New year 2026

New year 2026

Sunday, 23 September 2018

Design Ethics in the Post-Factual Era: Is there Anything left that We are not Aware of?




It's been a while that societies become increasingly aware of the methods, strategies, ways and policies major organizations, (entreprenneurial, public or in-between the two) engage themselves into- in order to reach objectives, attain goals, guard assets or accomplish missions. In the labyrinth of the latest decades (when good was interlacing with evil, and mainstream was miggling with the uncanny in terms of their social and financial impact on entire sectors), the economic crisis of the last ten years re-established a new Value Discipline Model, liaising directly with Transparency and Sustainability. It seems that Truth is better that the Product itself, no matter what it is. The fact that Millenials acquire the entire knowledge of the Process in the Making more that the Result of the Process itself, clarifies the entrance to a new period in production and everything that surrounds it- laws, schemes, rights, currencies, methodologies and documentation.
The thirst of the people to know everything behind closed factory doors and the easy access to that through the instant power of the Social Media and the Smart Technologies every individual can use effortlessly nowadays, result to one basic, new rule: Unhypocriticism of the industry is a major factor to success from now on and unless you are willing to stop pushing your dirt under the carpet, you can hope for a kinder response on behalf of the consumer for any type of service, product or idea. 

The use of furnaces in the luxury industry, especially in fashion, is not exactly breaking news. Whispers in the headquarters of major fashion groups by executors with strict confidentiality clauses in pamphleting contracts  back in the '00s, made the shocking "secret" of luxury houses burning the collections' remnants, publicly known. The fear of dispersing the elaborate architecture of the avant-garde pattern cutting and the investments of millions on new textile technology, all leaking to the competitors rooted in the high street (the multinationals taking over small cities for cheap labour in Asia-based clothing factories)- forced the ambassadors of high-end creativity to extreme solutions. The panic of the moment in the years of extreme austerity though, had to redirect corporate spirits to more socially appealing commercial adaptations ex. Burberry and its recent decision to stop burning unsold clothes, instead it promised more sustainable practices for the environment and the community.

People want to know where the product comes from, meaning where it was actually manufactured. If it was made in a Sweatshop. If the product is (more) eco-friendly or not, its exact materials. If the product complies with the recent legal framework about intellectual property and copyright. If the product is conceived and manufactured within a company that is facing serious previous penalties for money laundering, power abuse and criminal acts such as corruption. If the product is conceived and manufactured within a company that is participating in a benevolent activity. How many work hours it takes for the odd finished product to reach the specific target market.

People want to know everything before they purchase (or not) and it takes less than three clicks to find out. That is the colossal, undisputed fact of living and businessing in the Age of Truth.

Best/ Stay 3 clicks away from the Facts
A4D-D4A

Sunday, 26 August 2018

SUMMER EXTENDED: NEWS 2.0 plus more...




Here is a small list of cracking events to expect the following months, in and around the design universe. 

1. In the run-up to the 14th edition, from 10th to 13th October at Crocus Expo-2, the Salone del Mobile.Milano and SaloneSatellite are returning to Moscow: a key event among the many manifestations and a vast presentation of 250-and-so manufacturers, will be The Master Classes, to be held again this year. The speakers, moderated by Olga Kosyreva, CEO and Founder of Design Lectorium, are Ferruccio Laviani (10th October), Fabio Novembre (11th October) and Mario Bellini (12th October). Following its debut last year, the Work Talk will be back given by Katerina Lashmanova, an affirmed young interior designer, who will discuss contemporary Russian design. 

2. Kartell promotes the valuing of design as culture with the exhibition entitled “Play the game” at the ADAM DESIGN MUSEUM in Brussels, where KARTELL MUSEO in collaboration with the Belgian museum itself had already staged a set-up for the anniversary of its Componibili last year.
From 14th September 2018 until the 27th of January 2019, “Play the game” will offer an exhibition dedicated to objects produced by Kartell designed specifically for the world of children or in some way characterised by specific irony or a youthful spirit. 
The educational itinerary for children, featuring interactive installations and a captivating graphic project, created specifically for the exhibition, is going to offer a new look at museum-based teaching, translating into an engaging experience for adults and children.

3. An interesting move in the beginning of next year: Guests of honour for “Das Haus” at IMM Cologne 2019 will be the Australian designer duo Truly Truly. With their experimental approach to design, Truly Truly aim to explore alternatives to the established functions of our living spaces and "turn The Home on its head".

