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From its inception in 2006, Belgrade Design Week has been educating, expanding vistas and bringing together global standards and regional businesses by rallying leading people in the area of branding, architecture, design, media and publishing. The International Herald Tribune declared 2007 Belgrade Design Week one of the most important and singular creative events in the world, while the Turin world festival ranked it among the world's five best design weeks in 2008. Also, Monocle magazine proclaimed Belgrade Design Week one of the top ten world festivals in 2009.
The six-day Design Week will include two sub-events: a three-day business and education conference for different-profile business people; the Belgrade2 Culture Festival will include more than 50 side events (exhibitions and presentations) throughout the city. Inspired by continual advances and rapid changes effected in new technologies, the theme of this year's Speed2 conference is connecting and communications. The Speed2 conference will explore the impact and consequences of these changes in all areas of business and economy. Lecturers include architect and designer Jürgen Mayer, the Sadar Vuga Architects from Slovenia, renowned architect Wolf Dieter Prix, who worked for the BMW Welt project, as well as advertising, branding and web design agencies such as POKE of London, Pentagram and Airside, Branko Lukić – one of the world's most successful designers, Tony Chambers – the Wallpaper magazine editor-in-chief, and many others.
Even more than in previous years, Belgrade Design Week will this year focus on economy and its development as it introduces a new event segment - designPark. The first designPark exhibition will be held at the former Kluz department store premises on Masarikova St. in an area covering 5,000 square metres. Taking after Milan, Frankfurt, Istanbul and the Zona Tortona, Stylepark and Tent events, and in a way after the Golden Drum or the Cannes Lions events, this will be one of the most interesting programmes of this year's Belgrade Design Week and the pivotal point where business and creativity in Serbia and the region meet. The designPark has been conceived as a unique combination of world-class design exhibition and creative industries' fair. The designPark area is divided into several thematic wholes – object design, communication design, space design, exhibition zone and talent zone. As an inspiring review of modern design, designPark will rally exhibitors such as local and international designers, importers, distributors as well as manufacturers of designed furniture, household items, and designed objects in general. It will also feature attractive exhibitions, movie screenings, creative workshops, round tables, etc.
Belgrade Design Week attaches special significance to a segment within the designPark called the TalentZone, intended for young talents. Here, talented and still unknown designers will be able to present themselves and their work, perhaps drawing the attention of prospective employers. This programme was launched with the aim of extending to young people the possibility of finding employment and advancing their careers, thereby reducing the drain of young talent from Serbia.
The Belgrade Design Week conference was conceived for the use of those who want to learn how to attain significant competitiveness and achieve success on domestic and international markets through design and modern knowledge in the areas of branding and advertising. Conference visitors stand to benefit because modern-day visionaries and thinkers – people who are changing the world of today and creating the world of tomorrow – will share their knowledge and experience. And just as the working class was dominant in the early decades of the 20th century, the services in the mid-twentieth century, so shall the creative class dominate economic and cultural life of the 21st century. Though not large, it is currently the prime mover and source of changes in both the world economy and the pervasive spirit of the time in which we live.
The man behind Belgrade Design Week, Jovan Jelovac, explains why no success can be forthcoming without solid design and branding:
– Branding and design are symbols of the new economy and have dominated the world over the past 20 or so years. How this came to be is simple to explain. All producers have become remarkably good at what they do. So, at this stage of the game, it's not a problem to produce. The only thing that makes the difference between one product and another is its design. Corporations have enhanced their business to such a high degree that now – in addition to instructions for use – every table, juice, coffee, telephone must invariably contain a product's 'romanticized biography' to ensure its success on the market. This 'romanticized biography' is called – branding.
Belgrade Design Week aims not only to present the creative process but also to place it into a defined social perspective, explore design-connected business prospects and uncover how to make design instrumental in boosting an economy's efficiency and noticeability on the ever growing world market. Design no longer implies merely creating fine articles – design today impacts every conceivable form of communication in the world.
| Belgrade Design Week has this year established significant cooperation with the national air carrier – Jat Airways. Together they will organise a contest titled Blue Sky Brief, along with an accompanying exhibition at the Speed2 conference presenting ten selected works. The contest is intended for agencies, design studios, free-lance professionals. The works will not be restricted merely to graphical solutions, web presentations and design of uniforms. Proceeding from inspiration gained from the national air carrier's tradition and the Open Skies project, participants will be encouraged to conceive creative solutions for Jat ringtone, Jat accessories, Jat menu and the like (in harmony with the contest's Borderless Sky concept ). The three best works will be awarded in cooperation with Jat Airways company representatives. |
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