This question and others will be answered at the second annual India Design Forum (IDF) set to take place March 15-16 in Mumbai.
Pathy
Founded by designer Rajshree Pathy in 2012, IDF serves as an interdisciplinary platform on design to promote a dialogue on the core issues impacting society and how they can be tackled with good design examples and solutions. Two days of talks by 20 international design experts from multiple disciplines will take place at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. IDF has also announced plans for the first design week and the first annual IDF Awards.
“What is the future of design and what role will India play in it?” is the core issue to be addressed by the IDF this year. The speakers will examine how designs inform the world and change our lives, every day. Topics that will be proactively addressed include Product & Industrial Design, Urbanization, Sustainable Architecture, Innovation & Technology, Investing in Design Education, Good Design is Good Business and Fashion & Luxury.
Clockwise from top: Aishwarya Pathy, Asif Khan, Dror Benshetrit, Vicky Richardson
Key speakers include MD of Diageo India, Abanti Sankaranarayanan; Curator of the V&A’s design drawings collection, Abraham Thomas; designer Anouska Hempel; designer Asif Khan; French footwear designer Christian Louboutin; Director of the London's Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic; Domenic Lippa respected for his work in packaging, print, identity design and retail graphics; designers Doshi Levien; Dror Benshetrit; Jakub Szczesny; Marije Vogelzang; Oskar Zieta; Indian architect, Rahul Mehrotra; Co-founder and director of Droog, Renny Ramakers; designer Ross Lovegrove; founder and principle architect/urban planner of Venhoeven CS architecture+urbanism, Ton Venhoeven; Director of Architecture, Design and Fashion at the British Council, Vicky Richardson; Willian Russel, Architect & Partner, Pentagram, London; and many more.
“The India Design Forum 2013 will bring global design thought leaders together in Mumbai to enable strategic alliances, encourage dialogue between academia and industry and facilitate cross design cultural thinking and application," said Pathy.
The forum is a celebration of India’s distinctive design aesthetic and the ways in which it continues its conversation with the international design world. The forum starts with a Design Week—a week long schedule of cutting edge design exhibitions, workshops and curated events in venues across Mumbai, which are open to the public, and the private design forum will follow.
This year, the IDF will present the first annual IDF Awards 2013, which celebrates India's vibrantly dynamic creative scene and identifies the best in various design disciplines.
The IDF Awards program seeks to increase national awareness of design by educating the public and honoring excellence, innovation and lasting achievement. For this first edition, designs produced within the last 5 years are eligible for application. Participation is open to applicants from India, mainly Indian companies and design professionals, but also Indian citizens living abroad. In the concept section participation is open to Indian students and design-enthusiasts as well.
IDF is a private registration-only program. For additional information on the Design Week programming and how to apply for the IDF Awards, visit the website.
