby, the Duchess of Cambridge’s Wedding Dress designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and a wind-propelled Landmine Detonator which costs $40 to produce.

All of the nominations are on show at the Design Museum in the Designs of the Year exhibition. From this comprehensive list, a jury will select the seven category winners and an overall winner for the Design of the Year 2012.

The exhibition is curated by Ria Hawthorn. The winners will be announced on 24th April 2012.

Images – from top: Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid Architects (photo by Iwan Baan); 787 Dreamliner (photo by Ed Turner); Jawbone Jambox by fuseproject; Textile Field by Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec (textile by Kvadrat); Harbour Chair by Ed Carpenter for Very Good & Proper. 

Gallery Libby Sellers is presenting the first solo show in London by young Swiss designer Nicolas le Moigne, comprising lighting, product and furniture designs that have been created in the years since his graduation in 2007.

NICOLAS LE MOIGNE, 8th February-10th March 2011

GALLERY LIBBY SELLERS

41-42 Berners Street, London W1T 3NB (020 3384 8785)

Le Moigne graduated in product design from ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne in 2007, when gallery owner Libby Sellers first picked up on his work. To offer an overview of his work since then, this London exhibition brings together some of his designs for industrial companies as well as limited editions commissioned for NextLevel Galerie in Paris and Helmrinderknecht in Berlin.

Le Moigne (now a professor at ECAL), is happy to work between industrial clients and specialist design galleries. This juxtaposition is celebrated in the exhibition, which includes the debut of several new designs.

The designer’s approach is described by the gallery as showing “an understanding of complexity and contrast: seemingly fragile yet resilient, at once organic yet also industrial, assuredly sophisticated yet without guile.”

The gallery is open Tuesday-Friday 11-6 and Saturday 11-4.

Images – from top: Slip stools, 2009. Photography by Tonaitiuh Ambrosetti. Courtesy Gallery Libby Sellers; Flore vase, 2009. Photography by Tonaitiuh Ambrosetti. Courtesy NextLevel Galerie, Paris; Gaia plate, 2009. Photography by Tonaitiuh Ambrosetti. Courtesy NextLevel Galerie, Paris; Reflecting ring, 2010. Courtesy A. E. Koechert, Vienna; Podium low table, 2011. Photography by D. Droz + T. Ambrosetti. Courtesy Helmrinderknecht, Berlin; Slip Lamp, 2011. Photography by D. Droz + T. Ambrosetti. Courtesy Gallery Libby Sellers.

In this new exhibition, The Aram Gallery is exploring the use of 3D printing in the design industry today, showcasing works by designers and organisations who are developing the capabilities of rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing technologies.

‘SEND TO PRINT / PRINT TO SEND’, 13th January-25th February 2012

THE ARAM GALLERY

Aram, 110 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5SG

The exhibition highlights the increasingly important role 3D printing plays in the design process, particularly during the complex prototyping stages.

Featuring pieces from the studios of both established and emerging designers, The Aram Gallery uses this exhibition as a way to examine how designers’ processes are developing to accommodate new technological advances.

The aim is the offer visitors a better understanding of what 3D printing is, and demonstrate how it is being contemporaneously used.

Participating designers include Assa Ashuach, Michael Eden, FAT, Freedom of Creation, Jump Studios, Markus Kayser, Dirk van der Kooij, Chau Har Lee, PearsonLloyd, Chloe McCormick, Serie, Superfusionlab, Silvia Weidenbach and Unfold.

PROMOTION: A new design-led trade show called HOME is taking place in London, with over 160 homewares and interior accessories brands exhibiting under one roof at Earls Court Exhibition Centre this January.

HOME 2012, 15th-17th January 2012 (trade only)

EARLS COURT EXHIBITION CENTRE

West Brompton, London SW5 9TA

Offering a wide range of classic, contemporary and ‘Homegrown’ British designed furniture, lighting and interior accessories, the event is divided into three distinctive sections representing the cream of each of these sectors.

