ReDESIGNing Values for the Post-Digital Era: Important lessons from the Web Summit 2017, Lisbon, Portugal (1.0)

Photo above: In the Beginning was the Word...Paddy Cosgrave, CEO and co-founder of Web Summit in action, during his opening speech at this year's event.

International media call it the "Davos of Digital Technology". The truth is that Web Summit is far more that just another international forum, it is all about scratching the surface, discovering the crucial people and technologies and not just the tycoons, the royalties, the rockstars of the web technology trade. A true treasure lays underneath, therefore a revolution regarding all the important aspects transforming our everyday living, our society, our conscience.

Some quotes, questions, remarks and revelations that mostly engaged, inspired and animated the audience during this Web Summit 2018, on key terms such as Super-intelligent AI, Lawful Algorithms, AI Malevolence vs AI Competence, dystopian future, cryptocurrency, (Initial Coin Offering) ICO, utility token, povertics, cyberhygiene, Appropriateness of Use, Wisdom Race.

Stephen Hawking, (Physicist, Cosmologist - in picture bellow): "...Many government officials ask: We don't give gorillas Personhood. Why give it to a Robot?...."

Bryan Johnson (CEO, Kernel - in picture bellow): "What if, in our cognitive system, we learn to destroy not our enemies but the concept of enemies or conflict?"

Margrethe Vestager, (EU Commissioner for Competition - in picture bellow): "AI algorithms should learn what they can or cannot do, according to democratic laws."

Carlos Moedas, (EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation - in picture bellow, on the right): "Diversity creates Innovation."

Michael Spence, (Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Sydney - in picture bellow, second from the right): "What graduate attributes you need to have in order to tell Machines what to do and not the opposite?"

Ilonka Jankovich, (Venture partner, Randstad Innovation fund - in picture bellow, first from the left): "Storming, Norming and Forming your startup: as a founder (you have to) be the Role-Model".

Dick Kramlich, (Chairman, Green Bay Ventures): "Investors should be stricter about indiligence: the frame of (sexual) harassment at work."

Tim Draper, (Founder, Draper Associates): "...Banks are so heavily regulated right now, that they are pushing out anybody who's willing to open an account with 3 euro initial capital as a deposit...".

Professor Einstein Robot (Hanson Robotics), in conversation with Sophia the Robot and Ben Goertzel (Chief Scientist Hanson Robotics, CEO SingularityNET) - watch a shortcut bellow and the full video here: "It is not a Technology problem to make a positive future between Humans and Robots. It is a VALUES problem."

                                     

"Any company or institution, that does not work as a Startup by 2020, it will become obsolete and eventually will vanish. It just won't be able to keep up with the pace".

Whether it has to be AI employment to reform our brain in order to respond differently to many challenges and manage critical problems alternatively or even to provide academic support to acquire transdisciplinary competences not just skills- the ethical side of the AI industry is again one of the capital issues in this year's Web Summit. Democracy is in the centre of the operations of an investment strategy that is definitely slower but also more dedicated to pluralism and a Fair Play policy involving all sides, exploring all potentialities, discarding predators. The future of work seems to be brighter with a more precise mindset, focusing on the personality and not just a dry, academic curriculum or a series of consequent positions. The importance to be earnest remains an issue, because sexual harassment is not just a case of misconduct also implicating the global platforms of the digital game, but a deeper institutional reality that affects businesses worldwide. Monetary systems emerge ahead with possibilities of different digital currencies, that can guarantee a macroeconomic, sustainable marketing and provide credible assets, now that the previous capitalism shows somehow inadequate for stability in the long run. 

Design is always present and it remains a Factor. Stay alert for our next post on Evolutive Digital Technologies*: A NEW Terminology of Examples, powered by Web Summit 2017.

To be continued!-))
A4D-D4A

WEB SUMMIT 2017...GETTING THERE.

Web Summit 2017 is kicking off in less than 48 hours. The biggest technology-and-beyond congress on the planet, with a rich program of very important speakers from all over the world- will reveal the high-tech essential normcore alongside with the most unbelievable technologies of the future. Furthermore, parallel events and round tables regarding technology and gender, social issues and politics - will take place plus all sorts of artistic manifestations and gatherings. Lisbon becomes a network city of light-speed developments in the digital field and every science liaising with it. A4D-D4A: your favourite blogzette, will resume key-points from mega-speakers, interviews, inventions and schemes and will lay it before your very eyes.

