TREND REPORT OF MILAN DESIGN WEEK Ziiwon Kang Goksu Kacaroglu Qian Yue Will Brown Antti Oskar Pulli
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COLLECTIVE IMAGINARY
Global Value of Milan Design Week
Milan confirms itself capital of design: a central location at international level where great ideas and projects meet the industrial system and are transformed into new and always unique products. The milano fuori salone is held annually in Milan. It is one of the largest and the most important design exhibitions in the world. [1] The show showcases the latest in design from countries around the world. It is considered a leading venue for the display of new products by designers of furniture, hand-made crafts, products ...etc.
architects, media, business, exhibition and Milan.
An established leadership, built over the years thanks to a winning formula that mixes decisive and complementary contents: companies, design,
The global value of design week is implying new solutions for the future in order to respond promptly to requests from exhibitors and international
visitors in a historical moment characterized by changing market forces and a challenging economic climate.
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COLLECTIVE IMAGINARY
Poster Design from 2000 - 2011
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COLLECTIVE IMAGINARY
People’s Value of I Salone
A successful event, capable of attracting visitors from around the world, with continuously growing numbers and which last year closed with data that have thrilled the entire industry: more than 330,000 visitors, of which 290,000 professionals, the majority of whom came from abroad, with the addition of almost 6,500 communication operators.
The influence of Milano fuori salone has arisen concerning in increasing number of people, no matter they are designers or not. As designers, they look forward to see new trend in design or in relevant disciplines during that week. The products, videos, advanced technologies and even the interaction between people and exhibitions will all give them huge inspiration. In addition,
Milano Fuori Salone also gives audience a definite perfect chance to discover value of design and life as well. ( key words: FACEBOOK / TWITTER / BLOGS / E.REPORTERS…)
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MACROTREND
Interaction between people and exhibitions
Based on the analyses and investigation on previous Milano Fuori Salone, one point attracts us. With the unbelievable fast changes in design discipline, the way of displaying products and interaction between people and exhibitions update also dramatically and interestingly. This issue causes our tremendous concerning because we realized that in many cases, the interaction and relationship between people and objects not only could stimulate audience’s interest, but also they stand for the image and value of brands and products, both functionally and emotionally. We hope to predict the new trend of this area according to Milano fuori salone this year.
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HYPOTHESIS
The trend of exhibition design is to engage with the individual on a personal level while still engaging with as many others as possible.
Service design is a tool used here to tailor the experience for the visitor on a more personal level, guiding them towards the 'right' product. This personal experience increases the chance of an individual returning to the online platform for further interaction with the brand.
RESEARCH TOOLS
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photography
interviews
observations
participation
gathering of flyers
notes and thoughts
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HOTSPOT MAPPING
I Salone
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Aim is to attract business in the form of retailers, buyers, manufacturers and contacts. Space is a minimum of 20-30 square metres. Harder to stand out due to size of Rho Fiera companies here are more likely to be playing it safe
Salone Satellite
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Uniform sized spaces; so difficulty in standing out. More young designers than I Salone and so are more willing to take risks. Lower budget however to spend on exhibition.
Tortona
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Established brands and companies with medium market share. More commercial but still attempting to be ‘cutting edge’. Focus on promoting brand since products are already quite well known. Have higher budgets
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Brera
Mostly Italian design here in comparison to the other areas. Products and companies have aim to be more upmarket. Batch over mass production.
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Ventura Lambrate
Mostly up and coming designers with student work and also the recently graduated. Mainly Dutch, Scandinavian and from London. Low budget. Focus more on products witch are more experimental and contemporary. Minimal space, set up like art gallery which have a more laid back / casual atmosphere.
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INTERVIEW
With Joel Roos, founder and CEO of One Nordic Furniture Company
One Nordic makes high quality furniture and accessories designed by the absolute best Nordic designers. Online thinking is at the core of the company, with the online store as their main distribution channel. One Nordic's online experience offers you all relevant information about the products, background stories by the designers, and naturally 24/7 availability. This year One Nordic was exhibiting in Milan with a 30m2 space near Porta Venezia in Milan.
