Seeking design boundaries.
VIII Design Night festival provides you with your annual dose of design on the long autumn nights. The festival tries to define the essence of design, seeks its boundaries and brings examples of how to measure design. We are surrounded by design in our everyday lives whether we realise it or not. As consumers of design, we evaluate the phenomena based on the usability, functionality, inventiveness, emotion, beauty and many other criteria. How to evaluate good design? Where do the roots of design lie? We try to offer answers to these questions during the seminars, workshops, exhibitions, competitions, performances and other events which excite design-oriented people.
The programme of VIII Design Night includes references to the Year of Cultural Heritage in Estonia. The visitors have the chance to get to know the results of the competition "Back to the Roots of Estonian Design". The goal of the competition is to establish a connection with the heritage of the past, gather resourceful tips from the past for creating products and introduce the materials, techniques and beautiful ornaments which are unique to our area and which can be adapted and used to upgrade a product by adding additional value which distinguishes it from the others.
The Design Elevator opens again in the Rotermann Quarter. As an example of sustainable design, a selection of the best of Finnish design is displayed at the exhibition "Enduring Beauty (Pekkas exhibition)". Furthermore, we will also introduce this year’s best young designers of Finland and a collection from Lahti Biennale. Poland presents "Illustrated Design ABC Book". In addition to that, Estonian product design is introduced at a material-based exhibition "Mateeria". New Estonian posters are shown at the Salt Storage. Graphic designers are once again measured against each other in "Estonian Design Awards 2013: Graphic and Web Design".
While pondering about the borders of design, one cannot but wonder whether state borders also apply to design. We wish to compare the design message of small nations with big ones. Designers from Belarus provide insight and food for thought. Italian and Estonian designers try to find common solutions in a workshop.
Thinking like a designer can help to improve not only the material environment but also the lifestyle of the society. Through competent implementation of the design management methods, bold changes can be introduced in the public sector. This topic is explored at the international seminar and workshop "Design Management for the Public Sector". The focus of the event is on improving the quality of the services and operating environment in the health care sector. The exhibition "Design Effectiveness 2013" from the UK introduces profitable design which can be measured in financial terms.
The festival would not justify its name if it did not offer something for everyone who is interested in culture. Several fashion events are planned for the fashion gourmands and for those design friends who suffer from an adrenaline deficiency, we recommend the Design Auction and the lightning talks of the Pecha Kucha Night. If you have fallen victim to the sombre autumn darkness, an enlightening lighting show is exactly what the doctor ordered. In addition to that, the programme includes inventing workshops for children and the food design workshop "Grandma’s Design Competition" invites all the grandmothers to bake cakes and introduces the cake recipes of grandmothers across Europe. The Design Night Club will also open its doors once again where the visitors can play trilliards and share their design euphoria with kindred spirits. The exhibitions and satellites are scattered around Estonian Design House area, from Kalasadam to the city centre.
Design Night is organised by Estonian Association of Designers, Disainiöö and supported by Cultural Endowment and Tallinn City.