In the Modern Home section, visitors can discover the very latest in contemporary interior products. Modern Home houses both the well-established design companies alongside younger boutique brands.

The exhibition features everything from small and occasional furniture and lighting to accessories for the home, office, bar, hotel or restaurant, including clocks, bins, rugs, soft furnishings, tableware, glassware and outdoor accessories.

Exhibiting companies include Stelton, Alessi, LSA, Royal VKB, Eva Solo, SCP, iittala, Authentics, Jonathan Adler, Skandium, Content by Conran and many more.

As a feature, leading design website Dezeen is presenting a selection of 10 of the best new design products from around the world.

Furthermore, the publisher of LONDON DESIGN GUIDE – Spotlight Press – is exhibiting on Stand F1 and is presenting its two latest titles: LONDON DESIGN GUIDE 2012-2013 edition and DEZEEN BOOK OF IDEAS.

Pre-register for tickets at www.home-london.net

The exhibition is open 9:30-18:00 on 15th & 16th and 9:30-17:00 on 17th January.

The bad Christmas jumper is as much a seasonal staple as dry turkey and brussel sprouts. However Andrew Salomone and his hacked knitting machine are here to change all that at KK Outlet this December.

O COME ALL YE HACKERS, 2nd-22nd December 2011

KK OUTLET

42 Hoxton Square, London N1 6PB (020 7033 7680)

Salomone has developed an electronic hack, which means he can use a Brother KH930 knitting machine like a desktop printer to transform any design into a unique hand made Christmas jumper.

O Come All Ye Hackers comprises of a collection of alternative Christmas jumpers made by hand on Salomone’s hacked knitting machine. Designs have been supplied by Anthony Burrill, Siggi Eggertsson, Nous Vous, Genevieve Gaukler and a knitted version of the Slayer Christmas Lightorama.

If you want to see your own design transformed into a Christmas jumper, Salomone is working in the KK Outlet gallery for 10 days to create customised jumpers from open submission designs. Send your artwork to manchester@kkoutlet.com stating what European size you would like the final jumper to be.

The design spec due to the machine restrictions is as follows:

- Designs to be no more than 200 pixels wide and no more than 600 pixels long.

- Each design is restricted to two colors per row

- Designs to supplied in high res tiff format.

- All final designs will be converted into knitting patterns by Andrew Salomone.

Witness Salomone’s genius infinite regression Bill Cosby jumper here, as featured on Good Morning America.

Leading names from the worlds of contemporary art, design, fashion and film have donated postcard size artworks to the 18th RCA SECRET selling event at the infamous postgraduate college, the Royal College of Art.

RCA SECRET 2011

Exhibition open: 18th-25th November 2011

Sale day: 26th November 2011, 8am-6pm

ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART

Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU

Mini masterpieces by new and established talents are up for sale at just £45 each. The money raised from sales goes to the RCA Fine Art Student Award Fund, helping hundreds of emerging artists at a formative stage in their careers.

Artists who have contributed artworks include Tracey Emin, Anish Kapoor, Grayson Perry, Yoko Ono and Olafur Eliasson; designers Sir James Dyson and Kenneth Grange; fashion designers Sir Paul Smith, Erdem and Dries can Noten; and film makers Nick Park and Mike Leigh.

RCA SECRET is an annual exhibition and sale of around 2000 postcard-sized original artworks. The postcards are sold to the public in a huge sale that draws a queue of hundreds keen to buy an original artwork for a bargain price.

What’s the secret? Each postcard is signed on the back, so collectors don’t know the identity of the artist until they have made their purchase. A lot of it is down to pure luck and many collectors don’t realise whose work they have chosen until they hand over their cash on the sale day.

Artists may choose to paint, draw, sketch or even imitate the work of other artists as long as it’s postcard-sized.

Potential collectors are able to view all the postcards in person at the RCA in London or online at www.rca.ac.uk/secret from 18th November. All postcards go up for sale for one day only on Saturday 26th November at the RCA.

Postcards can only be bought on a first come, first served basis, with no sealed bids or reservations in advance.