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Can big and small companies compete in such events as the design week in Milan and how? Of course. In the end it's all about making a difference between the competitors. You don't necessary need much money - it's a matter of high level of innovation and clarifying what you want to achieve. Big companies might spend even millions of euros, and right contacts are needed in order to get the best positions and in Milan italian companies are often privileged to book first. There is no point in applying space in bad halls or not interesting areas in the city - otherwise it might mean loosing a big investment. Do you always have to be at the fair center itself? If you cannot or don’t want to be at the fair, you have to
do something else that shows your making a difference to the others. For example One Nordic collaborated a “midnight dinner” with Form Us With Love from Stockholm, Sweden in Milan during the design week. This was a great way for us to get important and interesting people to interact with in the right environment. We found this was a great way to be separated in an interesting and creative way while getting relevant press and journalists to the location.
a kind of warehouse-inspired presentation where the products are aloud to be the main focus. Besides that it’s a great idea to have something a little extra to make sure you have captured the visitors first attention. We install a bright light wall that displays our logo in a clear way. For a young brand it’s important to make sure your logo is well seen. The visitor has to remember who’s stand it exactly was that made an impression!
How to exhibit? Be creative, create events that get relevant people involved. At the fair you don’t have many seconds to impress the random passerbuy. Clarity, well represented products and non confusing stand design are the key elements. For example One Nordic has created
How should the staff be presenting? You need to know how to sell what you stand for and connect with the people in a good way. For example One Nordic has always an online shop in display with an iMac and an iPad where you can also explore our websites. Meanwhile we also represent and
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explain the use of our AppStore registered application that works as an augmented reality to try how our products would look in any desired environment, like your own home! This is a great way to link with the visitor by getting them hands-on and involved with the products. Also as we are talking about decorating homes it’s a very personal link to a persons private space. Whats the importance of the location you are exhibiting? You need to get yourself in the best hall or interesting part of a city. The right kind of respect can often be linked with the right surrounding too. Even if many people didn’t recognize a specific brand, they will recognize the difference between quality and junk.
Relationship between technology and exhibiting? It will be increased even more for sure. The concept of a “fair” is already quite old and aged, so both online/offline are an absolute must. You don’t even necessary have to go to Milan for the fair or design week, just put everything on the internet in the right format. As long as you are still making a positive difference to your competitors, that’s what matters. One should nevertheless remember that face to face communication is still well appreciated.
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TRADITIONAL EXHIBITION STYLE
Moodboard
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MACROTRENDS
Moodboard
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MICROTREND
Moodboard
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MACROTRENDS
In depth
Emotional Engagement Exhibition place is designed as a multi-sensorial atmosphere which allows visitors to develop an emotional engagement with the brand. The key points are: • Target is common audience • Exhibition creates expectation on visitors • Visitor develops a notion of the design/brand • Memorisable since it strongly addresses to human senses
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The four case studies that we will further analyse over the next few pages to illustrate this are Hyundai, Honda, Create Flexible Architecture and Cleaf.
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MACROTRENDS CASE STUDY
Hyundai
Hyundai pavilion welcomes visitors with the concept of ‘FLUID’. They created a dark atmosphere only with an interactive illumination in the middle. Visitors are free to go near illumination and interact with the small lights which are
sensitive to movements. As the people move their hands, the light moves accordingly in a fluent way. When visitors go out of the pavilion, with the experience of the emotional engagement, they encounter with the latest Hyundai prototype.
[VIDEO LINK]
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MACROTRENDS CASE STUDY
Mazda
Mazda pavilion welcomes visitors in a strange ambiance surrounded by CAD models of anthropomorphic forms. Among the movements of the forms on the screen, the futuristic sounds and the dark atmosphere, it is placed the red Mazda car.