Stay tuned for videos and lots of goodies and of course our FIRST Web Summit 2017 dedicated post around the 12th of November!-)
Until then,
Peace, Love & Design*
*A4D-D4A

Body of Evidence - Body of Jewellery = TÓPOS* Art Collective.

Photo above: "Mastic Tears Are Forever" the exhibition of rings and pendants, by Drossia Gallimana: mastic tree wood carving, mastic gum drops stone setting.

For more specific info on the exhibition and contacts for buyers, get updated by visiting the official TÓPOS site: 
www.toposartcollective.com

A topographic journey through the landscape* of contemporary Greek jewellery and ceramics, took place last weekend at six d.o.g.s Project space, in downtown Athens, Greece. Design, arts and crafts united and depicted the essential notions of homeland, of familiar space, of personal memory, of country and origins. Six! female makers originated from different emotional, academic and technical backgrounds also united to create a private, yet open, platform of contemporary hellenic jewellery in order to redefine the meta-data of the craft, today and tomorrow.
The combination of various techniques and styles, having roots in their very same locality geographically - pinched method pottery, marble cutting and sculpting, wood carving, cross stitching embroidery and textile weaving, goldsmithing and silversmithing - reform a whole universe of jewellery: architectural, minimal, natural, organic, traditional, colourful even edible: what exactly is representing the Psyche of the Nation and its social counterpoint. TÓPOS  is a hospitable area of high velocity, also a creative process of deep awareness revealing history and histories - from traditions to futuramas, by producing unique jewellery and ceramics, about to stir the collectively conscious .

Bellow, from top to bottom: Drossia Galimana, "Mastic Tears Are Forever" (detail): mastic wood and mastic drops rings and pendants. Eugenia Feroussi, "Body:The Endelecheia of a Moment": cycladic marble pendants. Evi Borbadonaki, "The Sea": bronze, acrylics and pigments pendants, ring and bracelet. Fotini Lyra, "Crossroads":  goldplated silver brooch. Katerina Latoufi, "Reflections": jewellery vessels by hand-built stoneware glazed clay 1230⁰. Anastasia Manesi, "Timeline": mixed-media, bronze brooch.

Get ready for a free crash-course about creativity in Greece now, with the help of design and crafts - only that there is no class, teacher, pressure, administration, preconceptions and prejudices, among other "greek clichés".

Enjoy to the max!-))

A4D-D4A <3

Residences et al.Chapter 6: USE WHAT YOU' VE GOT: THE NEW HOME PROPOSAL OF THE FUTURE.

Image above: a cave-extension for a contemporary residence of the 21st century, with geothermal heating and latest, transparent solar panel energy supply, plus lake water filtering and recycling. Interiors clockwise: RISE TABLE by Nobel Truong (USA), BLUE FROG colored porcelain sculpture by Maritsa Travlos (Greece), CINCO CHAIR by Francisco Guerra (Mexico), BENDAY CLOCK by Sono Vako (USA), auxiliary natural gas firesource by Rocky Mountain Air (Canada) along with a geothermal heat pump, TAI PING CARPET by Rodolfo Agrella (Venezuela), TUVALIE throws by Ikea, TIPO ÚTIL®. TRANS_FORMA marble lavatory by Teresa Mulet (Venezuela).

The holistic approach to the new post-factual modernity, demands total incorporation of available natural resources on the global trend map. The beyond-mix-and-match concepts and solutions of designers evolving from every corner of the American continent, consist of a necessity imposing new aesthetics, that appear a normality to the current, intense, socio-economical panorama. America - from the U.S, such as New York and Miami to Venezuela and from Canada to Mexico - demonstrates a far cry for total remodeling of contemporary interiors. The long tradition of the American "nature" residence, celebrated in Clodagh designs or/and Barbara D'Arcy interiors in the 70's Bloomingdale - is  reinterpreted in an era that materials are scarce, societies are toxic and design is forced to be not as playful as before but a reliable testimony for sustainability and quality living. The image of the "Rebellious New Rustic" is forthcoming and has an odour of (ancient) rocks, artiCrafts, r(A)gs, solar Blades, Running waters and clean air conditions. The recent SaloneSatellite 2017 during Salone del Mobile 2017, recapitulated this reality in design, together with the manifested examples of the institution's 20 years Collection.

Ready for more? Keep following us on FCBK and Pinterest!!!

To Be Continued?-))
A4D-D4A

Up-Close and Freshly Seasonal: the Transformation of (New?) U.S Architecture and other News...