4. The Last of the Mohicans,"Minas.Clarity Of Shapes": contemporary modernist jeweller Minas retrospective will be celebrated in the Benaki Museum of Decorative Arts and Crafts, since the 5th of September 2018 and for three days. The 80-yr-old legendary designer will exhibit through the iconic photos staged by Costas Coutayar, his unique creations, his legacy and contribution to the contemporary jewellery movement.

5. What the post-disaster architecture would look and feel like? The future of buildings lays in fact on the ecological aspect, on the aesthetics of the ultra-digital era or on the emotional diversions of the land's last inhabitants? We discovered the new essential publications on the matter, a pre-fall contemplation before the Arc-Hit-X-Battle, about to define the structure of our future homes and therefore our living:

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/contagious-architecture

https://www.chroniclebooks.com/towards-zero-energy-architecture-new-solar-design-paperback.html

https://www.chroniclebooks.com/scaling-infrastructure.html

https://www.chroniclebooks.com/sustain-and-develop.html

http://gingkopress.com/shop/blank-state/

http://de.phaidon.com/store/architecture/steven-holl-9780714870212/

http://shop.design-museum.de/en/Publications/Together-The-New-Architecture-of-the-Collective.html

Happy reading, strolling, seeing and believing 💙

A4D-D4A ?-))

Monday, 16 July 2018

SUMMER 2018: THE HOTTEST TOP 10 OF DESIGN ESSENTIALS!


Photo above: Zip It Mesh in yellow for coins, credit cards, keys, by HAY.
https://hay.dk/it

The summer is here and you would n"t want to miss our well-thought, funky, high-end and deliciously heretic A-List of design products and publications. If you are out and about looking, fancy some shopping or if you wanna just get updated and well informed about the hot cakes in those design windows, you've are in the right platform. So, feast you eyes on these 10 references bellow and tune in to our broadcasting:

1. Zip your valuables into these wonderful Zip It Mesh bags and wallets by HAY, inspired by stationary for office documents. Cool Danish design, so pretty and practical.

2. Mineheart excelled again with a new addition in their famous lamp collection: the Feather pendant lamp combines extreme technical expertise with the Mineheart well known maximal inventiveness. It also comes in white.


3. The wooden drawing cabinets by Zoe Murphy are just the epitome of artisan flair inside the concept of a British furniture designer who works in the post-digital reality. Special editions for Liberty store in London confirm the item as a designful must-have AND an absolute beauty to look at.

4. The ceramic designs by Ada Charvalia transmit joy, optimism and reinvented volumes. Their quiet beauty and perfect craftsmanship declare the presence of a great talent on board, settling in the world of ceramic arts and crafts.




5. On the occasion of the exhibition "Martin Margiela, Collections Femme 1989-2009" held at the Galliera Fashion Museum at the City of Paris, the museum also published an exhibition catalog, the offspring of the specific event. The book consists of a Manifesto about the biggest designer among all fashion anticlastics- it serves also as an archive of his most memorable works.

6. Are you looking for a Weavers' Hot Spot? Ergani workshop is the place to find all sorts of handmade textiles and soft furnishings, toys, jewelry - and on top of that you will fall in love with your granma's custom-made old loom again!





7. Design for Hair: for all hairclip collectors out there, embrace the New Modernity with hair accessories by Cos.



8.& 9. Poetry and Design on your Feet (literally). The footwear design is seriously tested here with the works of Megumi Ochi (top) and Trippen (bottom).






10. Interested in creating your own Top 10 of great design? This is another good place to start your casting, a platform gathering the most diverse design by new designers of all sectors, recent design graduates to discover, contacts and places to purchase their work.


Stay happy and enjoy the summer next to good design!
A4D-D4A😃💟


Sunday, 1 July 2018

Are Robots Outwitting Our Nerves? A.I. and the [Real] Challenges of the Future.




Above: image theme taken at: https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/344103227770120937/

Code & Sensibility, Sense & Codability: It's a new Dawn, It's a new Day, it's a new Life for Us. The problem is: are we Feeling Good?

We list bellow our top 10 questions regarding Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) not fully answered by A.I. experts, scientists, developers and avid supporters-or haters. The answers might simply not be there, or if they are, it might be difficult to express them with known tech terms or place them into existing theorems.
So let's explain by asking:

- As we are about to gallop from Narrow A.I (Weak A.I.) to General A.I. (Strong A.I.) in the following decades which actual professions, practised by humans will come to extinct first and eventually they will be replaced by A.I. mechanisms i.e. robots?

