Dubai will host its first annual International Design Forum (IDF) on May 27 - 29, 2007, promoting design as a tool for cultural understanding and commerce. By bringing together designers and architects from around the world, the International Design Forum seeks to generate open discussion around the critical role design must play in determining the global landscape of tomorrow. The first public platform of the International Design Initiative, the IDF asks the design community to examine its responsibility and potential in shaping personal, cultural, environmental, and political realities.

The IDF will lend particular emphasis to the value of design in addressing the challenges faced by the Arab world today.

The city of Dubai provides a fascinating backdrop for this discussion, typifying the emergence of design within the Arab world. A center of commerce and international finance, Dubai has drawn an influx of cultural investments in recent years, and is seen by many as a place where the possibilities of the imagination are being realized. Yet as Dubai and the rest of the Arab world continue their economic and cultural development, it will be critical for designers to consider issues of sustainability and societal impact.

The IDF program will be divided into three main areas of exploration. The "Design Connects" workshops will introduce participants to the value of design as a connecting element between commercial sectors; the “Urban Design” workshops will explore the challenges and opportunities for urban planning, specifically within Arab cities; and the “Industrial Design” sessions will generate insights about industrial design in the Arab marketplace, and the relevance of lessons learned abroad.

Plenary sessions will address broad challenges across these three areas. On May 27, frog Creative Director Luke Williams will address the conference on an impressive panel discussion entitled, “Put Your Finger on the Next Industrial Revolution.” The discussion seeks to define potential areas for development in the future of commerce. What industries and design disciplines are poised for innovation? What opportunities will this create for business? Who will drive these changes?

The Panel Includes:

• William F. Christopher, Executive Vice-President and Group President, Engineered Products and Solutions, Alcoa, USA
• Jonathan Ive, Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, Apple, USA
• Kung-Hee Lee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Samsung, Korea
• Luke Williams, Creative Director, frog design, USA

Moderated by

• Robert Friedman, International Editor, Fortune, USA

design mind editor Samantha Holmes sat down with Williams to discuss the state of design in Dubai today, exploring the relationship between commercial constraint, cultural background, and innovation.

Q: How does Dubai’s design scene tie into its cultural identity? Why is it leading the charge of design in the Arab world today?

A: Countries and cities can be crippled by their history. They’re full of the fascination and wonder of the past, yet unable to look into the future. Dubai seems to have a license to be new – it is a place devoted to exploring the possibilities of the future. It has a different context, and context usually plays a large part in the acceptance of new designs and innovations.

Q: This context of innovation is interesting because Dubai has been developing, in many ways, as a designers’ playground: many opportunities, few constraints. Is this freedom an effective approach to design?

A: The description “a designer’s playground” speaks volumes. When you observe young children “playing,” they’re busy designing innovative responses to the world. Certain elements are put together to achieve an effect – whether they’re playing with LEGOs or stamping and crying to get attention. As the child gets older, he or she learns the standard, or “right way” to do things. In almost all cases, this is the most proven or tried method. So the “design” motivation fades away, and nothing innovative gets produced. Dubai is an interesting place to talk about innovation precisely because this “design” motivation is still high and they’re busy designing non-standard, sometimes radical responses to the world.

Q: But isn’t there sometimes a disconnect between a radical idea and the real world in which it must operate?

A: It’s true. Radical designs are not always very successful. Look at the car industry. Buyers may indeed like a radical new design – and then they think about the resale value. There are no fears with traditional designs that have been around forever, but new designs are high risk. So there is safety in preferring the old. But if we approach design with that preference in mind, nothing new will ever emerge; complacency sets in. Complacency without change is an even higher risk strategy.

Q: Yet often designers, particularly in strategic firms like frog, are asked to operate within the limitations of a client’s commercial demands. What do you see as this relationship between idea and constraint?

A: There is a distinct and dynamic relationship here. When framed effectively, constraints inspire innovative behavior by acting as a necessary provocation. With many design problems, it is our task to improve a product or system already in existence. As a result, many of the constraints focus on correcting the faults and overcoming the weaknesses of this early iteration. This is useful, but a creative effort is needed to avoid being trapped by the existing approach. With a new design situation, there is no existing approach in place, so the constraints need inventing and designing. They’re not always obvious and defining constraints is a skill in itself.

Q: So in some ways, constraint actually drives innovation. Can you think of a good example?

A: There’s an unusual example of the power of constraint on YouTube. Its called “Silent Library” and it’s a clip from a Japanese variety show in which the contestants endure hilarious torture but are not allowed to utter a sound. It’s one of the funniest things you’ll ever see, but it only works due to a constraint. The constraint of “silence.”

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