India Design Forum set for March 15-16 in Mumbai

Cindy W. Hodnett -- Furniture Today, February 25, 2013

MUMBAI, India — The second annual India Design Forum will take place in this city March 15-16.

During the two-day event, which includes a design exhibition open to the public, as well as an awards celebration, international design experts from multiple disciplines will participate in discussions at the National Centre for Performing Arts.

Topics to be covered include product and industrial design, urbanization, sustainable architecture, innovation and technology, investing in design education, good design is good business, and fashion and luxury. The forum's founder, Rajshree Pathy, said that one of the core issues to be addressed will be India's role in the future of design.

"The India Design Forum 2013 will bring global design thought leaders together in Mumbai to enable strategic alliances, encourage dialogue between academia and industry and facilitate cross design cultural thinking and application," Pathy said.

The forum begins with Design Week, a series of design exhibitions, workshops and curated events in venues across Mumbai. IDF will also present the first annual IDF Awards, a program that was created to increase national awareness of design and "honor excellence, innovation and lasting achievement," said forum officials. Participation is open to applicants from India and Indian citizens living abroad for their designs produced within the last five years.

Speakers at the forum include Abanti Sankaranarayanan of Diageo, India; Abraham Thomas, curator of the Victoria & Albert Museum design drawings collection; Anouska Hempel, designer; Asif Khan, designer; Christian Louboutin, French footwear designer; Deyan Sudjic, director of the London Design Museum; Domenic Lippa, packing, print, identity design and retail graphics expert; designers Doshi Levien, Dror Benshetrit, Jakub Szczesny, Marije Vogelzang, and Oskar Zieta; Rahul Mehrotra, architect, Renny Ramakers, co-founder and director of Droog; Ross Lovegrove, designer; Ton Venhoeven, founder and principal architect/urban planner of Venhoeven CS architecture+urbanism; Vicky Richardson, director of architecture, design and fashion at the British Council; and Willin Russel, architect and partner at Pentagram in London.

Registration is required to attend the forum. Information is online at http://www.indiadesignforum.com/.