They are well argumented predictions for drivers, secretaries, translators, meta-data techies, diagnosticians, documentalists  and on a next level security agents, curators, teachers, journalists and so on.

- In life-threatening conditions like poverty, war, desease or global crisis can superintelligence provide help or stopping these situations , before they reach a climax?

It is up to us - as long as we prevail in terms of intelligence on this  planet -to create safety nets to stop malignancies of all kinds, and A.I. could facilitate and support that task. Or not.

- A.I. is turning evil or against us humans?

A.I. is not turning evil or sensible/conscious to some point, it just seems to have different orientation, a definite divergence compare to our objectives, right now. 

- Can A.I. be 100% safe?

A.I. can be entirely safe, as long as we continue to implore about safety and impose research over that uncompromising issue, especially in the area of autonomous weapons.

- Which is the specific timespan in decades before we start having 75%-implemented A.I. in our daily lives?

Some say 2060, the truth is we simply don't know.

- What will be the response in child development and upbringing, after A.I.'s mass application?

Specialists in child development are extremely concerned about A.I. and many papers illustrate direct connection with autism. The capital point on this debate remains the career orientation though, during teenagehood, ex. in countries like Finland where the government is willing to re-examine the whole primary education system, in order to make it "future-friendly" and "job-accessible".

- How A.I. will affect - if so - the environment and global warming?

A.I. applications can certaily help regulate the current state of the planet, but there is no evidence for final solutions just yet.

- Is it possible our society adopting to a A.I. Eutopia quickly?

The idea of humans living a blissful life in the future, away from production while machines will perform all the daily tasks, plus providing economic growth - is most appealing, nevertheless many moons away from current social infrastructures, ethics and mindsets.
.
- If A.I. won't work for us, will it be possibly or easily reversible?

As the next "industrial" revolution, it will be as irreversible as the previous ones.

- Are we ready to use A.I., to confront A.I., or to merge with A.I.?

Let's ignore all three prossibilities and better start planning ahead. If we want to establish A.I. in our lives like another competence, another complete technological achievement meaning to benefit us, we better start engaging our local governments preparing the ground- therefore making it happen under all the possible prerequisites we desire. That will do.

Love & Robots?-))
A4D-D4A

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

A.I. prelude and fresh news from MoneyConf and Web Summit 2018.



Is it possible to envision a state currency with innate defense mechanisms in the distant future? A thinking currency, able to embody coding intelligence in order to resist -or even predict and avoid- various economic thrashings or shocks such as negative growth, collateral/toxic depts, hedging, stagflation, Zombie banks and so on? Have a look to the following fascinating captions of the last MoneyConf press release, including A.I. for finance and everything around it.There is no better place apparently to discuss issues like cybersecurity, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, AI, regulation, and the future of fintech than there.


"We are at the beginning of tokenization of everything"

What will it take to make the vision of an open, inclusive and empowering global economy a reality? Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, took to Centre Stage to discuss tokenisation and tomorrow's global economy. Check out his full talk here. ..."

"Go get more women"

One of the most influential female executives in Silicon Valley, Sarah Friar of Square joined us on Centre Stage yesterday to speak about taking risks in a calculated and principled manner, as well as the value of diversity in fintech. You can read about it here, or watch her talk here.  ...."

"Congratulations, Railsbank!

From over 100 startups to just one winner. Today, the audience joined in and voted through the MoneyConf app to make Railsbank, a unique banking and compliance platform, the 2018 PITCH champion. Congratulations and welcome to the PITCH Hall of Fame.  ..."


"Blockchain has the same 'dynamics' as the dotcom boom and bust"... by Joseph Lubin, Cofounder of Ethereum and founder, ConsenSys. Check out the article here.


 "Europe needs to be intelligent in how it adapts to change" by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, check out the related article here.

"Grammy winner, musician Imogen Heap embraces blockchain at MoneyConf 2018". Watch the video here.

Plus:

Aid:Tech, an Irish start-up using blockchain to distribute international aid in refugee camps, has raised an estimated €1 million from investors.

