Design online

As we enter lockdown number three in the UK, to a backdrop of grey winter weather, moments of escapism have again become important to sustain us.

Over the course of the last year, organisations and institutions have become adept at shifting events, talks and exhibitions into the online arena. Championing innovative, twenty-first-century technology, social media platforms and websites have been transformed into hubs for interactive learning and insight. 

We've picked five international architecture and design events accessible online throughout January and February which champion and explore the many facets of good design by sharing insight into the industry. During these challenging times, they offer the opportunity to connect us with an international community from within our own homes...  

In/Visible Talks Re:Design
14 January 2021

Image: Invisible Talks

In/Visible Talks celebrates the art of design. Their mission is to build community through a conversation about the process, inspiration, and challenges behind the creative practice.

Their one day, one track conference is designed to inspire and connect; this year's online design conference aims to shape the future by looking beyond singular design problems and towards fixing the world's larger societal, political and social issues.

Their lineup of speakers is curated for their time in the industry and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. They bring together a multidisciplinary audience and industry experts to share a piece of their own creative process and stories of how design gets done.

DesignTO - Distanced & Digital 
Until 31 January 2021

Image: DesignTO

DesignTO is about creativity, community and experimentation. 

The DesignTO Festival is Canada’s leading (and largest) annual design festival that celebrates design as a multidisciplinary form of creative thinking and making, with over 100 exhibitions and events forming Toronto’s design week

This year's programme includes a selection of digital events and exhibitions incorporating projects examining the contribution of Danish design to design-at-large, original work that explores the role of furniture as a medium for personal expression and a panel discussion that seeks to answer the question: What does it mean to have truly good taste in the modern world?

Madrid Design Festival 
01 - 28 February 2021

Image: Madrid Design Festival

Madrid Design Festival is a meeting that champions design as a transformative power within of society. 

This annual festival turns the capital of Spain into a showcase of international design. The event covers all design disciplines, from architecture to graphic design through to communication and interior design, hybridising all of them into a contemporary and innovative format.

MDF21 will have an ambitious audiovisual proposal that will showcase the Festival as it has never been seen before. Four production units will offer audiovisual content including interviews, meetings and live shows that will allow the participants of this edition to be approached through MDF Inside, a new channel hosted on the Festival's renewed website. 

Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks
10 - 11 February 2021

Image: Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair

Placing Scandinavian design in an international context, Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair is the world’s leading meeting place for Scandinavian design. The latest trends and new products are unveiled and this year's fair features live streamed panels, virtual interviews and lectures.

Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks invites the most interesting and creative speakers from around the world and Scandinavia to take part. The program is designed to promote knowledge and innovation and generate evolution within the fields of design and architecture.

The talks present and analyse the latest projects, forecast trends and dig deep into the most intriguing current debates, challenging those involved and listening in, to think differently.  

Beazley Designs of the Year
- The Virtual Experience 
Until 28 March 2021

Image: The sustainable K-briq, The Design Museum

Organised by London's Design Museum, this virtual, online exhibition allows visitors to discover the most innovative designs from this year's Beazley Designs of the Year awards.

Explore the best designs across fashion, architecture, digital, transport, product and graphic design, nominated by design experts and the public. 

'Beazley Designs of the Year, will offer a vital chance to recap where we were when the virus took hold. It will require careful construction and precise storytelling in order to establish the big themes and preoccupations from that period. The show will be arranged chronologically, suggesting a countdown from January 2019 to the moment our attention shifted in late January 2020. More than merely an assessment of the past, it will be a frame for exploring the future.'

Emily King, curator of Beazley Designs of the Year 2020 

(Header image: The Design Museum)