London Design Festival Press Conference - 9 May 2008

London Design Festival 2008
13 – 23 September

Now in its sixth year, The London Design Festival has established itself as a major event on the international design calendar, appealing to an increasingly wide audience, from consumers to professionals to students and all those with a keen interest in design. For 2008, the Festival promises an even greater array of creative events, imaginative exhibitions and installations taking place across London, involving a diverse range of talents, from established innovators to rising stars.

Sir John Sorrell, Chairman of the London Design Festival said “The sixth London Design Festival this September comes at an opportune time for everyone who believes design can solve problems, drive innovation, build profits, create beauty and lift the spirits. It promises to deliver an inspirational experience to Londoners and visitors from across the UK and around the world”.

Established in 2003 to celebrate and promote London as the creative capital of the world, The London Design Festival has grown rapidly to become one of the key constituents of the UK’s burgeoning creative festival season alongside London Fashion Week, Frieze Art Fair and the London Film Festival.

Jaime Hayón, one of the rising stars of the design world commented, “I moved to London because it’s the world’s most dynamic city and the place I draw creative inspiration from. It is clear that across the design world people are talking about the Festival and being in London in September. What I like about the Festival is that it’s full of new ideas”.

Last year an estimated 350,000 visitors attended Festival events and even more came across public design projects including Tom Dixon’s low-energy lighting installation in Trafalgar Square and the two Size + Matter installations by Zaha Hadid and Amanda Levete at Southbank Centre.

The Festival oversaw 226 events alongside 152 launches, private views and receptions. For the first time, the Festival team delivered a programme of 32 events, seminars and activities at Southbank Centre which acted as the Festival’s main ‘hub’. This year, Southbank Centre will again host a range of Festival events for five days during the Festival.

Ben Evans, Director of the London Design Festival, reflected on plans for the forthcoming Festival: “This year the Festival is stronger than ever – we’ve spoken to an increasingly diverse range of partners that are planning activity. This means that this year’s programme will not only build on the success of 2007, but will also be different – reflecting new design trends and ideas and London’s creativity more widely. It’s an exciting time for the Festival”.

The London Development Agency (LDA) continues to provide support for the London Design Festival, as it has done since the first Festival in 2003. The LDA, the Mayor’s agency for sustainable economic development, works directly with the Festival team to maximise the strategic value of the Festival, including links with other public agencies such as Think London, Visit London, UK Trade & Investment and others.

Tom Campbell, Head of Creative Sectors at the LDA commented: “The LDA is supporting the London Design Festival to promote London’s creative talent and foster business growth.  London is at the heart of the UK’s thriving and world-class design industry and home to almost half of the UK’s design companies.  This year’s Festival will be the most exciting yet.”

The London Design Festival is also supported by Arts Council England, who recently announced that the Festival will become a regularly funded organisation from 2009.

The organisers of The London Design Festival are working directly on an important number of key projects for 2008. These include:

 Size + Matter
Last year saw the inaugural Size + Matter initiative staged at Southbank Centre with two dramatic installations by Zaha Hadid and Amanda Levete. For 2008, David Adjaye, one of the UK’s leading architects of his generation, is aiming to create a pavilion made of American tulipwood, supplied by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) at Southbank Centre. Adjaye selected tulipwood for its inherent flexibility, strength and varying colour hues. Visitors will be able to walk inside and experience the material in an enclosed space. Adjaye has created a number of temporary pavilions in the past which have been displayed in Venice, Rome, London and Croatia.

Other materials confirmed for the project include Glass and Composite Carbon Fibre. Details of the designers will be confirmed shortly.

Size + Matter will remain in place until the Frieze Art Fair (16–19 October) and offered for sale at Phillips de Pury & Company’s London Contemporary Art Evening sale in October.

Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square will again witness a dramatic installation as part of the Festival’s public event programming. Jamie Hayón, is set to take over the space with a project inspired by architecture from his native Spain. Working with scaffolding to create scale, the installation promises to be one of the most spectacular elements of the Festival diary.

