Amidst the buzz that swept the creative sectors of London during its annual soiree of creativity, London Design Festival, were simmering discourses that traced the past and attempted to define the shared future of the world through the lens of design. The Global Design Forum, the design festival’s carefully curated talks programme, returned to the V&A this year, celebrating 10 years since it first took place at the museum in South Kensington. Expanding on its ethos of platforming dialogues that are often untouched or not broached enough, the 2024 programme focussed on some of the most pressing challenges that designers face today. From September 14 - 20, 2024, in conjunction with the design fair, over 60 speakers from across the globe and different walks of life graced the stage with fresh perspectives on inclusivity, sustainability and change. The 2024 programme was segregated into four daily themes: Please Design Responsibly; The Healthy City; Resilience and Repair and More than Human. Under the canopy of each theme, were spotlights on offshoots such as responses to conflict and disaster, designing through a human and non-human lens, resilient cities, redefining the role of the designer and more.

How do we define progress in design? The first day, brandishing the theme Please Design Responsibly, delved into the onus of accountability that ought to come with being a designer. Beginning with a panel titled Material progress: pushing the boundaries of luxury design, exploring key strategies for innovating in luxury design, the conversation transitioned to Redefining the role of the designer, investigating the designer’s potential contributions in addressing current environmental, social and technological challenges. Chaired by Priya Khanchandani, the dialogue included creatives such as Danah Abdulla and Shawn Adams. The speakers in Designing a regenerative society unpacked the tenets of regenerative systems and how design (and designers) can help fortify them. Crafting the Future of Luxury, a keynote by Spanish designer Jaime Hayon, concluded the day with critical questions surrounding luxury in today’s world. What is the future of luxury, and can designers contribute to shifting consumption patterns to prioritise sustainability and meaning?

More Than Human, the theme for the second day of the programme, ushered the audience through the capabilities of design beyond pure function, scrutinising the world through a human and non-human lens in tandem. Playtime: Understanding the human need to be surprised, challenged and delighted, pursued the idea of sensory and immersive experiences, the impact of play and the human desire to be moved. Along the same lines, the panel Changing the Human Experience discussed the use of light, movement and sound to elicit wonder and curiosity in music, fashion, film, design and technology. The talk, chaired by Samta Nadeem, Curatorial Director, STIR, featured lighting, staging and conceptual designer Tobias Rylander, spatial artist-designer Melek Zeynep Bulut and conceptual artist Hannah Marshall. Rylander, who has worked on some of the biggest shows and concerts in the world, along with Bulut who is known for fusing space and sociality with her work and Marshall who works on immersive soundscapes and distinct frequencies in sound (and silence) as a way of engaging with public discourse, engaged with Nadeem, a lighting designer of 15 years herself. The conversation traversed what design experiences transcending the human meant and eventually embodied concerning their respective practices, often finding elevated relevance in the gaps - the silences, the dark spots and negative space. The power of design to connect humans and the world took the stage in Design for Connection, a talk featuring Barnaby Steel (Creative Director, Marshmallow Laser Feast), Arjun Singh Assa, Giles Tettey Nartey and Kusheda Mensah, chaired by Carrie Chan. The series of conversations dissecting the human in design culminated in the keynote Understanding the Non-Human World.

From all of the incredible speakers we have had contribute to the Forum, I think there is a common thread and message not to lose hope, optimism and creative drive. – Jessica McFarlane

The third day of the design event was steered by the theme The Healthy City, exploring design problems and solutions on a larger scale of homes and cities. While Breathe Easy: Cleaning up urban air pollution shed light on the intersection of design strategies and urban geography to tackle air pollution, The healthy home, a panel chaired by Michelle Ogundehin, rethought homes to address inefficiency and health issues. Sleep as an integral aspect of human life and design’s role in engaging with poor sleep and climate-induced sleep inequality guided the panel Sleep and the city. The keynote for day three, The Resilient Green City, envisioned spaces for dynamic urban landscapes and community engagement -- tackling biodiversity, health and mobility challenges.