There will be a raffle for collectors to win a position in the first fifty places in the queue.

RCA SECRET is only made possible with the sponsorship of Stewarts Law LLP.

The Design Museum is marking the 80th birthday of the UK’s grandfather of design – Sir Terence Conran – with a major exhibition that explores his impact on contemporary life in Britain and abroad.

TERENCE CONRAN – THE WAY WE LIVE NOW

16th November 2011 – 4th March 2012

DESIGN MUSEUM

Shad Thames, London SE1 2YD (020 7940 8790)

The Way We Live Now explores Conran’s impact whilst painting a picture of his design approach and inspirations. The exhibition traces his career from postwar austerity through to the new sensibility of the Festival of Britain in the 1950s, the birth of the Independent Group and Pop Culture of the 1960s, to the design boom of the 1980s on to the present day.

The serial entrepreneur has transformed the look of the British home. He has established a design studio and an architectural practice with a worldwide reach. He was the founder of Habitat and The Conran Shop and a pioneer of the new restaurant culture driven by a passion for simplicity.

When it comes to design, business, food and ‘lifestyle’, there is little this man hasn’t achieved. Now in his 80th year, he has certainly contributed considerably to The Way We Live Now.

Images – from top: Terence Conran, photographed by Neil Wilder, John Parkinson Agency; Terence Conran circa 1950, photographed by Ray Williams

Gallery Libby Sellers, the new design gallery from curator Libby Sellers, brings together some of Europe’s most progressive designers in its latest exhibition – Grandmateria II.

GRANDMATERIA II, 14th October-7th December 2011

GALLERY LIBBY SELLERS

41-42 Berners Street, London W1T 3NB (020 3384 8785)

The exhibition title alludes to the mythologies of the Philosopher’s stone: a stone said to have alchemist powers to transmute lead into gold. By working with modest materials, using materials out of context, or by layering the materials with rich narrative each of the represented designers elevate the ordinary to extraordinary effect.

Grandmateria II highlights design’s ongoing ability to transform preconceptions of the everyday. The choice of materials – pallet wood, local brick, found pine, tail lights from industrial vehicles, boiled leather, fibre cement, ceramic or woven wool – combine with intelligent narrative to question both traditional cultures (local and global) and the materialism of consumer economics.

Designers included in the exhibition are Fabien Cappello, Formafantasma, Simon Hasan, Stuart Haygarth, Nicolas Le Moigne and Nina Tolstrup.

Images – from top: BrickGlass by Fabien Cappello (2010) Photography by Fabien Cappello; Paletable by Nina Tolstrup (2010) Photography by Studiomama; Slip Lamp by Nicolas le Moigne (2011) Photography by Nicolas le Moigne; Tail Light by Stuart Haygarth (2011) Photography by Stuart Haygarth.

Welcome to the second part of our new regular feature on the website, called 4×4. Here, we feature our 4×4 selection of the best design exhibitions taking place on the western side of the city during London Design Festival 2011.

01. 100% Design, Earls Court (22nd-25th September)
Earls Court, Warwick Road, SW5 9TA
100% Design is the big daddy of design events during the festival. This trade fair is the UK forum for major international and UK brands featuring world-class interiors show 100% Design, architectural and interior materials exhibition 100% Materials and emerging talent showcase 100% Futures. Be sure to visit stand X23 for a copy of London Design Guide! More >>>

02. The Dock, Ladbroke Grove (19th-25th September)
344 Ladbroke Grove, W10 5BU
Tom Dixon is to host ‘Multiplex at The Dock’ with exciting indoor, outdoor and water-based installations, exhibitions and workshops and a range of exhibitors such as Aston Martin, Moooi, Innocent Drinks, Piet Hein Eek as well as UP Projects’ Floating Cinema and the launch of Kitchenette – The Dock Kitchen’s lunch-time extension. More >>>

