This year’s open call is themed around ‘Identity’ with an exhibition opening on September 4th featuring designs chosen by a distinguished panel. Designers from the fields of product, furniture, graphics, spatial and interactive design are invited to explore ideas of identity in object, environment or experience as the focus of their proposal.
Deyan Sudjic, director of the museum, comments:
‘We use design to define who we are, both as individuals, and as societies. In this sense, design is a signal of identity. It can be a personal signal, which users are themselves responsible for – an example would be the customisation process. Or it can be a ready-made identity that reflects, for example, the characteristics that contribute to a sense of civic or national identity. Designers shape objects and places and processes to reflect the values and the identity of those who use them. This year, the Designers in Residence programme at the museum will be based on an exploration of how design in any field can be used to convey, to create, or to reflect a sense of identity’.
This will be the sixth year of the residency following the museums commitment to showcasing and supporting the next generation of design talent. Recent alumni whose work has been showcased include Asif Khan and Bethan Laura Wood. Last year’s resiedences were awarded to Freyja Sewell, Harry Trimble and Oscar Medley-Whitfield, Lawrence Lek and Yuri Suzuki.
Apply online at Designmuseum.org, open to all designers who have graduated from Higher Education within in the last five years and who have been working professionally in some form of design practice for a minimum of one year. Deadline for all applications is 5pm on 28 February.
