Housed in the former Commonwealth Institute building – a mid-century vision in concrete, complete with a spectacular parabolic roof – the Design Museum is committed to cultivating enthusiasm for contemporary design through engaging exhibitions that argue the importance of every element of the industry, from the ordinary to the unexpected.
Its co-director, Alice Black, shares her thoughts on the characteristics of British design, and how the Design Museum evokes optimism for its audience.
Our key message is that design is everywhere, even in places you wouldn’t expect. We approach design from every possible angle, as well as thinking about audiences and disciplines. For example, our permanent display, which is called Designer, Maker, User, shows that design is all around you in your everyday life, even though you may not call it design.
The contemporary design world changes all the time and for that we have an annual exhibition – the Beazley Designs of the Year, which looks at the most innovative designs of the last 12 months across different categories. It tells you where design is now, what issues designers are trying to resolve, where innovation is happening, how we are addressing pollution, the refugee crisis, fast fashion – it just talks about our world and it shows the wealth, the range and the boundlessness of creativity.
…We’re facing problems, but by using creativity, innovation and new technology, we can make our way out and overcome those incredible challenges — Alice Black
We’re often asked, What is British design? or we’re asked to display British design. Actually, that’s something we’ve consciously decided not to do. We’re a design museum and we’re in Britain, but when you think about what British design is – and I think even more so in terms of London – it’s actually so influenced by international movements. You look at important designers working today in London and many are not British; many have settled here. And where do you draw the line? Do you call the iPhone a British design because it was created by Jonathan Ive, even though he’s not here in Britain?
One of the characteristics of design in London is that it is so influenced by external context. It’s a very small island and I guess it’s also the function of the empire, but it’s a country that’s always been very outward-facing. We bring students in to Britain to study design and they bring their own sensitivity to it. I think for me, it’s actually that melting pot, that user-facing disruptive element and that freedom to think afresh that should be celebrated.
I think you come to the Design Museum and it’s a dose of optimism. You think, Okay, we’re facing problems, but by using creativity, innovation and new technology, we can make our way out and overcome those incredible challenges.
This article originally appeared in our December 2017 issue.
The post Alice Black on How Creativity and Innovation are Changing the World as We Know It appeared first on Home Journal.
