[Design Forum] Forum to discuss design as platform for convergence, value creation

The Herald Design Forum 2015 is set to kick off Tuesday in Seoul, bringing together some of the world’s brightest minds in design to share their ideas and insights.

The one-day celebration of creativity and innovation in design, scheduled to be held at Grand Hyatt Seoul, will invite 11 creative minds across diverse fields of design from architecture, art, and branding to 3-D printing, who will speak at seven lectures and discussions with design aficionados in Korea and at a networking dinner event with a selected audience in the evening.

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.” Since its inaugural forum in 2011, Herald Design Forum has explored the role of design in today’s world under the slogan of “Design Changes the World” and its impact on various aspects of life. 

The forum will kick off with talks by Randi Zuckerberg, founder of Zuckerberg Media and former marketing director at Facebook. She will share her marketing strategies that place products or systems in an optimal context to effectively deliver their value to consumers under the topic of “Design Creates Value, Marketing Draws Insight.”

The 50-minute talk will be followed by a session that will be conducted by two speakers -- Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban and young entrepreneur Kim Ju-yoon, CEO of Dot, a Seoul-based smartwatch maker for the blind, under the theme of “Design, A Channel of Sharing Value.” 

The third session will feature Spanish food and product designer Marti Guixe -- known for his unique approach to food design and his collaborations with diverse brands like Alessi, Chupa Chups, Camper and Vitra. Guixe will talk about his design philosophy that regards design as more of a platform for questioning, visualizing and influencing contemporary human behavior under the theme “Adding a Touch of Imagination to the Object.” 

In the afternoon sessions, designers behind some of the latest design innovations will talk about thoughts and strategies behind their work. 

The fourth session will have British designer Tom Dixon, creative director of his eponymous brand, and artist and industrial designer Arik Levy, talk about collaborations and synergies made between art and commercial design and their unique approaches to combine the two fields under the theme “Design, Touchpoint of the Creative and the Commercial.”

The fifth session will shed light on a broader role of design -- branding. Managing director of Total Identity Bob van der Lee and Hong Kong-based industrial designer Tommy Li will talk about their comprehensive approach to designing a brand’s identity. 

The forum will also have a talk by Janne Kyttanen, a pioneer in 3-D printing, for the sixth session. Kyttanen will share his experience of making innovations through the unique mix of the cutting-edge 3-D printing technology and conventional fields of design such as fashion and furniture.

The last session will be dedicated to two masters of art and computer graphics design -- cofounder of Pixar Alvy Ray Smith and Korean artist Lee Lee-nam, who both brought forth innovations through mixing art and technology.

Herald Design Forum will hold a networking dinner for speakers and a selected audience as a finale of the fifth forum. Participants, who registered prior to the forum, will have a chance to build their network with leading designers and share their inspiration and ideas in design.

The forum is organized by Herald Corp., publisher of The Korea Herald and sponsored by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion and Seoul Design Foundation.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)