What design can do 2015

The eclectic programmes of the Dutch festival’s 5th edition brought together people like Cameron Sinclair, an architect who has spent decades developing living solutions for emergency contexts, and unbridled designers such as Bompas & Parr.

The 5th “What Design Can Do” begins with a gospel choir and a genuine appeal to designers: We are at war and must take a stance, rediscover meaning and act like NGOs, no more shades of grey. Two days of celebrations, however, produced a sense of the difficulty of defining the role of design in terms of black/white, good/bad.

Nor did the eclectic programmes of the main and breakout events really help. On the one hand, there were people like Cameron Sinclair, an architect who has spent decades developing living solutions for emergency contexts; on the other, there were OTT creatives such as Bompas & Parr, unbridled designers with a love of gelatine, alcohol and parties where anything can happen. Who is good and who is bad?

The “like NGOs” suggestion is also somewhat ambiguous since enlightened enterprise was well represented: Steve Rura of Google presented Project Loon, an innovative connection infrastructure based on balloons that take the Internet to all corners of the world; and Jonathan Spampinato of the IKEA Foundation explained Better Shelter, a partnership with UNHCR that produces low-cost housing for refugees in countries such as Ethiopia and Iraq. Prizewinning graphic designer Michael Johnson now spends most of his time developing communication for charities and his presentation made no mystery of the fact that commissions with a business focus can fund ethically more satisfying projects. Again, there are nuances.

In response to the implied question in the event’s title, the subject of refugees and, more generally, architecture with a high social potential were among the most recurrent. As well as the aforementioned Sinclair and the IKEA Foundation, refugee camps – actual cities – were visually explored by Jan Rothuizen’s “soft maps”. The Dutch artist has produced several of them for the Refugee Republic project to cast a documentary and human gaze on life in them. Retaining dignity as the ethical linchpin, the architectural approaches of both Michael Murphy (Mass Design Group) and Diébédo Francis Kéré (Kéré Architecture) develop construction guidelines with a local focus: local materials, local technology and local builders. The former does this using the term lo-fab (with the relative hashtag), the latter by highlighting his own relationship with communities in Burkina Faso.

Something else that design can do, according to the festival programme, is amplify our experiences – sensorial and other. Inspiration may come from a more in-depth knowledge of our sense of smell (via “nasalo”, a language created by olfactory artist and alchemist Sissel Tolaas), developed by rediscovering our local ingredients (as did Brazilian chef Alex Atala after establishing a more direct relationship with Amazon suppliers) and addressing abstract and universal issues such as the search for happiness (the core theme of Stefan Sagmeister’s Happy Show). Special attention was also paid to food, also in business terms: Cynthia Shanmugalingam of Kitchenette, a London incubator for culinary start-ups, explained that networking is crucial for small entrepreneurs keen to succeed in the catering world.

There is a certain contrast between the two theme groups, with the breakout sessions (extra mini-events dotted around different locations, inside and outside the principal theatre, the Stadsschouwburg) making the notion of “impact” as defined by WDCD even more explosive: from medicine to dating, from packaging to the drug culture (this workshop filled up quickly) passing via a digital-design showcase sponsored by Adobe, the meaning of which is more one of technical muscle. All was interspersed with gospel posters and music performances in the theatre’s corridors.

Speaking of posters, I was quite struck by one that journalist Jeroen Junte asked the whole audience of his presentation (songs and even group massages were a leitmotiv of the event) to recite. The points of his Hippocratic-like “designer’s oath” include an invitation to recognise the limits of the profession. Perhaps it is the most effective coagulant to reconcile the tension between pressing themes and hedonism, photos of refugees in Africa and naked men appearing unexpectedly on the stage. There is nothing wrong with showcasing the two essences of design – the functional serving an immediate need and the potential to elevate an experience (e.g. a dull talk full of bullet points) via the primitive beauty and joy that creativity is able to express. The only problem is that, with all due respect for its pace and potential for inspiration, the festival’s design and marketing risk promising a greater commitment and impact than it can deliver.

What design can do 2015

The eclectic programmes of the Dutch festival’s 5th edition brought together people like Cameron Sinclair, an architect who has spent decades developing living solutions for emergency contexts, and unbridled designers such as Bompas & Parr.

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