By Maciek Dubla /asdf 11-03-2010

Dear Design.nl, 

With the 2010 Design Indaba Conference being my first ever Design Indaba, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I can get bored rather quickly and usually I worry with presentations because unless they are done well, people begin to get that glazed look in their eyes. So when Tord Boontje stepped on stage and began giving his account of how the world can be bettered through creativity, it seemed the audience felt - what was without a doubt - Boontje’s intense passion for his art.  

Boontje's presentation was a deeply personal one, which tied in well with the way in which he designs. Blending design and emotion, the pieces that he produces are not only of his own interpretation of what design is, but they also allow for those engaging with his designs to interpret it in their own way. Take a look at his interpretation of a chandelier: although they're not traditional chandeliers, these beautifully detailed pieces take a look at how design should come from a personal engagement with what you do.  

Another moment that stood out for me in his speech was his way of using a number of elements that he has brought together harmoniously - which many might never have thought would work together - deliberately creating work that celebrates imperfections. There is sometimes nothing more tedious than design that tries so hard to be perfect that it actually lacks characteristic. By combining tradition, technology, fantasy, a commercial sensibility, independence and experimentation, Boontje's work is not only the kind one can buy at a shop anywhere in the world, but also the type that speaks of a personal insight into what design is meant to be doing, where it’s going. Boontje is looking at reshaping the design world and for someone like me who isn’t a designer; he has certainly found a way of changing my outlook on the creative industry and what it encompasses.  

Boontje wasn’t the only Dutch native to grace the Design Indaba stage: renowned trend forecaster Li Edelkoort and designer Christien Meindertsma also took to the forum and honestly, I finally understood why people flock to the conference to watch these presentations – the speakers are astounding.  

Edelkoort - on her seventh appearance at Design Indaba - delivered a simply 'delicious' look into the trends that are spreading throughout the world – and I say delicious because they weren’t the typical trends one sees on The Style Report or on The Home Channel, but trends that actually consider the physical and emotional. Family is becoming more important and subsequently relationships are now on the rise. Fathers are becoming far more prominent in their children’s lives than the mother, which has led to a new type of man who is softer, loving, warmer and more tender. When it comes to design, the basics are back, not the traditional basics, but the more sophisticated, well-engineered and beautiful basics. Metals are still prominent and structure takes on a new obsession particularly in fashion.  

Of course I need to also mention, Edelkoort comments that sex is a big trend especially if it’s filled with fantasy and craze.  

Meindertsma’s presentation explored her love for raw materials, and how it was this love that led her to accomplish what is an astounding body of work. I couldn’t help but be slightly amused by her soft demeanour – not a personality trait I would associate with someone who published a book documenting how the various parts of a pig are used in everyday objects. I loved her take on fashion by producing intricately crafted sweaters and then pinning a rosette on each one with a tag showing the sheep that produced the wool. It was by far her book, Pig 05049 that just blew my mind, not only because of the time and research that must have gone into creating it, but also seeing how we use products that in some way or another have been made out of the parts of a pig. While it didn’t put me off eating meat, it did make me start questioning everything I use and I think that while a designer’s job is to create, they also have a responsibility to question their industry and develop it so as to give future designers a higher standard to strive towards.  

The 2010 Design Indaba Conference was a great insight into an industry that many corporate organisations throughout the world consider 'soft'. Gradually, many big businesses have cottoned onto the benefits of investing in the creative industry and the benefits it holds to the worldwide economy. There is nothing soft about it and it is through these kinds of conferences showcasing a high calibre of speakers that show young (and established) designers that thinking out of the box is the key to success.

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