The final day of the Global Design Forum programme spoke of Resilience and Repair in the face of conflict, disaster, health challenges, the climate crisis and fading cultural identities. Responses to Conflict and Disaster discussed mindful interventions to foster unity, and conversation and protect displaced communities. The idea of community was explored further in Community resilience: Community Building a Community Building, a panel where speakers emphasised non-profit-driven social spaces and community collaboration in public space design. Adapt to survive: how to design for adaptability, longevity and resilience examined regenerative cultures, with the dialogue revolving around bio-design, biomaterials and intelligent buildings. The final keynote, Preserving Identity: Post Disaster, addressed a dire issue in global disaster recovery: how can architecture and design protect cultural identity in the midst of crises?

In an exclusive conversation with STIR, Jessica McFarlane, Programme Director for the Global Design Forum at London Design Festival, shares her insights into this year’s programme and the constituent themes. The conversation traverses the significance of the chosen themes, the impact of concurrent global crises on them and how the Global Design Forum aspires to impact an international audience.

STIR: What inspired the structuring of the GDF programme into the four major themes - Please Design Responsibly, The Healthy City, Resilience and Repair and More than Human?

Jessica McFarlane: The themes are chosen to respond to some of the most pressing issues and exciting opportunities that designers face today and will continue to encounter in the future. We speak to the wider design community to gain their input into these topics to ensure GDF's talks are responding to the challenges that designers are facing and questions that are crucial to their practice and to the world they design for.

STIR: How would you say the current social, economic, environmental and humanitarian crises inform the talks programme?

Jessica: Design is everywhere and undoubtedly has a role in how we approach the biggest challenges of our time. It is also inherently optimistic, looking to solve problems and create better futures. Designers today feel the weight of these immense challenges and how they can contribute towards creating a fair, sustainable and stable future for the planet and all that inhabit it can at times feel unclear. GDF mirrors these aspirations and gives a platform to trailblazers already progressing towards this end so that others can learn from their success and challenges and take hope that design can make a difference.

STIR: What does it mean for design to be human? Do you think contemporary design practice lacks in this aspect? If so, would you say forums such as these are conversation starters, facilitators, or both?

Jessica: I would say GDF is very much a conversation starter and facilitator in connecting those working in design with new ideas, connections and ways of practising. I think it is vital that design professionals are allowed the opportunities, space and time to step away from their everyday practice to expand their thinking, awareness and points of reference to strengthen and continue to evolve their work, skills and ambitions as designers. We look to assemble a wide scope of voices from inside and outside of design to be able to extend these conversations outside of their accepted parameters and drive forward some of the most important, testing and stimulating conversations in design today.

Designers should never settle for the status quo, be determined to do work that counts and be resilient enough not to lose creative drive and agency. – Jessica McFarlane

STIR: The talks explore the impact of design on various scales—humans, homes, communities and entire cities. Is there a need to bridge professionals working on these different scales?

Jessica: I think although there is a greater desire to work outside of silos, barriers to true collaboration between design disciplines and industries are still in place for the most part. Through some of our past speakers, I have seen the impact and advancements that can be achieved when true collaboration is allowed to happen. I hope that GDF has given inspiration to others that this can be possible.

STIR: How do you want to see design evolve in the coming years? What are the qualities that you would like to see more often in creative endeavours?

Jessica: From all of the incredible speakers we have had contribute to the Forum, I think there is a common thread and message not to lose hope, optimism and creative drive. Designers should never settle for the status quo, be determined to do work that counts and be resilient enough not to lose creative drive and agency. I think these are the most essential tenors for designers to keep hold of.

Design is everywhere and undoubtedly has a role in how we approach the biggest challenges of our time. It is also inherently optimistic, looking to solve problems and create better futures. – Jessica McFarlane

STIR: How does the Global Design Forum aim to amplify these discourses and make them reach a wider audience? Could documenting these conversations and archiving them for posterity also be looked at as knowledge production instead of consolidation?

Jessica: This is something we already look to do with many of the discussions and talks that happen at the Forum available to view without barrier online. We would like as wide an audience as possible to benefit from and join the conversations that take place at the Forum. For this reason, we have already and will continue to take the live GDF events to other parts of the world and work with key partners to extend as wide a network as we can.

In its 22nd edition, the London Design Festival—including its 11 design districts, partners and the design fair Material Matters—stirs the city with a dynamic programme of installations, exhibitions, workshops, talks and more. Follow STIR at London Design Festival 2024, as we continue to bring the best of the festival's offerings as media partners along with our own initiatives across the city, including our partners Shoreditch Design Triangle, Mayfair, the Global Design Forum, and more across Brompton, Battersea, Chelsea, Dalston to Stokey and Bankside.