On the wake of the third edition of What Design Can Do — one of the northern hemisphere’s most interesting design events — conference director Richard van der Laken expands on the project's evolution and future ambitions.

Justin McGuirk identifies the obsession with functionality — introduced by modernism and amplified by the market — as the driving force behind the proliferation of super-efficient products, which instead of giving us more leisure create new forms of enslavement.

A patchwork of coloured and clear glass marks the entrance to the simple, geometric new Aesop store in Shibuya, where shelves become frames and glass and mirrors enhance light.