The event takes place in the UK from 17-18 October.
Creating a sustainable future also means designing it: rethinking the products, services and spaces that fill our lives. Why are we still throwing away printer cartridges, razor blades and batteries? How do we dispose of our outdated electronic devices? So many of the objects in our homes seemed designed to create waste. And let’s not even get started on transportation.
In the UK, the Design For Planet festival – organised by the Design Council – will address some of these concerns. Its mission is to make design “regenerative and not extractive”.
It’s the third edition of the festival, and it takes place at the University of East Anglia in the city of Norwich, which is known for its astonishingly preserved medieval architecture. There’s a packed two-day programme of speakers, tackling a wide range of subjects of interest to anyone who works in design, as well as the broader creative industry.
For example, there’ll be an exploration of how AI tools like Design Sparks – which can generate design ideas – can help come up with new solutions for circular design. The fashion industry, often criticised as a major source of waste, will also be in the spotlight during a conversation about “thrift, rent and repair”, as opposed to disposability.
Speakers include Tiffanie Darke of Story Studios (a long-time advocate of sustainable fashion), design writer Alice Fisher of The Guardian and Bas Van Abel, founder of Fairphone – makers of a sustainable phone. See the full line-up on this link.