The final selection for International Design Review 2010-2011 – has been done! The Cieszyn Castle held a meeting of the international jury. The best 40 graduation projects from universities around the central Europe has been selected, for publication in 2+3D magazine, and for accompanying exhibition in Cieszyn.

List of selected designers:

Ondřej Elfmark (Czech Republic)
Ondřej Jelínek (Czech Republic)
Filip Malimánek (Czech Republic)
Anna Maresova (Czech Republic)
Marta Maštálková (Czech Republic)
Martin Pecina (Czech Republic)
Tomáš Rampas (Czech Republic)
Vojtěch Sojka (Czech Republic)

Edina Andrási (Hungary)
Réka Eisenberger (Hungary)
András Kerékgyártó (Hungary)
Nelli Nógrádi (Hungary)
Éva Somogyi (Hungary)
Éva Valicsek (Hungary)

Martyna Bargiel (Poland)
Katarzyna Borkowska (Poland)
Teresa Chylińska‑Kur (Poland)
Anna Dul (Poland)
Agnieszka Fujak (Poland)
Marta Gawin (Poland)
Jan Godlewski (Poland)
Piotr Hołub (Poland)
Urszula Kowal (Poland)
Kamil Laszuk (Poland)
Jakub Marzoch (Poland)
Agata Nartowska (Poland)
Jerzy Nosek (Poland)
Dorota Pawiłowska (Poland)
Gosia Pieniak (Poland)
Grzegorz Rozwadowski (Poland)
Radek Staniec (Poland)
Szymon Sznajder (Poland)
Paulina Urbańska (Poland)
Małgorzata Żółkiewska (Poland)

Lukáš Čeman (Slovakia)
Andrej Dieneš (Slovakia)
Peter Gála (Slovakia)
Anna Jabłonowska‑Holy (Slovakia)
Zuzana Marhefková (Slovakia)
Ľubica Segečová (Slovakia)

One of the main stars of the conference was Fabio Filippini, Vice President Design and Chief Creative Officer of Pininfarina SpA. Chief to the studio that designs for Ferrari and Maserati introduced the approach to designing cars in one of the oldest and most famous Italian design brands.

There was a great response to lectures from Anne Asensio, who worked at Renault and GM and currently creates software for designers at Dassault Systèmes, or Peter Horbury, Volvo’s Vice President of Design, who in an absorbing way explained what the essence of Scandinavian design is.

Speakers at the conference also included representatives from the Czech republic that work for major global companies. One of them was Michal Jelínek, a representative of Autodesk, who as a teacher of special software for car designers and a brilliant drawer showed the latest digital tools for sketching and modelling. Another successful Czech designer at the conference was Jan Dědek, Chief Transportation Designer in the Austrian studio Design Storz, who outlined the system of automotive transportation in 2050. Visitors could also see the new Czech super motorcycle FGR Midalu. Stanislav Hanuš, its author, spoke about its design.

DESIGN SPACE is a place for a debate about design and architecture. The purpose of this event is to encourage a discussion about our immediate surroundings. It is a series of meetings which enable the invited guests to exchange insights, comments and ideas. It is a creative discussion and the attempt to find the right direction for designing and shaping the surrounding space.

The first edition of DESIGN SPACE is taking place on 11 and 12 November 2011 in Kielce, a city that is undergoing dynamic changes of its image and space. This city has proved that it can creatively benefit from the given opportunities. It has been recognized by the World Intellectual Property Organization and honoured with an award for its works for the development of Polish design.

Diego García, Spain, has become the winner of the Dassault Systèmes Design Challenge with his concept named ‘Visitor’. The participants were given the task to design a new taxi for Prague. The second place in the competition – held under the auspices of the Mayor of Prague – went to the ‘Call-e’ project from the Czech designer Josef Ludvík Böhm who decided to combine the benefits of a car and a bus. The daring futuristic concept ‘Cheers’ by Jakub Jodlowski, from Poland, using tram lines and unusual cork material, placed third.

In total, 80 designers from 23 countries joined the international competition for under-35 designers, held by Dassault Systèmes and AutoDesign&Styling. Their task was to present an environmental vision of a taxi that would become another prominent symbol of Prague. Twenty-three top projects went through to the final round where the jury, chaired by the car designer Anne Asensio, chose the winners who divided the total prize fund of EUR 1,800.

”In case of the ‛Visitor’ concept the jury acknowledged the relevant, accurate and easy-to-understand design solution, which includes exterior, interior and graphic rendering but also sense for reality and feasibility, “ explained Anne Asensio, Vice President, Dassault Systèmes. ”When assessing the entries we were looking for the best solutions also from the perspective of potential users. Consistency with the Prague environment was also very important for us.“

“The main criteria evaluated by the jury included simplicity, uniqueness, consumer modesty, aesthetic quality and connection with Prague,” says Radek Laube, the editor-in-chief of the original Czech car magazine AutoDesign&Styling. “Our ambition was to find such a design that would show how young designers from all over the world imagine Prague taxis looking in the near future.”

The victorious electric taxi project, Visitor, meets the needs of Prague visitors who do not want to miss anything during their journeys to the hotel or the airport. Large windows and a basic simple shape offer maximum space for passengers. Thanks to its generous height it is easy to get on and the perspective is great too, since passengers can stand up during the ride. The friendly design of the exterior is connected with Prague by a colour scheme, which has been inspired by the beige facades of the old Prague houses and their darker foundation walls. As far as the size is concerned, Visitor corresponds to the C segment of cars.