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MACROTRENDS CASE STUDY
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Create Flexible Architecture
“The exhibition follows a path – taking in two rooms – accessed across a promenade, where visitors are greeted by Philippe Starck’s first words describing the creation of FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE. The first room is a tribute to the
origins of ceramics: the four elements – earth, water, air and fire – that form the basis of this extraordinary material, as ancient as humankind. In the second room, finally, FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE: an idea turning mud into architecture.
So the ideas of Philippe Starck become a physical path, space, compositional language.
[VIDEO LINK]
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MACROTRENDS CASE STUDY
Cleaf
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Cleaf is the historic manufacturer of surfaces for the world of interior design. Inspired by nature, Cleaf seized nature’s textures and its most intimate details and renders them in new, emotional contemporary surfaces. A sensorial journey of great effect among nuances, perfumes, and tactile perceptions.
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MICROTRENDS
In depth
PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT While introducing the brand/ design, a close interaction is created between the visitors and the brand/design. Companies are targetting individual audiences to create more impactful memories to them in which they create a personal connection with the brand.
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The four case studies that we will further analyse over the next few pages to illustrate this are Moleskin, Lavazza, Samsung and Scalo Milano.
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MICROTRENDS CASE STUDY
Moleskin
During the Milan Design Week Moleskine HQ opened its doors to friends, partners and members of the media. Visitors was able to visit the office, meet the Moleskine staff and preview the new 2013 collections. They also invites visitors to an interesting
game called “MY ANALOGUE CLOUD� which helps to discover more about personal character. In the game, visitors need to choose a type of bag, small iconic elements presenting themselves, a Moleskine notebook and a Moleskine pen. After the
selection is done, characteristic values of the visitor is defined and a card with the whole information is printed to take away.
[VIDEO LINK]
MICROTRENDS CASE STUDY
Lavazza
The Lavazza exhibition welcomes visitors with its unique energetic enviornment. In the main area, there is a long bar with four batenders. The menu, hung on the wall, uses appealing photos of the options to tempt the visitors. Recently realesed coffee machines are displayed and free for use by its visitors. Individual visitors can recieve a personalized coffee capsule by answering a Lavazza application. This interactive process creates unique experience and builds strong emotional connection with visitors and the brand.
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[VIDEO LINK]
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MICROTRENDS CASE STUDY
Samsung
In the Samsung pavilion there was a very high-tech, interactive experience. Samsung Electronic Italy, was awarded by WOW with the concept called "What a Wonderful World" which was a very spectacular installation.
Visitors were allowed to take(just in the borders of the pavilion) a Galaxy S III smartphone to experience the installations. With the commands of the Galaxy S III smartphone visitors were able to transform natural and artificial worlds, creating the parallel
universe they have always wanted.
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MICROTRENDS CASE STUDY
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Scalo Milano
Once people enter the showroom, they will see staff showing the process of manufacturing the products. Machines that are used in the production are also one part of the exhibition, which help audience to understand the products and the company better.
People can choose the different colors, shapes as they like, and witness the 3D printing machine creating personalized products with the help of staff. And they can keep them as souvenirs. Therefore, this kind of interaction
is more attractive to visitors than merely displaying products on shelves. Furthermore, it implies reliable and friendly image of brand, which makes the company more memorable.
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Summative Statement
What we learnt
2013 Milano design week was full of experiences for us. We mostly visited to Fuori Salone areas which we were expecting to make more valuable observation. As we described through the trend report, we determined macro and micro trends of exhibition methods. As macro trend, we observed that exhibition place is designed as a “multisensory atmosphere” in which visitors develop an emotional engagement with the brand. On the other hand
micro trend introduces the brand/design by creating a close interaction. Exhibitors are targeting individual audiences to create more impactful memories in which they create personal connections with brand. To sum up, after our Coolhunting experience we found out that micro trend examples are more memorable. Moreover they give further expectation for the next year’s installations and implementations in terms of creating an exhibition experience.
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