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.

Peroni Nastro Azzurro, in partnership with the Design Museum, are staging a new series of talks titled Made in Italy – The Influence of Italian Design, taking place in May. Enter our competition to win tickets to these talks (details below).

Launching on the 5th May 2010, each evening talk will explore the values behind Italy’s creative force, looking at future trends and bringing together the most exciting figures in Italian contemporary design – from designers to manufacturers and creative directors.

DATES: 5th, 10th & 20th May 2010. ENTER OUR COMPETITION TO WIN TICKETS:

Choose which talk you would like to attend by specifying your preferred date in an email to: info@londondesignguide.com with ‘Made in Italy’ in the subject line. (Your details will not be passed on to any third parties).

Competition closes at midday on Tuesday 4th May. We have two pairs of tickets to giveaway for each event. Winners will be chosen at random and notified by email on 4th May. Each winner will receive two tickets to the talk.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. Congratulations to all of our ticket winners.

Full event details below.

Talks take place on 5th, 10th & 20th May at the Design Museum, London:

Wednesday 5th May, 7.30pm >>> Made in Italy: Il Modo Italiano

This first ‘Made in Italy’ discussion analyses the context for Italian design. Find out more about the role of the manufacturer, designer and consumer and the idiosyncratic relationships that link all three. Speakers include Claudio Silvestrin, Piero Lissoni, and James Irvine.

Monday 10th May, 7.15pm >>> Made in Italy: Italian Industrial Design

Be it desirable, stylish, innovative, challenging, reliable or any combination of the above, this discussion will focus on how Italian industrial design makes an impact and leaves a mark. Hear experienced designers unpick the nuances of the Italian industrial design scene. Speakers include Mario Bellini, Dr Penny Sparke, Matteo Thun.

Thursday 20th May 7.15pm >>> Made in Italy: The Future

The achievements of the last 50 years of Italian design are clear, but where is Italian design heading next? To conclude the ‘Made in Italy’ series, a distinguished panel analyse current trends and try to anticipate what could or should be coming next. Speakers include Antonio Citterio, Ross Lovegrove and Roberto Giolito.

Deyan Sudjic (director of Design Museum) will chair each talk.

Additional talks will take place in Brighton on 12th May and Glasgow on 18th May.

Please do not enter this competition unless you are available to attend.

Stay informed of future competitions by signing up to our mailing list.

Images of iconic Italian designs, supplied courtesy of the Design Museum Collection.

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.

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.

At last, the Design Museum is recognising the achievements of legendary German designer Dieter Rams by staging his first definitive UK retrospective. Rams defined an elegant, legible, and rigorous visual design language which has informed the work of countless designers today.

‘LESS AND MORE – The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams’  

18th November 2009 – 7th March 2010

DESIGN MUSEUM

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

For 40 years, from 1955-1995, Dieter Rams designed and oversaw the design of over 500 products for the German electronics manufacturer Braun, as well as furniture for Vitsoe. Audio equipment, calculators, shavers and shelving systems are just some of the products created by Rams, each item holds a special place in the history of industrial and furniture design and has established Rams as one of the most influential designers of the late 20th Century.

The exhibition examines how Dieter Rams’ design ethos inspired and challenged perceptions of domestic design and assesses his lasting influence on today’s design landscape. Archive footage, models, sketches and prototypes are displayed alongside specially commissioned interviews with Rams’ contemporaries, which include Jonathan Ive (Apple), Jasper Morrison, Sam Hecht (Industrial Facility), and Naoto Fukasawa. 

Heavily influenced by the Bauhaus and Ulm School of Art in Germany, Dieter Rams pioneered a design spirit which embraced modernity and placed functionality above everything else, resulting in designs that were free of decoration, simple in function and embodied a cohesive sense of order.

Dieter Rams identified his own ‘Ten Principles’ of good design, which, amongst others stated that good design should be innovative, aesthetic, durable, and useful:

Good design is innovative.

Good design makes a product useful.

Good design is aesthetic.

Good design helps us to understand a product.

Good design is unobtrusive.

Good design is honest.

Good design is durable.

Good design is consequent to the last detail.

Good design is concerned with the environment.

Good design is as little design as possible.

We can’t help thinking that many of today’s designers could be reminded of these simple principles before adding yet more stuff to our material landscape.

EDITOR’S COMMENTS:

This exhibition really reminds us of the 20th Century notion of ‘good design,’ which was principally concerned with functionality, efficiency, and material honesty. Recently, the design world has become carried away with the idea of entertainment in design, which often manifests as over-the-top, materially-excessive, somewhat frivolous ’functional’ objects – sensationalist designs that scream for our attention.

Rams’ work was real problem-solving design at its finest and was packaged ready for the consumer to understand and enjoy. No fanfare.

Walking around this exhibition, I was struck by how remarkably calm I felt. Other visitors seemed calm too and somewhat grateful and refreshed.

The designers in the room – presumably both practicing and studying – seemed humbled by the experience as they became realigned with the ingredients and attributes of truly great design.

It seems fitting that this exhibition is staged at a time when the world is trying to heal the wounds created by excess and greed. We can all learn a lot from this.

In 2008, I produced a short video asking leading figures from the design community in London: what is your idea of good design? On the whole, the consensus came remarkably close to Dieter Rams’ ten principles. Watch the video here and keep an eye out for the orange squeezer produced at Braun during Rams’ tenure!