Vancouver Design Week announces the dates for its 2018 edition – a return to a full festival program, and the first with a declared theme. The city’s official interdisciplinary design festival will be held from May 7th to 13th with the theme IMPACT to showcase how the work of Vancouver based designers impacts our society and environment – locally and globally.
Theme: Impact
Almost every object, service, and built environment that we interact with on a daily basis has been designed by someone – from the clothes we wear, the interfaces we use, to the spaces and place we inhabit. Each is the product of invested time, energy and creativity – research and analysis, conceptualization, testing, development, and ultimately production/implementation to bring innovative new solutions into being. Each affects how we live – whether directly or indirectly; and as such each has a spectructum of impacts – from the intended to the unexpected.
Jennifer Cutbill, board member of the Vancouver Design Foundation – the non-profit organization that creates VDW explains:
“Impact has been a driver since our inception, but by making it explicit we can expand and deepen the conversation. We’re all impacted by design everyday and its impacts are never neutral – design either improves quality of life or hinders it for one or more. By engaging and supporting local design talent, and by involving more people in articulating challenges and informing potentials we can amplify the capacity of Vancouver design for even greater positive impact, locally and globally. The more complex the problems to be solved, the more creative and diverse the design teams required to solve them; so we need to leverage our local design talent now more than ever.”
Participating designers will be able to showcase how their designs impact people and place; giving VDW visitors a better understanding of the extent to which design impact their world.
Two additions to the program
After the great success of last year’s three-day edition with more than 60 events, and the immense support of partners and sponsors, the festival is returning to a longer, seven day format. This will in turn allow the addition of some new categories to the program:
- Design Landmarks – spaces voted by Vancouverites as our city’s most impactful and hence “Design Landmarks”. It’s a chance to explore, tour and learn about the stories behind the spaces – from both the design team that created them and the people that use them. »
- Design Editions – 2018 will also bring together an array of existing design events to focus on the impact theme – further expanding discussions and happenings throughout the week – including Creative Mornings and PechaKucha among others.
Both Design Landmarks and Design Editions are joining already established VDW event categories such as: Design Studios, Design Tastings, Design Spaces, along with Design Talks, Workshops, and Tours.
Call for participants
The organizing team is calling design studios, architecture studios and other design related companies and projects to participate in the 2018 edition of VDW. All the information on how to participate is published on vancouverdesignwk.com as of now. The deadline for applications is March 29th. Harry Olson, Vancouver Design Foundation board member:
“Last year VDW encompassed more than 60 events in the span of three days and was able to put in the spotlight numerous local designers and their work. This year we’re expanding to 6 major districts – Railtown, Gastown, Lower Lonsdale, Mt. Pleasant, Armoury District and UBC.”
About the VDW Platform
Vancouver Design Week is run by the not for profit organization Vancouver Design Foundation, created by a passionate team of volunteers from across design disciplines. In collaboration with some of the city’s most renowned designers, design institutions, entrepreneurs, educators, thinkers, and makers, Vancouver Design Week has been willed into being by a shared belief that design is imperative to improving the quality and potential of our city. VDW is a participant in the World Design Week Network (WDWN) alongside recognized design cities as London, Milan, New York, Eindhoven, Barcelona and Tokyo.
***
