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. 

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

London’s Design Museum is celebrating items from its permanent collection in an exhibition titled ‘This is Design’, which examines the impact of design on the modern world and how it shapes our lives and contemporary culture.

‘THIS IS DESIGN’, 24th August 2011-22nd January 2012

DESIGN MUSEUM

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

The collection contains pieces ranging from early items of mass manufacture through to cutting edge contemporary design and includes furniture, fashion, transport, products, ceramics and graphics. By using themes such as Identity, Manufacturing Innovations, the Digital Revolution and Lifecycle the exhibition looks at how design provides a visual language to help use the objects around us.

Prototypes, drawings, couture samples, models, first editions and finished industrial objects are on display demonstrating the design process and subsequent influence of design on the contemporary culture. The exhibition also explores ‘quiet’ design, demonstrating how design surrounds us and how whether accidental or subtle, design plays a role in shaping the way we live and enables us to understand the world around us.

In the forthcoming new home for the museum at the former Commonwealth Institute in Kensington, there will be a dedicated gallery space to display the collection and celebrate the importance of design through a permanent display.

Images – from top: Vespa Clubman, designed by Corradino d’Ascanio (1946); National traffic light system (1966); Road Signage, designed by Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinnear (1965); Anglepoise Lamp Type 1227 (1934); Candlestick Telephone (circa 1920). Images courtesy of Design Museum.

London’s Design Museum celebrates the work of Britain’s leading product designer, Kenneth Grange with his first UK retrospective showing his work, design journey and the role he has played in making Britain modern.

‘KENNETH GRANGE – MAKING BRITAIN MODERN’

20th July – 30th October 2011

DESIGN MUSEUM

Shad Thames, SE1 2YD (020 7940 8790)

Top: Adshell Bench, 1972. Above: Instamatic 33 Series, 1968. Kodak Ltd.

With a career spanning over 50 years, Grange is responsible for designing so many of the familiar products and appliances that shape our daily lives. From Parker pens to the first parking meter to the contemporary TX1 London Taxi, almost everybody will have directly encountered one of his designs.

Parking Meter, 1958. Designed by Kenneth Grange for Venner Ltd.

In 1972 Grange established world-renowned multi-disciplinary design consultancy Pentagram, together with Alan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes and Mervyn Kurlansky.

More recently, Grange has produced distinctive designs that have become part of our landscape, from the Adshel bus shelter in 1993 to the Rural Pillar box in 1996. Today Grange continues to work with British companies including Anglepoise, furniture designer Hitch Mylius and fashion designer Margaret Howell.

Anglepoise Type 75. Kenneth Grange, produced by Herbert Terry Ltd.

The show allows us to look at the core principles of design with unique access to the Grange archive; the exhibition includes over 150 products, prototypes, sketches as well as audio, photography and film.

Leading architect David Adjaye has stepped out of his regular line of work to photograph and document key cities in Africa as part of an ongoing project to study new patterns of urbanism. The photographs are displayed at the Design Museum, in an exhibition titled Urban Africa.

URBAN AFRICA, 31st March – 5th September 2010

DESIGN MUSEUM

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

Adjaye has photographed the salient features of of Africa’s cities including suburban settlements, unofficial developments and townscapes. The photographs reveal the cities themselves and examine the buildings and places which have a special resonance with Adjaye’s preoccupations as an architect.

The photographs are presented as a series of large-scale projections, set against a backdrop of African beats specially composed for the exhibition by Peter Adjaye.

Often regarded as a continent defined by underdevelopment, poverty, war, and tourism, through this exhibition Adjaye presents Africa in a different light.

All photographs by David Adjaye

This exhibition coincides with Sustainable Futures, an exhibition exploring a range of products, concepts and projects that address issues of sustainability in their design.

The Design Museum is showcasing a range of pioneering design and architecture products that explore how design can lead the way in contributing towards a more positive and sustainable future.

SUSTAINABLE FUTURES – CAN DESIGN MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

31st March-5th September 2010

DESIGN MUSEUM

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

Architecture models, products, prototypes, film, visuals and interactive displays feature under the five themes of: Cities, Energy and Economies, Food, Materiality and the Creative Citizen. Both established and developing projects are on display, including the world’s first carbon neutral city in Abu Dhabi: the Masdar Development by architects Fosters + Partners.

Another concept is Local River by Mathieu Lehanneur, which essentially is a ‘refrigerator-aquarium’ that breeds freshwater fish and grows herbs at the same time.