03. Royal College of Art, Kensington (22nd September-5th October)
Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, SW7 2EU
As part of the Brompton Design District, the Royal College of Art is hosting three exhibitions; The Problem Comes First, an exhibition of design research projects from the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design; Sustain, a selection of shortlisted entries by 2011 graduating students for the RCA Sustain Award and Give Me More, a new version of the EPFL+ECAL Lab’s exhibition on augmented reality. More >>>

04. Victoria & Albert Museum, South Kensington (17th-25th September)
Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL
The London Design Festival is running a broad programme of activity in residence at the V&A Museum. There are 12 specially commissioned installations throughout the museum, complemented by a host of events, workshops and talks. Timber Wave by Amanda Levete Architects, Textile Field by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and Power of Making exhibition are a must-see! More >>>

05. designjunction, Holborn (22nd-25th September)
Victoria House Basement, 37-63 Southampton Row, WC1B 4DA
designjunction is a new exhibition connecting international design brands to the UK market. designjunction brings together an exclusive line-up of leading UK and international lighting and furniture brands with exhibitors including Anglepoise, Another Country, Benchmark, deadgood and Viaduct. LONDON DESIGN GUIDE is running daily bike tours from here! More >>>

06. LEGO, Covent Garden (15th-25th September)
North Piazza, Covent Garden, WC2E 8HA
LEGO has commissioned the award-winning designer, Sebastian Bergne, to create a public installation using the iconic bricks. The large-scale “LEGO Greenhouse” installation is on display in Covent Garden’s North Piazza throughout the festival. More >>>

07. Outline Editions, Soho (17th-30th September)
94 Berwick Street, W1F 0QF
Award-winning London based graphic artist Noma Bar is demonstrating his new installation Cut It Out at graphic art gallery, Outline Editions. A specially commissioned large-scale embossing machine allows visitors to feed in paper and create their own cut out Noma Bar images. More >>>

08. Theo & Friends Pop Up, Covent Garden (16th-25th September)
65 Monmouth Street, Seven Dials, WC2H 9DG
Thorsten van Elten’s successful online shop theo-theo.com is popping up in the heart of London’s Seven Dials to show their brand new collection as well as products by some of Theo’s best friends including: Daniel Emma, Rob Brandt, Kathleen Hills, Donna Wilson and Very Good and Proper. LDG editor will be signing books here on Saturday 24th September at 4pm. More >>>

09. Darkroom, Bloomsbury (Launches 19th September)
52 Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1N 3LL
Inspired by the structures, colour palettes, techniques and textures of work by members of the Dutch De Stijl movement of the 1920’s, Darkroom launch their first major self-designed collection of accessories for men, women and the home, called ‘Stolen From De Stijl’.             More >>>

10. Molteni&C Dada, Covent Garden (17th-25th September)
199 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8JR
Molteni&C Dada is devoting its Covent Garden showroom to designer Arik Levy. “In Power 10” is a conceptual collaboration showing 10 interpretations of the Quake table - one of Levy’s first products designed for this Italian manufacturer. More >>>

11. Skandium, South Kensington (17th-25th September)
245-249 Brompton Road, SW3 2EP
Skandium’s Brompton Road store is staging a retrospective exhibition of work by Swedish architects, Claesson Koivisto Rune featuring architectural models, furniture, tableware and jewellery as well as a new addition to their collection, Alter stool. A book accompanies the exhibition with a foreword written by LDG editor Max Fraser. More >>>

12. Michael Anastassiades, South Kensington (16th-25th September)
235 Brompton Road, SW3 2EP
Taking up temporary residence in an old Victorian jewellery shop on Brompton Road, designer Michael Anastassiades is exhibiting a selection of his recent work alongside some limited-edition pieces designed for the Nilufar Gallery in Milan. More >>>

13. Phillips de Pury & Company, Mayfair (16th September-4th October)
45 – 47 Brook Street, W1K 4HN
British designer and supremo stylist, Faye Toogood, is launching her third furniture collection, Assemblage 3: Delicate Interference in the new gallery space of auction house Phillips de Pury & Company in Mayfair. More >>>