Super-charismatic speakers soon to appear on the Centre Stage of Altice Arena, in Lisbon, Portugal next November. Web Summit heat strikes again, here you have a small preview of our personal faves, some of them well known to all of you through our posts;-))

Tim Draper, founder, Draper Associates
Ben Silbermann, CEO, Pinterest
David Pemsel, CEO, The Guardian Media Group
Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition - European Commission
Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation - European Commision
Ben Goertzel, Chief Scientist - Hanson Robotics
Mmantsetsa Marope, Director of International Bureau of Education - UNESCO
Katie Rae, CEO - The Engine
Arvind Gupta, Co-Founder - IndieBio
Suzet McKinney, CEO - Illinois Medical District
Alyssa Newcomb, Technology Reporter - NBC News
Mona Siddiqui, Dean of Islamic and Inter-religious Studies, School of Divinity - The University of Edinburgh
Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO & Chairman - thyssenkrupp
Ross Mason, Founder - MuleSoft
Polina Montano, Co-Founder - JobToday
Josephine Goube, CEO - Techfugees

....and more!
We are making our own wishlist of speakers for Web Summit 2018 here in A4D-D4A. If you have any favourites, people you wish to read about and hear about, feel free to post us a message! We are all ears!

Until next week, last week of June and especially dedicated to A.I. ...
Stay well!
A4D-D4A




Sunday, 27 May 2018

ATHENS JEWELRY WEEK 2018: RADICAL PRESENCE(S).



Photo above: Malene Kastalje, The Swollen Part series, neckpieces and brooches (silicone, magnets, neodymium magnets). Athens Jewelry Week 2018: "Art + Jewelry: Intersecting Spaces", main exhibition at the Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece.

An event that it is coming to terms with the city's glorious past and turbulent present - certainly a most fertile ground for artistry - Athens Jewelry Week is turning into an institution in a very short time. The rigorous organizers create since 2016 an anti-copy/paste jewelry fair that it is most visually becoming and it gathers contemporary jewellers of incredible capacity and vision, from Greece, Europe, Asia and beyond. The result is a series of parallel events and performances around the city, starting from the core exhibition at the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture and Decorative Arts.

This year the plot thickens, the craftsmanship and inventiveness of the participants steps up another level and radical notions float in the open space of the exhibition's central area. The intense impact of the objects crossover the instant recognition of all things relevant to now: democracy, sustainability, existence, survival, pluralism, memory, courage, strenghth, effort, beauty, science, humor, humanism, narrative and history. The questions remain strong butthe objects proved stronger and made to be worn by the human body but also by a building, an area, a city. 

Could Athens be the inspiration or the stimulus to rethink the past centuries' ornamental tradition? The city is definitely the reason to revoke existing problems, issues, philosophies and maybe it offers the opportunity to remap crafts' territories, from the "over-exhibitional" norms of contemporary jewelry's huge commercial fairs to something really essential.

Key moments of the exhibition, the works of Guest and Invited artists, Maria Militsi and Matt Lambert respectively, the latter also having presented a groundbreaking video performace (photos bellow).





The students who stole the scene with their phenomenal creations: Everett Hoffman with Wild Country necklace, Veronika Fabian with Rebellious Chain series, Johannes Lindh post-sautoir and Marzia Rossi necklace (Alchimia) - (in pictures from top to bottom bellow).





The Greek makers-jewellers performed a powerful rematch this year, alongside with some impressive international entries - we selected the following noteworthy works, (from top to bottom): Efharis Alepedis, Constantinos Papadoukas, Yiota Vogli, Artemis Valsamaki, Asami Watanabe.







The predominant side-by-side presentations of last year's winners Orsolya Losonczy: "Precious Inside Out" series  and Snem Yildirim: "Mein Lieber Diktator" series (their brooches in pics bellow, top and bottom respectively) configured once more the bipolar question of Beauty and Politics, of Utopia and Distress, of Self and Ego. 



We are closing with the installation Hormones by Hao-Han Jhang, a vivid reminder of all the revolutionary mutations that are about to determine future societies and industries.



We are looking forward to next AJW 2019. It seems that this institution is here to stay!

Enjoy?-))
A4D-D4A

Monday, 7 May 2018

IN & OUT SALONE DEL MOBILE 2018: LIVING NATURE & ITALIANA EXHIBITIONS.


Photo above, from left to right: Woman's jersey jumpsuit with zebra animal print, Roberto Cavalli, Summer 2000. Kita embroidered sequin dress by Ken Scott, 1973. Blue coat with overlock stitching, Sportmax (designer Nanni Strada), Fall/Winter 1971-1972. Patchwork, fur coat by Fendi, Fall/Winter 1999-2000. A corner in the room under the theme Bazaar at the exhibition ITALIANA, L'Italia vista dalla moda 1971-2001/ Italy Through the Lens of Fashion 1971-2001), conceived and curated by Maria Luisa Frisa & Stefano Tonchi, at the Palazzo Reale, Milan, Italy.

