LSN : Daily Signals : Need to Know 20 : 10 : 17

1. Design Academy Eindhoven students re-assess global issues

The Legal Status of Ice by Irene Stracuzzi. Photography by Ronald Smits

Fleur Hulleman for Design Academy Eindhoven

Jiayu Wu for Design Academy Eindhoven

Nicole Stoddard for Design Academy Eindhoven

Curated by Studio FormaFantasma co-founders and Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE) graduates Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, this year’s research-based graduate show from DAE explores the challenges facing the world through materials and digital artefacts.

What’s Mined is Yours comprises a collection of pieces that propose alternative business models and systems in a world of dwindling natural resources. Irene Stracuzzi’s The Legal Status of Ice project visualises the fierce political battle to control the Arctic – a region rich in natural gas and oil. The piece highlights how the fight for resources has overshadowed the more pressing issue of global warming’s effect on the polar ice caps, which are rapidly melting. For more on the need for sustainable business see our Whole-system Thinking macrotrend.

What's Mined is Yours runs from 21 to 29 October at De Witte Dame.

2. Dezeen explores the value of design in uncertain times

Good Design for a Bad World by Dezeen

Architecture and design magazine Dezeen will host a series of five free talks at Dutch Design Week. Chaired by Marcus Fairs, editor-in-chief at Dezeen, Good Design for a Bad World will explore themes including climate change, refugees, terrorism, pollution and politics, and feature contributions from thought-leaders such as humanitarian expert Kilian Kleinschmidt and architect Winy Maas.

‘For a long time it felt as if the design world had lost its moral compass, turning its back on social, political and environmental issues,' explains Fairs. ‘Designers seemed instead to seek fame for its own sake and frittered their problem-solving talents on trivial or indulgent projects.’ The talks will examine the move towards a more conscious design ethos among studios and industry luminaries. Read our Civic Brands macrotrend for more examples of brands moving to act as forces for good in society.

The talks will take place on 21 and 22 October at the People’s Pavilion.

3. Speculative job agency caters for humans and robots

HUBOT by Next Nature Network

In a world in which the rise of automation is threatening certain job types, conceptual job agency Hubot aims to alleviate job-seekers’ concerns by catering for both human and robot workers.

Visitors are invited to take the Hubot job test to determine which of Hubot’s 17 new job types are best suited to them. Many of the proposed job types require humans to work collaboratively with robots. As a Shiva Therapist, a human worker uses their hands as well as four robotic arms to massage customers.

The exhibition, which is located in one of consumer electronics retailer MediaMarkt’s stores, offers a glimpse into the future of professional human-robot relationships in a commercial setting.

Hubot runs from 21 to 29 October at MediaMarkt Eindhoven Centrum.

4. Dutch Invertuals presents designers’ defining objects

Fundamentals by Dutch Intervals

Fundamentals from Dutch Invertuals, guest-curated by Dutch studio Raw Color, is an exhibition of more than 800 objects from the design collective’s archives that profile the designers that have helped shape it over the past nine years. Taking their personal collections as a starting point, the designers will present insight into their individual design practices to offer a retrospective of their work as a whole.

Dutch Invertuals is known for creating new works for every show, so this journey into the past is an unusual move for the the Dutch collective that will enable visitors to ‘experience various views on form, material and beauty’.

Fundamentals runs from 21 to 29 October at NS Loods/studio Edhv.

5. The internet as a tangible entity in the real world

Postcards from Google Earth by Clement Valla for Materialising the Internet, Eindhoven

Materialising the Internet combines the work of more than 20 international artists and designers who have transformed an aspect of the internet into something tangible. The exhibition suggests that the digital and physical worlds are no longer two separate entities, but are connected by our thoughts and desires, which act as a bridge to both. Curated by Nadine Roestenburg and Angelique Spaninks, the show explores how we can best represent these amalgamated worlds.

The exhibition features works such as Clement Valla’s Postcards from Google Earth, a combination of Google Earth images stitched together by Google’s software to create an imaginary world ‘where you’re as free as a bird’.

Materialising the Internet runs until 12 November at MU.

6. Thought-starter: What is the value of speculative design?

As consumers around the world strive to practise a more conscious form of consumption, design is moving from a product-based to a research-focused practice. At Dutch Design Week 2017, visual trends analyst Aleksandra Szymanska explores the value of speculative design.

Once filled with textiles and ceramics, the halls of Design Academy Eindhoven will this year serve as a platform for future scenarios, exploring topics such as the automation of the workplace and mixed reality experiences that enable us to ‘edit’ our lives. Traditionally viewed as a tool for answering problems and creating solutions, design is being repositioned as a methodology for asking questions and bringing a spectrum of potential futures to life.

While speculation does not provide answers to today’s problems, it forces us to think ahead and consider the effects of our actions. Are we happy with the world we are heading towards, or is it time to change gear? By helping to demystify the future, speculative design can be used as a tool to democratise this debate and enable more people to participate in the decision-making process.

For more highlights from Dutch Design Week 2017, keep an eye on our News section next week.