Photo above: American Architecture Awards 2017: Gemma Private Observatory, Central New Hampshire, U.S.A by Anmahian Winton Architects (AW), Cambridge, Massachusetts. (photos are courtesy of Athenaum Museum of Architecture and Design, for the full list of the winners please visit https://chi-athenaeum.org/)

American Apparel re-started producing in Honduras after the legendary urban clothing company ceased activity in its sweatshop-free, downtown-L.A premises, and Chanel is setting a New Image in the midst of Post-factual Era: the real, complete first name of the founder Coco Chanel, Gabrielle is dominating a long-awaited campaign that is targeted at the uneasy and sensitive spirit of the contemporary woman: a fighter and a doubter.

What about architecture then? There is definitely a feeling of existential crisis at a time when architects are violently tested in order to answer to design challenges through extreme climate conditions and limited resources. The big and fierce dynamics of contemporary American architecture, is depicted lavishly in the American Architecture Awards 2017 (an Athenaum Museum of Architecture and Design institution)- and illustrated a tendency which is absolutely NOT based on the notion of "less-is-more". The variety and richness of the materials in abundance, the concentration on the private, but nevertheless extra-large spaces, the hyper-specification on personal comfort and the subbtle yet grandiose luxury aesthetics- indicate a continuity of the all-time classic American values and no serious contradictions to the system, in the form of innovations. In other words there is nothing there we have not experienced before, allthough the projects are entirely fascinating and engage the citizen to an idealization of comfort and beauty inside public buildings, private interiors, big houses and vast residences. Bellow: Overlook, Guest House in Los Gatos, California by the San Fransisco-based studio Schwartz and Architecture (SaA).

Web Summit 2017 is less than 2-months away and A4D-D4A is getting ready to capture the ideas of the most influential speakers, the top revolutionary apps, the crackiest start-ups and the pulse of the city of Lisbon design community and landmarks. If you have any queries regarding the event planning please check the latest updates and book your tickets on: https://websummit.com/tickets

Until then, don't forget to visit regurarly our design blogzette, cos there will be surprises this very autumn?-))

Take care<3
A4D-D4A

.....And More Summer News!: Part C.

Image above: Villa doll house designed by Fabio Novembre for Kartell Kids, Kartell Contamination concept, Salone del Mobile, 2017.

To all design globetrotters outhere: here what's left to schedule this summer for your country-hop, around the most utterly exciting design-related events  about to pop the upcoming months.

1. D Museum in Seoul launches this September the exhibition PLASTIC FANTASTIC in collaboration with Kartell. 40 mega-designers present through their works for the house the metamorphosis of the most ambivalent, ambiguous, ingenious and resistent material of the last 70 years and certainly the unique way Kartell illustrates all its properties, qualities and poetry. The duration of the exhibition will be  from the 14th of September 2017 until the 4th of March 2018. (More info on www.kartell.it)

2. From Wednesday 11th to Saturday 14th of October 2017, Salone del Mobile moves to Moscow for the I Saloni Worldwide series at Crocus-Expo 2 center. It is the annual, usual meeting of two of the most significant forces of European design, the italian contemporary production and the Russian (new) avant-garde. The show will provide many further attractions, (apart the anchorage to its mother event, Salone del Mobile 2017 in Milan), such as Master Classes with leading designers and architects like Simone Ciarmoli and Miguel Queda (curators of the DeLightFul Exhibition at this year's Salone), legendary architect Massimo Iosa Ghini and also Cristina Celestino, one of the SaloneSatellite prominent new talents. Speaking of the SaloneSatellite, the 13th edition of SaloneSatellite Worldwide Moscow will be held again to discover and nominate as passionately as ever, the best new designers, originated from the vast soviet territory and eventually distribute awards to the three finalists (follow the link bellow to last year's entry and winner, super-talented Natalie Musorina and her showstopper, "Torsion" chair, http://musorina.com/torsion-chair ).

3. Fancy a stroll up in Londinium? Two major design exhibitions are taking place in the British capital: Franco Grignani: Art as Design, 1950-1990 at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art presents the influential works of this Italian pioneer graphic designer and artist, creator of the "Woolmark" international logo. California: Designing Freedom at the Design Museum is documenting the exciting evolution of the refreshed, hippy modernism of the 60's to the tech extreme design elite of the Silicon Valley. A true cultural rollercoaster....

