Interior, architect and design event Designex 2012 will give visitors the opportunity to take in new products from the globe’s most progressive brands and the philosophies of international influences, while experiencing various new features.
With new highlights such as Nest, The Hives, plus the established seminar series, Designex 2012 will be a passionate, authentic and essential experience for visitors.
2012 marks the first year for Nest, a subsidized space within Designex dedicated to emerging talent. This vibrant platform offers the best new Australian creatives an unprecedented opportunity for industry exposure. Work from fresh designers and those from larger practices now founding their own labels will be shared and delighted in.
Nest will represent a variety of design disciplines, from furniture and lighting, to design. Nest has been inspired by Anne Maree Sargeant, one of Australia’s leading design consultants.
Sargeant is also curating The Hives, a striking honeycomb-shaped space devoted to innovative creations. Housing products sourced from designex 2012 exhibitors, as well as external, influential labels, The Hives aims to capture a complete picture of cutting-edge design from directions – sustainability, luxe and technology.
“The Hives will amplify the most loved aspect of Designex” says Sargeant. “It will offer the full spectrum of international trends and design developments, edited into one space”.
Complementing The Hives and Nest will be the newly launched seminar series, this year curated by Emma Telfer of The Office For Good Design.
This year’s seminar series, Seven Kinds of Happiness: Conversations on Design and Emotion, is planned as an intriguing program of events which will use happiness as a talking point for designers from all fields. Speakers include design critic and journalist Alice Rawsthorn (UK), architecture collective Rotor (Brussels), graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister (USA) and urban planning and architect firm Workac (USA). The seminar series will be made up of seven public conversations including a keynote lecture, panel discussions and a series of Skype interviews. The program unpacks questions such as: is personal happiness a design problem? Can designers create happiness and what kind of objects and places make us most happy? If happiness becomes a desirable objective for designers, along with sustainability and social responsibility, could we in fact actively create a greater sense of community and belonging and a heightened civic well-being?
With new highlights such as Nest, The Hives, and the new seminar series, Designex 2012 aspires to advance, support and celebrate superb design in all its forms, providing a great experience for attendees.