Southbank Centre
The Festival team has worked with Southbank Centre to develop a programme of design-related events that will act as a focal point for the start of the Festival (13-17 September).

Alongside the events programme (detailed below) the Royal Festival Hall will host Design-Nation’s Eureka exhibition during The London Design Festival 2008. Eureka was the brainchild of the late Peta Levi MBE that celebrates the quality of British design and collaborations between designers, manufacturers and retailers.

Southbank Centre events programme will be made up of a series of activities looking at issues behind design from a number of perspectives:

∑ The Business of Design Talks breakfast seminar series with The Financial Times (15-19 September) will cover a range of issues including Intellectual Property, creative cities, brands and creative learning with top-rated business and design speakers.
∑ An inspirational day long event, Show-n-Tell will see a roster of famous and soon-to-be-famous designers take to the stage to provide an insight into their influences and approaches at the Purcell Room, 16 September.
∑ Cut & Paste, will be a live digital design battle, produced in partnership with Germination. Bringing together the energy of a nightclub, the intensity of a sporting arena and the creativity of the best in the business, kicking off Digital Design Day this unmissable one-off event will see graphic designers going head-to-head. Cut & Paste is making an appearance at The London Design Festival 2008 in advance of its global tournament next year. www.cutandpaste.com
∑ In partnership with New Media Knowledge and Carrenza, Digital Design Day will be a day-long programme of activity including educational sessions, presentations, seminars and networking dedicated to the digital media design community, culminating in the third annual Y Design Awards – celebrating and awarding the best in digital and interactive design. www.ydesignawards.com
∑ European Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson will be the guest speaker at the Festival’s opening reception, Monday 15 September in The Clore Ballroom of the Royal Festival Hall.

London Design Medal
The London Design Medal will be awarded for the second time in September. Chosen by a distinguished panel of design figures and chaired by Sir John Sorrell, the medal (won last year by Zaha Hadid) will be awarded to a designer who has made a significant contribution to design. The award will take place during a gala dinner hosted by Phillips de Pury at their new central London showroom in Victoria.
 
Veuve Clicquot Commission
The London Design Festival has been asked to deliver the first Veuve Clicquot Design Commission for London. Inspired by Veuve Clicquot, one of the most prestigious and innovative champagnes in the world, Fredrikson Stallard, have designed ‘Portrait’, a single piece of wood that has been magnified and transformed using a combination of steel and light to recreate the familiar grain structure of wood. It will appear on the riverside-terrace at Somerset House for the duration of the Festival.
 
D&AD at the Royal College of Art
The London Design Festival has brought together D&AD with the Royal College of Art to deliver a series of activities focussed on an exhibition provisionally entitled ‘probably the best design in the world…’ Past D&AD presidents from the last 40 years have each chosen a design icon from the year they held the presidency. The D&AD annual and President’s dinner will also be held as part of The London Design Festival for the first time at the Royal College of Art.

Sustainability Hub
The London Design Festival team is working in partnership with the engineering and construction company Arup, the sustainable design collective (re)design and graphic design company Thomas Matthews to develop a sustainable design hub for this year’s Festival. The hub will cover a series of design disciplines, looking at the latest thinking on sustainable design. The programme – stretching over four days (17-20 September) will include a series of interactive elements including workshops and installations for both the public and the design community.

 Destinations
A defining feature of The London Design Festival over the last few years has been the emergence of design destinations – concentrated areas of activity in defined areas of the city, some old, some new but all exciting. The London Design Festival has supported much of the programming and development of these areas:

Brompton Design District
One of the distinguished destinations within The London Design Festival programme is The Brompton Design District. Stretching from the Serpentine Gallery and Royal College of Art to the Brompton Quarter and Brompton Cross, the area has come to life with a programme of activity staged by a mix of interests, from iconic design shops and guerrilla galleries to the world-class V&A museum. The 2008 programme promises a wealth of design talent on show culminating in a late-night opening on Thursday 18 September. www.bromptondesigndistrict.com

Covent Garden
Covent Garden is fast becoming one of London’s most recognisable and exciting public spaces. This year the area is set to be one of the most significant design destinations during the London Design Festival. Covent Garden are partnering with Designersblock who are for the first time will transport their innovative show to No.1 The Piazza, an extraordinary space in the heart of Covent Garden.

