[Design Forum] Series of design events in store

Korea will hold a series of design fairs and business events in and around Seoul, starting with the Herald Design Forum on Tuesday. 

The Herald forum, to be held at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul, will bring together 11 creative minds in diverse fields of design, ranging from architecture, art, food to 3-D printing, who will share their experience and insights with local audience.

They include Randi Zuckerberg, founder of Zuckerberg Media and former marketing director at Facebook, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban and Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith.

The fifth edition of the annual forum will explore synergies that design creates through collaborations with different industries under the theme of “Design Platform Creates Value Through Integration.” 

Close on the heels of the Herald forum is the trade fair Design Korea, or DK 2015, which will kick off at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 11 for five days.

Hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, the DK 2015 will invite some 190 enterprises from Korea and abroad, and over 2,000 products with exceptional design will be displayed at the exhibition.

The exhibition hall will be divided into three parts with different themes -- Design Business; Good Design; and Global Design Trend.

Under the concept of “Design Business Fair 2015” at the DK 2015, the ministry said the event will offer seminars and programs enabling participants to share value, seal deals and showcase their innovative design products.

“In this time and age, creative ideas blossom through good design, which either by itself or by converging with different industries, presents new added-values,” said Industry Minister Yoon Sang-jick.

In addition to holding business-to-business programs where participants can find partners and provide marketing consulting, the DK 2015 will hold seminars on topics such as integrating Internet of Things and 3-D printing with design and launching effective communication and products through designs.

There will also be sessions on how to enter and succeed in the Chinese market.

The organizing committee of the DK 2015 expects deals worth over 80 billion won ($71 million) to be sealed during the event this year, up from 35.5 billion won last year. In 2014, some 180 enterprises participated in the Design Korea exhibition and business fair.

This year, it said that “big players” from China’s online and offline retail sectors and Japan’s electronics, retail, fashion and interior design sectors will be joining the DK 2015.

In its 13th year, the DK 2015 said that it will become the “starting point” where it could boost Hallyu, or the Korean wave, through innovation and design.

Design Korea was launched in 2003, with the aim of spurring Korea’s global brand value and design competitiveness.

After Design Korea 2015, the Seoul Design Week 2015 will kick off at venues including the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Convention and Exhibition Center on Dec. 2 for five days.

Hosted by the Seoul government and Seoul Design Foundation, the Seoul Design Week will also have festivals where student designers and entrepreneurs can showcase their brands, and exhibitions where visitors can catch the latest and future of innovative design products.

An exhibition at the DDP will introduce the latest design trends in the fields of transportation, health care, sports and fashion, while a festival at COEX will showcase not only design works of independent designers but also design studies of researchers and marketers.

It will also hold forums on topics such as entrepreneurship and innovation in design, and how to launch design start-ups. There will be programs where participants can seek design partners, exchange know-hows and attract sponsorships.

Other events such as touring the city’s design landmarks will be held across Seoul, including in Gwanghwamun, Apgujeong and Sinsa-dong.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)