14. Gallery Libby Sellers, Fitzrovia (19th September – 8th October)
41-42 Berners Street W1T 3NB
After four years of ‘popping up’ in temporary international locations, Gallery Libby Sellers is opening in a permanent gallery space during the festival and presenting the London debut of Dutch designers Formafantasma. More >>>

15. Haunch of Venison, Mayfair (24th September-19th November)
6 Burlington Gardens, W1S 3ET
For their first collaboration with Haunch of Venison gallery, design duo Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby are presenting 8 new pieces inspired by the structures and engineered forms of moving craft. Their exhibition Ascent is to taking place at the gallery’s Burlington Gardens space during the festival. More >>>

16. Mint, South Kensington (17th-30th September)
2 North Terrace, Alexander Square, SW3 2BA
Mint is exploring the influence of fashion on design by showcasing works from the Martin Margiela MMM Collection and selected designs by Maurizio Galante & Tal Lancman for Cerruti Baleri. Mint is also showing intriguing works by new designers who do not visually reveal the materials used until the piece is touched or explored closely. More >>>

Read our suggestions for the eastern side of the city >>>

Why not check out our 4×4 selection of furniture, lighting and accessories as featured in LONDON DESIGN GUIDE 2012-2013? Buy your copy now >>>

Welcome to the first of our new regular feature on the website, called 4×4. In an easily digestible format, we get selective about design by featuring 16 of the best products, exhibitions or designers. Here, we feature our 4×4 selection of the best design exhibitions taking place on the eastern side of the city during London Design Festival, saving you from trawling through mountains of choice.

01. Designersblock 2011, Clerkenwell (22nd-25th September)
The Farmiloe Building, 34 St John Street, EC1M 4AY
Residing in the characterful Farmiloe Building, Designersblock is showing furniture, lighting, textiles and other idea-driven concepts by over 100 UK and international designers. Now an established event during LDF, Designersblock nonetheless retains its edgier, enfant terrible approach to design. More >>>

02. Dezeen Space, Shoreditch (17th September-16th October)
54 Rivington Street, EC2A 3QN
Popping up in the heart of the Shoreditch Design Triangle is ‘Dezeen Space’, a multi-functional, experimental space hosting a pop-up gallery, store, video studio and micro-event space. Be sure to check out the launch of their first printed publication, Dezeen Book of Ideas. More >>>

03. Tent London, Brick Lane (22nd-25th September)
Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane E1 6QL
Tent London is hosting a showcase of exciting gallery events, in and around its Old Truman Brewery location and is including two new show features: Tent Loves – a series of thought-provoking installations and Sussed – a collection of sustainable innovations. Expect a strong line-up of big brands alongside undiscovered talent and established independents. More >>>

04. Tramshed 2011, Shoreditch (22nd-25th September)
32 Rivington Street, EC2A 3LX
After its successful debut at last year’s festival, Tramshed 2011 is back in the stunning Shoreditch post-industrial venue. A number of products are debuting here from a diverse range of exhibitors including the entire furniture output from De La Espada. More >>>

05. Jasper Morrison Shop, Shoreditch (19th-25th September)
24b Kingsland Road, E2 8DA
The Jasper Morrison shop is celebrating 300 years of the drinking glass by displaying around one hundred examples to examine their historical and typological diversity. Furthermore, Morrison is hosting Punkt. for Japan: Still Time to Help, a charity initiative to aid the reconstruction process in Japan following the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. More>>>

06. SCP Design Department Store, Shoreditch (17th-25th September)
135-139 Curtain Road, EC2A 3BX
Leading design retailer SCP is transforming their space into the ‘Design Department Store’ which is both a design exhibition and a working department store. Check out the exclusive international launches and installations from collaborators including Donna Wilson, Gubi, Rich Brilliant Willing, Michael Marriott and us – LONDON DESIGN GUIDE!               More >>>

