Invited by Peter Griffith to do a friday morning talk at Nokia London headquarters, the conversation following the presentation was one of the more interesting I have experienced in the run of Power of Making talks. It brought up pertinent comments on perceptions of making in the future and I was struck by the dynamic positive outlook regarding designers involvement in production level understanding and detailing. Images of POM at V&A .

FormmuseumNu – debate ‘regarding the content and function of a future design museum’

2 February 2012, Konstfack,Svarta Havet, Stockholm.   16.00 – 18.00

Daniel Charny, Curator and advisor for the New Design Museum, London, Lidewij Edelkoort, Trend analyst, Trend Union, Paris. Nina Stritzer – Levine, Chief curator at Bard Graduate center Decorative Arts, New York. FromaFantasma / Andrea Trimarchi, Simone Farresin, Designer, Eindhoven. Mikael Schiller, Executive Chairman of ACNE Studios, Stockholm. Moderator: Annica Kvint, Design – and architecture critic, Stockholm.

Having an interesting time talking to students from various universities about Power of Making, a joint exhibition for the V&A Museum and Crafts Council. Next up is London Metropolitan University, Department of Architecture and Spatial Design where Course Leader is Diane Cochrane on 10 November details here. Then Camberwell College of Arts 3D Design and Designer Maker students lead by Karen Richmond and Maiko Tsutsumi. A little later in the month with the Royal College of Art Design Products students, a programme lead by Tord Boontje and early in December taking part in the TOOKIT lecture series for Kingston’s BA Product & Furniture Design where Jon Harison is Acting Course Director.

Held at the V&A during Power of Making Friday Late 30 September, The Institute of Ideas Satellite programme with guests Sandy Black, Daniel Charny, Angela Saini, Paul Reeves, Matt Warman and James Woudhuysen was an eclectic array of  responses to declarations and questions such as : ”Is the move towards the ‘creative economy’ simply the latest evolution of Adam Smith’s division of labour, or is there a serious risk of overspecialisation once the Chinese et al develop their designers alongside their factories? Should we embrace a return to the days of thrifty ‘make do and mend’ or celebrate mass production’s achievements in creating mountains of ‘stuff’? What skills are necessary to fuel a thriving manufacturing sector, and are there any barriers being placed on innovation today? What should the UK be making in the 21st century?.” [via Institute of Ideas]

Daniel Charny was invited by the Crafts Council of Ireland to talk about the ideas that shaped the exhibition Power of Making (currently on and free at the Victoria and Albert Museum till 02 January 2012) as keynote speaker at Ireland’s Future Makers Seminar next Thursday November 3rd, 10am – 4pm. Venue: Triskel Christchurch, Triskel Arts Centre, Tobin St, Cork.

The 23^rd International Conference of the Society for Medical Innovation and Technology (SMIT), chaired by the innovative surgeon Amir Szold invited a keynote on Design Thinking and how to work with designers. The talk by Daniel Charny reviewed the development of the profession of industrial design as a strategic practice suggesting to the inventors, engineers and medical innovation leaders to integrate design and designers from the very early stages of their projects. The talk also presented recent ground breaking work from the Helen Hamlyn Design Centre.

First round of trials for the live online masterclasses completed, learnt much and lots to look forward to. The first round of masters to brave the new format included: Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh/Sugru , Simon Waterfall/Fray , Conny Freyer/Troika , Asa Bruno/Ron Arad Architects. We are working on the next set of classes that will be available for the autumn season.

Konstfack university college of arts, crafts and design is reflecting on locality in a global design and art world. Daniel Charny will be among a group of panelists invited by Ivar Björkman, President of Konstfack since 2003 to take part in a public round table discussion about the role of geographical location in art, craft and design. It’s a pertinent question for design and art education especially in these times when there is increasing pressure by governing bodies and students alike to demonstrate value. Among the panelists are: Liesbeth den Besten, Dan Fern, Søren Grammel, Davide Quadrio, LouiseSchouwenberg, Annika von Taube and Marco Velardi.

COMING SOON:

MADE IN ITALY: MILAN DESIGN CITY

Tuesday 18 May, The Lighthouse, Glasgow – 7.15pm

Its where to go to show, see and be seen. Curator and lecturer Daniel Charny, designer Fabio Novembre, and curator and editor Joseph Grima, will explore how this city and the annual Salone de Mobile provoke and promote new Italian design.

JUST HAPPENED:

MADE IN ITALY: ITALIAN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Dr. Penny Sparke, Mario Bellini and Daniel Charny discus the nuances of the Italian design scene; with a number of detailed and personal case studies, this event will give an insightful look into the inner workings of Italian design. Monday 19th May, Design Museum, London.