[Herald Design Forum] Herald Design Forum to ponder ‘Another 10 Years’

The Herald Design Forum 2020 will be held virtually Thursday, envisioning the next 10 years of innovation by design.

The 10th edition of the annual event, which celebrates the art of design and its value, will be held under the title of “Another 10 Years.”

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the forum will be held virtually. In compliance with the government’s social distancing guideline, fewer than 50 speakers and officials will attend the event held at Paradise City in Incheon.

Thursday’s event will kick off with a congratulatory speech by Richard Armstrong, the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation and head of the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Celebrated industrial designer Ron Arad will make a keynote speech titled, “Whats and Ifs.” The Tel Aviv-born designer cooperates with leading design labels such as homeware brand Alessi and furniture brand Vitra.

Hans Ulrich Obrist, one of the most influential curators in the world who has worked at numerous art galleries and art festivals in Europe, will deliver a speech titled, “Toward a New Era of Social Imagination.”

The forum will feature a strong domestic lineup too, including architect Kim Chan-joong. Kim is head of The_System Lab, a Seoul-based architecture firm. Kim came into the limelight for showcasing the vertical cemetery model “The Last House” project at the 2006 Venice Biennale. At the Herald Design Forum, Kim will share his project stories under the title, “The_System Lab Report: Making Story.”

After lunch, the forum will resume with creative director Jung Ku-ho. Jung is a well-recognized fashion designer here who participates in diverse projects, ranging from stage art to graphic design, film, lifestyle design and more. In his speech, “Design Thinking,” Jung will explain the influence of design in our lives.

Another speaker will be Sean Lee, CEO of the “art-tech factory” creative group billed as “d’strict.” D’strict came into the spotlight in May, when its anamorphic illusion “Wave” was screened on Korea’s biggest digital display at Coex K-pop Square in southern Seoul, receiving extensive local and international media coverage. He will share his thoughts on the evolution of digital media design.

After a short break, Shin Woo-seok, CEO of the Dolphiners, a media art production studio in the advertising business, will share his visions and experiences. The firm is appreciated for its storytelling commercials. Shin will speak under the topic of commercial design.

The travel industry, recently heavily challenged by the coronavirus crisis, will also be discussed Thursday. Noh Kyung-rok, co-founder of Stayfolio, an accommodation curation service, and also CEO of Z-lab, the architectural firm that produces Stayfolio’s lodging options, will speak about adding value to empty spaces.

A special speech titled “Free the Air -- Aeroscience” by Tomas Saraceno, an Argentinian artist who strives for “quasi-feasible utopia,” will close the forum. Saraceno, widely recognized in Korea for leading the art project “Connect, BTS” with the mega hit K-pop band, will share his thoughts on connecting art, architecture, astrophysics, mechanical engineering, aeroscience and more into an artwork.

A one-hour Q&A session will follow.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)