The exhibition Living Nature. La natura dell'abitare is the principal exhibition that took place outside the main Salone area: the Rho fairground, in the city center right next to the Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano), gathering thousands of visitors. The ambitious experimental project conceived by the Carlo Ratti Associati design studio can be a scalable model of a simulated future, where living in the city has to integrate into the natural environment and not the opposite. In times of global warming, climate change, desertification, seasons disparition but also social disparity and a challenged energy distribution globally, this capsule "residence" consists of a realistic vision for a habitat made to last, but not to threat the natural surroundings.

"Living Nature invites us to explore two key themes: the relationship between domestic living and nature and climate control. In the 20th century, it was the city that appropriated nature, leading to excessive land consumption; we are now facing quite the opposite challenge, that of bringing nature back into cities and homes".



The environmental impact assessment of the endeavour is extremely well investigated, as the project presents practically 100% bio-sustainability, focusing on "green" energy production and supply. Photovoltaic panels, accumulators and heat pumps secure a precise energy flow, so the cold air generated inside the pavillion cools down the "winter" area, while it produces excess heat that serves to warm up the 'summer" area- very likely to the system of a large  A+++ refrigerator.



The Living Nature model of a home or preserved living area, was created under the Salone del Mobile umbrella, with the support of three other major Italian public institutions. Could it be the solution in the search for the ideal human shelter, the forerunner of a eutopia after the last century's catastrophic practices?

The exhibition ITALIANA, L'Italia vista dalla moda 1971-2001/ Italy Through the Lens of Fashion 1971-2001), conceived and curated by Maria Luisa Frisa & Stefano Tonchi was also a collaborative product  of 11 Italian establishments, (7 of them acting in the public sector). Three decades of passion about fashion and essential understanding of all the initial factors and prerequisites that turned Italy the capital of fashion evolution. The specific event is not only a meaningful, historical survey but a sociological, industrial, artistic and humanistic exploration of a period that propelled the exports of European creative production internationally, a production in which Italian fashion industry represented extreme figures. This conceptual journey is divided in nine units, (Identity, Democracy, Logomania, Diorama, Project Room, Bazaar, Postproduction, Glocal, The Italy of Objects), represented by teams of clothing, accessories, jewellery, publications and videos that altered entirely the landscape of fashion and calibrated the consumers' cognition and taste, to an unprecendented extend in comparison with other periods. 
A wonderful exhibition, carefully mastered to evoque not memories of the past but an intense anticipation to walk further into the different rooms, in a non-stop learning experience.

Feast your eyes on the pictures bellow, from top to bottom: 1.DEMOCRACY: (first three in the foreground, from left to right) Kinki Shop Diffusion, Madras dress, first half of 1970s. Valentino Boutique, dress in silk voile with dots, second half of 1970s. Missoni dark jersey ensemble made of dress, pants and scarf, F/W 1979-80. 2.DIORAMA: (clockwise, based on the Enchanted Rooms feature, Domus, May 1983) Cinzia Ruggeri, dress with leds, 1982. Gaetano Pesce, Dalilatre chair, Cassina. Krizia pleated jumpsuit, F/W 1981-82, Archizoom Associati Mies-Poltrona chaise-longue, Pietro Chiesa Luminator floor light. 3.LOGOMANIA: (from left to right) Etro printed silk dress,1995. Salvatore Ferragamo Patchwork silk poncho. Gianni Versace, Man's silk shirt S/S 1993. Shirt, top and leggings by Pucci, S/S 1992. Versace (creative director Donatella Versace), silk chiffon dress, S/S 2000. Valentino, dress in silk with floral print, 1972. 4. BAZAAR: (from left to right) Gianfranco Ferré, embroidered tull bodysuit and shantung skirt, S/S 1991. Gianfranco Ferré, napa and crocodile leather blouson, S/S 1993-94. C.P. Company (designer Massimo Osti), Goggle jacket, 1988. Gianfranco Ferré, embroidered tulle jumpsuit, S/S 1991. Etro, man's ensemble, F/W 1996-97. 5.POSTPRODUCTION: (front to back) Gianni Versace, denim shirt with silk & golden lace skirt, S/S 1992. Bo-Bo Kaminsky (stylists David Mantej & Evelina Barilli) jacket, culotte and bra in golden lamé, F/W 1984-85. 6. GLOCAL: garments' detail. 









Enjoy the info and stay tuned for more exciting news and design essays the following weeks! Until then...

Happy Spring😎
A4D-D4A