4. Some more happy news arrived from the Migliore + Servetto headquarters: the lighting system designed for the new Mondadori Megastore I-MESH lightweight diffuser ceilings, has been awarded the silver medal in the product design category of IDA - International Design Award. Congrats Migliore + Servetto!
http://architettimiglioreservetto.it/international-design-awards-2017-silver-medal/

Stay tuned for more news and ventures on our behalf, by mid-September!
Keep having fun?-))

A4D-D4A

Summer News 2017: Part B.

Image above: WOOGY doghouse (2015, manufacturing kkervvit): design by Sotiris Lazou at the Good Ντιζάιν Greece Exhibition 2017 until 23/7/2017, at Contemporary Space Athens, GR.

https://www.sotirislazou.com/index.php/just-for-fun
http://kkervvit.com/
www.contemporaryspaceathens.com
https://chi-athenaeum.org/

Explore the very latest design developments as stated in the following extracts of the first official summer press release by Salone del Mobile Milan team. It seems that the eco-living and the sustainable design methodologies that go with it, consist the very core interest of the Milanese design center, an international streamliner of the defining solutions in the sector, for the rest of the decade, to say the least.

"... It is part of a wider trend towards cutting adverse effects on the eco-system and is slowly filtering through into all fields of design application, generating eco-friendly alternatives for every sort and kind of product. Thus companies and designers are becoming mindful of sustainability in relation to manufacturing processes, embracing the principles of a circular economy and experimenting with raw materials made from recycled waste. The design sector is beginning to take the entire lifecycle of things into consideration, paving the way for innovative practices such as the creative re-use or harnessing of biodegradable materials. ..."

"...this approach entails no sacrifice in terms of looks but generates new expressive trends and different tastes. The sense of gratification or aspiration no longer derives simply from the immediate benefit to our domestic or work environments but also – looking forward especially – from just how much the entire planet is set to benefit. ..."  

"...The Zero Waste philosophy originated in the Food world, where new “surplus” yet still perfectly good food consumption sales models and practices are being generated. The concept is slowly but steadily being embraced by all manufacturing sectors in response to the pressing ethical need to conserve resources that are far from infinite. It also employs a panel of Opinion Leaders, both national and international, selected ad hoc for their knowledge of the research subjects (design, architecture, interior design, interior architecture) and for their ability to take a crosscutting look at the themes of design and creativity.   
The scope of observation includes all the leading international markets (Europe, Russia, USA and Asia) with a focus on “developing” countries such as China.   
In the design world, this means taking on board the concept of circularity, minimising manufacturing waste, and planning not just the durability of objects but also their disassemblability and their capacity to be recycled or disposed of...."

The coming together of recycling and design is informed by the increasing awareness that materials and objects destined for the waste bin can be upcycled to produce something completely different.    
The concept of waste as a resource forms the basis for all creative recycling  processes. Poor materials, reclaimed materials and waste generated by manufacturing or consumption mark a new frontier for design and for designers who seek to upgrade them creatively while effectively helping to protect the ecosystem.   

Turning things that would otherwise be discarded into items of value - financial, formal and functional – helps increase the utilisation efficiency of available resources and provide a further spur to developing new technologies and creating new aesthetics through design research. ..."

"...I think that as a designer nowadays we should not think we are all making the antiques of the future […]. We should create products that can be part of a circular system, and are designed considering what material goes into the product and what it leaves  behind after use. (Christien Meindertsma, Designer) ..."



The 3rd Good Ντιζάιν Greece Exhibition 2017 is one of the few, formal presentations of the dominant design scene in the country, steadily revealing a landscape of an emerging Gender in the design concept and manyfacturing: the "greek" way in design -and apparently there is such a way.  The exhibition is held at Contemporary Space Athens premises downtown, supported by The Chicago Athenaum Museum and its Good Design Awards institution and it showcases some of the noteworthy works of hellenic professional designers in fields like Industrial design, Graphic design & Packaging, Furniture design, Textile design, Environmental design & Interior design. You still have a chance to visit the show and get a glimpse of what it means to convey an idea into a commercial design object, under the complicated, yet straightforward theorems of a nation so old, yet striving to surpass the current contemporary esthetics.  

Here's a small taste of some of the projects, (from top to bottom): Space & Time clock by A Future Perfect - "Asola" table lamp by Evangelos Vasileiou for Ligne Roset - 2055 Series door handle by Yannis Georgaras - Popsicle (Glifitzouri) by Danai Kehagia - Sam loves Betty anti-insects biocosmetic formulas by Yannis Ghikas (packaging), Aris Passouris (graphic design).

The first part of midsummer news is over - get ready for more soonish?-)))

Happy designful summer!

A4D-D4A