IDE at Dutch Design Week

Design United 2020 - Up Close and Personal

News - 16 September 2020 - Communication

It’s almost that time of year again! Every October, the European design community comes together to celebrate our profession during Dutch Design Week (DDW). However, this year’s DDW will be particularly special.

Projects from the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) are represented each year by Design United, an initiative showcasing design research from the Netherlands’s four universities of technology (4TU). In previous years, thousands of design enthusiasts have flocked to Eindhoven to experience IDE work in person but the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the way we interact in public spaces and challenged organisers to rethink the event.

Delft designers are no strangers to big challenges, and this year’s Design United exhibition is a prime example of creating opportunities from adversity. DU2020 – under the highly topical theme of Up Close and Personal – will take place in the form of a live-streamed talk show, complemented by an online magazine and a small but intimate exhibition. Together, they will form an archive of design innovation that aims to engage audiences during DDW and beyond.

From Monday 19 till Friday 23 October, there will be five talkshows, each with a topic at the forefront of contemporary design: Hybrids, Eco-logica, Living Matter(s), Silent Power and Crisis!

In each of these discussions, a new generation of designers – including staff and students from IDE – will share their ideas and visions for the future by zooming in on their design. Their work shows us how designers can navigate the rapidly changing ethical, material and digital landscapes of today. In a time of uncertainty, DU2020 is an opportunity to reflect on the complexity of our world – and how design can help us understand it.

Project lead Assistant Professor Marco Rozendaal says, “Normally we would encourage students and staff to book their tickets and get themselves down to Eindhoven. This year, we’ll be livestreaming inspiring design and sticky discussions to the comfort of your living room.  Be there and spread the word!”

Full details of the Up Close and Personal website will be published in the coming weeks.