East End
The East End of London will become a focal point for the cutting-edge element of The London Design Festival 2008. Alongside the return of Tent London at the Old Truman Brewery (18-21 September), Brick Lane, Redchurch Street and Shoreditch will again come alive with young, innovative designers showing their talents and take on design in 2008.
www.tentlondon.co.uk

100% Design
Dominating West London’s Festival programme, 100% Design again takes over the entire site of Earls Court.  Attracting thousands of visitors, 100% Design connects the worlds of architecture and design with innovative, contemporary interior products, creativity and an exciting mix of new and established talent. 100% Design, Earls Court 18-21 September.
www.100percentdesign.co.uk
Festival information

The Festival strives to continually improve the range of information, advice, products and services offered to exhibitors, visitors and press. An overview of some of these for 2008 appears below:

Website
The London Design Festival website (www.londondesignfestival.com) is being updated, not only with the new ‘look and feel’ developed by the Festival’s design partner, Pentagram but also in terms of what it offers visitors. New developments include:

∑ On-line registration for all Festival participants, with on-going access to up-to-date listing information, ensuring the latest updates are available to all visitors and press.
∑ Route planning, with a new link to Googlemaps and the ability to develop individual Festival diaries via the ‘My Festival’ application.
∑ New archive and high-resolution image library in a dedicated press section

Guide
Designed by Pentagram and edited by Grant Gibson, the Official Guide to The London Design Festival 2008 will hit the streets in late August.  Containing complete listings of Festival events, a snappy editorial section and a host of recommendations and ideas for enjoying the Festival, a total of 80,000 copies of the guide will be printed and distributed across London through 250 outlets.

Signage
Martino Gamper has agreed to work with his product design students at the Royal College of Art to develop a new signage solution for the Festival. The signs, to be placed outside each Festival venue, will help visitors identify Festival venues at street level - a distinctive solution to the age-old challenge of navigating the city.

Accreditation / VIP card
For the first time, The London Design Festival has teamed up with 100% Design, Tent London and others to develop a press accreditation / VIP card which ensures access to all shows and events at The London Design Festival 2008.  Registration for the card will be open via The London Design Festival website (www.londondesignfestival.com) from July.

Ends.
May 2008

For more information please contact Camron:

Judith Fereday / Katherine Sandford-Anderson
judith@camron.co.uk / katherine@camron.co.uk

Kitty Brockbank / Georgie Frew
kitty@camron.co.uk / georgie@camron.co.uk

Tel: + 44 (0)20 7420 1700 / Fax: +44 (0) 20 7497 2753

NOTES TO EDITORS

Below is a selection of facts and figures about the London Design Festival 2007:

- 221 public projects and shows – the biggest programme yet
- 152 on-off events, launches, private views and receptions
- 32 events, seminars and public activities were held at the Southbank Centre as part of the Festival’s Central hub programme
- An estimated 350,000 visitors attended Festival events and an even larger audience saw public design projects at Trafalgar Square, Southbank Centre, and Covent Garden
- The ‘26 poster project’ specially staged for the London Design Festival saw 26 unique sites in London, Birmingham, Manchester & Glasgow dedicated to designers and writers
- There were 46,853 unique users on the Festival website in September 2007
- There were nearly 430 separate pieces of coverage in the UK media alone and 450 international press registered with the Festival
- Google now lists 170,000 pages that reference ‘London Design Festival’.
- A 2006 survey showed that 65% of Festival visitors are based in London, 23% from across the UK and 12% from across the world