The design of Josef Ludvík Böhm, the runner-up in the competition, maximises the use of the interior, as it can take as many as six passengers and can be adapted for cargo transport. The passengers get on through a sliding door and there is even a ramp for a wheelchair. The large glass darkening boards reflect the city. The free parts of the car’s body can serve as a communication tool to project advertising and other messages. The wheels are covered and they are hinged on swivel axles. They are driven by electric motors powered by batteries and solar cells placed on the car roof. The project won the attention of the jury by the clean and modern design of its exterior and by its emphasis on the environment.

Prague has one of the densest tram networks and this was something that Jakub Jodlowski made use of in his Cheers project, which came in third. Whenever his taxi drives along the same route as the trams, it is powered by the tram lines. The driver is seated in a ‘tower’ which reflects the unique character of 100-spire Prague but has a practical implication too. The Skoda Fabia-long car has a unique interior dominated by cork. The combination of the cork and the dark cabin glass, evoking Czech crystal, creates an interesting contrast. The jury appreciated this complex and well thought-out solution, as well as the professional way in which it was presented.

The designer competition “Dassault Systèmes Design Challenge” was announced by the provider of 3D solutions Dassault Systèmes in partnership with AutoDesign&Styling magazine in February 2011. Besides Anne Asensio and Radek Laube, the jury was made up of the DS manager for the car industry, Miloš Korvas, the designers Stanislav Hanuš and Jan Dědek, Jiří Hulák of the National Technical Museum in Prague and Jana Vinšová of the civic association Czechdesign.cz. The seven-strong jury met in the National Technical Library on September 5.

The design culture of Europe moves into the Erzsébet square building of Design Terminal for one month. Budapest Design Week‘s international opening exhibition titled COULEUR LOCALE – The Colours of Europe in Objects presents design objects from close to thirty countries. Introducing contemporary design trends through ninety design pieces, objects the exhibition is trying to answer the question whether it makes sense to talk about national character in a globalised world. Organised by Budapest Design Week, the theme and the title of the opening exhibition is the same as the slogan of the festival this year (couleur locale).

The COULEUR LOCALE EXHIBITION 1st till 30th October 2011, free entry.
Venue: Design Terminal (the building of the former bus station), 1051 Budapest, Erzsébet square 13.
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 12:00-20:00

The Green Dot Awards is a consumer guide to excellence in environmentally-sustainable practices. A business with a Green Dot Award is a business that can be trusted by consumers with stewardship of the environment. Recognition from the Green Dot Awards allows businesses to promote their products and services as items that are manufactured and delivered in an environmentally friendly manner. You can submit works in following awards categories: Build, Concept, Service, Product, Media, Transportation. Deadline for submissions November 30, 2011.

A unique gathering of the world’s top designers will be possible to see at the first international AutoDesign Prague conference, which will take place on 20th October 2011 in the new building of the National Technical Library in Prague.

The one-day conference will introduce automotive design through leading personalities from this field. Among major international stars to appear at the conference are Fabio Filippini, Vice President Design, Chief Creative Officer of Pininfarina SpA, Peter Horbury, Vice President of Design, Volvo Cars, or one of the most influential female car designers, Anne Asensio, who worked at Renault and GM and now she holds position of Vice President Design & Brand Experience at Dassault Systemes. Conference participants will have the chance to see a presentation, for example, about how the design of supercars like Ferrari and Maserati evolves in the Pininfarina, what the essence of Scandinavian design is, what will the next generation of premium design look like, or how will cars be designed in the future.

Apart from other international designers from brands like Jaguar Land Rover or Ford, there will also be speakers who represent Czech designers. One of these is motorcycle designer Stanislav Hanuš, who heads design at the Blata, and who also designed the most powerful motorcycle on the planet, the FGR Midalu 2500. Various methods of design sketching, which has evolved into an independent art discipline, will be introduced by Michal Jelínek, Autodesk company representative.

The conference will be complete with an exhibition of paintings by Czech designer Václav Král and of the best projects from the Dassault Systemes Design Challenge – Taxi for Prague. You can find the full program and information on the AutoDesign Prague conference at the AutoDesign&Styling Magazine website.

Czech National Award for Student Design 2010 exhibition goes to Romania. On 20th September at 18pm will be opening in UNAgaleria, Str. G-ral Budișteanu 10, București. Exhibition will be open until 07.10.2011.

Sarajevo Green Design Festival will be held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina from September 9th to September 17th 2011. Sarajevo Green Design Festival is a platform for: collaboration between creative and production industries; knowledge transfer through workshops with students; and exchange of ideas on different scales of design though international lectures, debates and exhibitions.

The festival will cater to a rich and diverse programme including workshops, lectures of world renowned speakers on the subject of future of cities, architecture, product design, industrial design and the role of creative and production industries in the sustainability agenda of the 21st century. Hence, it will include book promotions, international exhibitions and business meetings which will be held both in Sarajevo and Mostar, as this year special attention will be given to energy and energy potential issues. The festival as such is unique in the world.

MOD2011: New Roles, Rules and Rulers will take place from October 13 till November 13 in 2011 Ljubljana, Slovenia. Month of Design is an annual, month-long design event held in and around the Slovene capital of Ljubljana, a project dedicated each year to a specific topic of global relevance, and to exploring the role of design in creative industries, business, culture and social practices.

This year, having a topic “New Roles, Rules and Rulers”, Month of Design will take place from October 13 till November 13 on several locations in Ljubjana.