07. twentytwentyone, Clerkenwell & Islington
Marsotto Edizioni UK launch (21st-25th September), 18c River Street, EC1R 1XN
Robin Day re-launch (20th-25th September), 274 Upper Street, N1 2UA
For the first time in the UK, twentytwentyone is showcasing the beautiful Marsotto Edizioni marble furniture range in their River Street showroom. Their Upper Street shop sees the re-launch of the classic Reclining chair by Robin Day, originally designed in 1952. More>>>

08. Viaduct, Clerkenwell (15th September-1st October)
1-10 Summers Street, EC1R 5BD
Furniture and lighting showroom Viaduct is staging Show Three, a look at the lighting landscape from beyond the shade. The showroom plays host to exciting and original lighting by Swedish producer Wästberg, including the launch of three new designs by Ilse Crawford. More>>>

09. Gallery FUMI, Shoreditch (17th-25th September)
87-89 Tabernacle Street, EC2A 4BA
Gallery FUMI, Shoreditch’s first design gallery, is to present items made in the studio for domestic use. ‘STUDIOWARE’ features work by Max Lamb, Studio Glithero and Johannes Nagel who all share a passion for manipulating materials by hand. More >>>

10. Aram & Kemistry Gallery (Covent Garden & Shoreditch)
Mind Over Matter: Alan Fletcher’s The art of looking sideways (25th August-1st October), Kemistry Gallery, 43 Charlotte Road, EC2A 3PD
The Art of Looking Sideways (17th-24th September), Aram, 110 Drury Lane, WC2B 5SG
Both the Aram store and Kemistry Gallery are celebrating 10 years since to publication of iconic graphic designer Alan Fletcher’s ‘The Art of Looking Sideways’ book, with exhibitions inviting the public to explore his work as well as a collection of original material and notes from his archive. Also check out Aram Gallery’s exhibition of new work by Bram Geenen and Il Hoon Roh. More (Kemistry Gallery) >>> More (Aram) >>>

11. Origin, Spitalfield (22nd-28th September)
Old Spitalfields Market, Brushfield Street, E1 6EW
Contemporary craft fair, Origin, throws open its doors of the purpose built pavilion in Old Spitalfields Market showcasing handcrafted works from over 200 makers from the disciplines of furniture, ceramics, metalwork, glass, knitwear, fashion accessories and jewellery. More >>>

12. Rocket Gallery, Shoreditch (17th September-27th November)
Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ
Rocket Gallery presents Revolt/ Reform/ Result, the first London exhibition dedicated to post-war domestic Dutch furniture by Friso Kramer, Wim Rietveld, Martin Visser, Cees Braakman, Rudolf Wolf and others. More >>>

13. Established & Sons, Old Street (19th-25th September)
5-7 Wenlock Road, N1 7SL
Established & Sons have invited a selection of London-based talents and international names from the worlds of design, art and architecture to work on collaborations, installations and objects that define their idea of the city for a new initiative, titled ‘My London’. More >>>

14. The Living Room, Shoreditch (17th-25th September)
24-26 Calvert Street, E2 7JP
The Living Room is a new showcase of British designed and made furniture, products and printed works in the gallery space adjoining the Luna & Curious boutique in Shoreditch. The hand-picked selection of products form the constituent parts of a typical British living room, albeit contemporary. More >>>

15. Moroso/FLOS, Clerkenwell (12th September-16th October)
7-15 Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4SP
Galleria illy, hosted by lighting and furniture brands FLOS and Moroso, is a temporary exhibition expressing the Italian coffee company’s love of art, culture and science together with its passion for the finest coffee. Talks and debates are taking place throughout its duration. More >>>

16. St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. Paul’s (19th-25th September)
South West Tower, St Paul’s Churchyard, EC1M 8AD
Leading architect John Pawson has teamed with Swarovski Crystal Palace to design an installation in St Paul’s rarely seen Geometric Staircase, responding to Sir Christopher Wren’s desire that each of his buildings should include a scientific element. More >>>

Read our suggestions for the western side of the city >>>

Why not check out our 4×4 selection of furniture, lighting and accessories as featured in LONDON DESIGN GUIDE 2012-2013? Buy your copy now >>>