The website CanDesignMakeaDifference.com accompanies the exhibition to encourage visitors to engage and share their opinions on sustainable issues by embracing a more active role independently. Additionally, a series of ongoing talks and events within the museum are available for further viewing amongst this site.

Images, from top: Open Source Hydrogen Car by the Delft, Eindhoven and Twente; the exhibition interior displays; Andrea Air Purifier; Local River by Mathieu Lehanneur; Energy Aware Clock by the Interactive Institute in Stockholm.

British wallpaper and textile company Sanderson is celebrating its 150th anniversary with an exhibition to highlight the best of its archive. The exhibition, titled Very Sanderson: 150 Years of English Decoration, takes place at The Fashion & Textile Museum in London’s Bermondsey.

VERY SANDERSON: 150 YEARS OF ENGLISH DECORATION

19th March – 13th June 2010

83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF (020 7407 8664)

The company was founded in 1860 by Arthur Sanderson and has prevailed to become one of the foremost companies in its genre, having survived through the turn of two centuries to leave an indelible mark  on British interior decoration.

Throughout its history, Sanderson has achieved a number of firsts: the first to produce a coordinated collection of mass-produced wallpapers and fabrics in Britain; the first to build a decorators’ showroom using hinge display screens now seen in showrooms worldwide; the first sole source in Britain of extravagantly expensive French papers; the first wallpaper manufacturer to receive a Royal Warrant.

Over the years, the company has acquired a massive collection of wallpapers and textiles that represent the history of its milieu. The exhibition, co-curated by the museum’s Dennis Nothdruft and independent Mary Schoeser, highlights the best of its archive as well as brand new collections.

The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated book, titled Sanderson: The essence of  English Decoration, written by Mary Schoeser (£18.95, Thames & Hudson). Furthermore, during London Design Week (21-26th March at Chelsea Harbour), the company launches the Vintage collection – reissued designs from the archive that encapsulate the best eras from their 15 decades.

The third annual Brit Insurance Design Awards has produced another eclectic and progressive range of nominees, all of which are on show at the Design Museum.

BRIT INSURANCE DESIGN AWARDS 2010, 17th February – 31st October 2010

DESIGN MUSEUM

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

Industry experts have nominated the world’s most compelling and progressive designs across seven categories: Architecture, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Interactive, Product, and Transport.

From the comprehensive list, the jury will select the seven category winners, to be announced on 4th March. The finalists will then find out who will win the overall Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2010 at the awards dinner on 16th March.

Alex Newson, curator of the exhibition, has this to say of this year’s nominees, “It’s interesting to see how themes of sustainability and social responsibility have emerged in this year’s nominations, revealing both the importance of economical and social change in design over the last twelve months.”

POST UPDATE: On 16th March 2010, the winner of this award was announced. Congratulations to recent RCA graduate Min-Kyu Choi who designed the ingenious Folding Plug, which is an elegant reinterpretation of the humble British plug.

Choi’s inspiration came from having to carry around the world’s largest plug (UK pin plug) with the MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest laptop. The Folding Plug is an extraordinarily obvious evolution for a clunky functional object that most of us have always lived with and have never questioned. Hopefully, this new design will enter the commercial market soon!

Images – from top: Mission One motorcyle by Yves Behar; Samsung 310 mini laptop by Naoto Fukasawa; Honda EV-N Concept by Kanna Sumiyoshi; Commode by PearsonLloyd; Porch Dog House prototype, Bilox, Mississippi by Marlon & Bilox model homes; Folding Plug by Min-Kyu Choi.

The second part of the annual Designers in Residence programme at the Design Museum features new work from three of this year’s chosen talents – Asif Khan, Bethan Wood, and Farm – comprising site-specific installations on the museum’s ground floor.

DESIGNERS IN RESIDENCE, 27th January – 8th March 2010

DESIGN MUSEUM

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

Bethan Wood is furnishing the museum cafe with functional furniture made up from a patchwork of laminates (pictured above).

Asif Khan is creating an installation in the museum Tank using a collection of local flora which he has put through a freeze drying process to preserve and prolong its life. The resulting material is being used to fabricate a new furniture system (pictured below).

The Farm collective are converting the Atrium into a studio space and design salon where they will debate and reveal the hidden processes that link design and manufacturing.

On 19th February for one night only, the Designers in Residence are taking over the museum for a unique ‘Design Overtime’ event – a lively affair including tunes, debates, exhibition workshops and design surprises. Tickets are £5 in advance or £8 on the door (020 7940 8783 or www.ticketweb.co.uk)

Designers in Residence is funded by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Visit the resident’s blog for personal insights into their journey, experience and thoughts.