DESIGN 07 – THE MIDDLE
Dialog about design and the middle
An event organized by the University of Applied Arts Vienna, 8–9 October 2007
PRESS RELEASE
Any serious design discourse must deal with social, cultural, economic, ecological and aesthetic aspects, as design not only influences the appearance of our culture of things and our visual culture but is closely linked to social developments in both contemporary and historic practice, which it both reflects and shapes.
The University of Applied Arts Vienna as the base of an international design discourse
With this year’s DESIGN 07 conference on 8 and 9 October the University of Applied Arts in Vienna will again provide the space for just such a discourse. Following the success of DESIGN 06 this year once again up to 30 well-known international speakers from the fields of design, design theory, business, media and culture as well as from other areas will be invited to the rooftop storey of the university to exchange information about their work and research in the form of brief dialogues.
The theme of the dialogues this year is “the middle”. The entire range of associations suggested by this term will form the subject of discussions intended to develop an approach to the major themes of product, industrial and furniture design. What effect does the often-cited “loss of the middle”, with respect to a middle-class but also small and medium enterprises, have on the area of product design? What does it mean to design for the middle, the mean of society, for the imaginary average consumer? Given the growing concentration of the consumer goods industry this question seems to be of considerable significance. The consequences of the move of production facilities and know-how to the “Middle Kingdom” will also be discussed, as will current developments in the Central European cultural area.
The middle as the point between two extremes moves between luxury and modesty, between the short-lived and the long lasting. Yet it is not inevitably average or mediocre. As the symbol of balance the middle is highly desirable and, literally, is often described as “golden”. As a mathematically exact centre point it is difficult to hit precisely – as any target shows us. In the form of the “mean” the middle is unpopular but perhaps when the mean is seen as moderation it can offer certain advantages?
These and further aspects will be discussed at DESIGN 07 in around 27 dialogues each lasting about 50 minutes. Within the matrix-like structure of the event those leading the dialogues will move like in speed-dating between three rooms, allowing three new discussion constellations to develop parallel. As a result visitors to the conference are invited to organise their own conference structure, their own dramaturgy. DESIGN 07 is targeted at the specialist design public as well as at members of the general public with an interest in design.
The curators Tulga Beyerle, Thomas Geisler and Lilli Hollein from the Neigungsgruppe Design deliberately chose the dates of the conference (early October) so as to achieve the maximum synergy effect with international and Viennese design events. As it is integrated in the Vienna Design Weeks (3–21.10. 2007) DESIGN 07 is the theory-based and discursive start to this event.
You can find information on the speakers and the programme and on how to register at: www.designzeroseven.com,
