Paradiso is entirely filled with creatives. ‘I Don’t Know Where I’m Going, But I Want To Be There’ is sold out. The speakers are invited to share their views, through lectures and showcases of their work, regarding what direction design should develop itself.

Due to the snow that has been plaguing Europe, Alice Rawsthorn (design critic) can’t make it to Paradiso. She is doing her presentation via Skype and explains how necessary designers are and will be in the future. Speculating on the future of design, Alice says: “Many of the most compelling developments in design are rooted in the need to find solutions to new and pressing problems, as data visualization has done so by addressing the information overload crisis. Our lives are changing at such unprecedented extremes of speed, scale and intensity, that new problems are constantly emerging and presenting designers with new challenges. Helping us to manage the tsunami of indelible information created by Web 2.0 technology is one. Enabling us to identify the environmental and ethical impact of the products we buy is another. Designers also have important roles to play in developing more efficient ways of dealing with social problems, such as aging, unemployment, homelessness and fractured communities. I suspect that many of the most inspiring design projects of the future will stem from attempts to tame these issues.”

Thomas Lommee explains the value of thinking inside the box and is focused on designing systems and stories around and between objects. The Belgian design studio aims to create sustainability by observing, analyzing and building infrastructures. “Design quality will emerge wherever designers will have the intention and ability to: work on the real human problems and needs of today, understand the key design principles that can generate more sustainable design solutions, translate these principles into attractive and elegant design solutions, and integrate the resulting design within a bigger story”, according to Thomas.

Erik Kessels shows several projects; The power of their work is often a combination of a good idea and some humor. The presentation explains exactly his opinion about where quality should come from: “Because design will be more and more easy to access in the future, design quality will mainly come from someone’s ability to come up with a good idea. Good ideas will be the best tool for designers to differentiate themselves.”

Metahaven introduces a proposal for the identity of Wikileaks. The detailed presentation includes an online study, a visual translation of the current logo and support posters for Wikileaks.

Daniel van der Velden about where he expect design will go: “There are shifts in many fields; apart from a small group of star designers there is a gigantic middle field which has grown during decades of economic prosperity. How that sector will do under ever tightening budgets and deadlines is to a large extent dependent on how inventive it is. Can we find new purposes for our ideas? Can we solve new problems? Can we build new connections? I think the exciting thing of today is that there is no final formula for this. There is not, as of yet, a marketing bible for innovative design. For ourselves, we ‘d like to keep growing. Do we still feel like graphic designers? Yes and no. Moving into new areas makes you ever more aware of where you came from.”

When we think about where design quality will come from in the future, we need to find out what is necessary. Alice Rawsthorn points to several fields that deserve more attention from designers. My personal view is that design should be meaningful; which also can mean that it generates a reaction, creates awareness or launches a movement. Daniel for example hopes that their proposal for the identity of Wikileaks can embody a discussion about the type of organization WikiLeaks would like to be in the future. Design starts with being aware of what is happening in society, and finding your role in it it by creating your own guidelines. When you’re able to discover your own qualities, you will be able to discern what you should to make a meaningful contribution to your surroundings.