Join us on May 13 for "Common Sense", the second festival of the Design Academy, which will investigate designers' power to transform our world through the most fundamental human interfaces: texture and scent, sound and vision.
Featuring Talks & Presentations By:
Jay Osgerby, Barber & Osgerby
Nelly Ben Hayoun, NBH Studios
Harry Parr, Bompas & Parr
Chandler Burr, scent critic
New Reality Company, makers of Tree
The second season from the Design Academy at A/D/O brings us to our senses. Amid the fractious cultural climate of the moment, A/D/O will seek to discover if shared perceptual experiences can foster a kind of common sense.
An installation by design studio PlayLab will challenge the limits of our perception and interactive demos of New Reality Company's Tree and Giant Films, while speakers including Chandler Burr (the New York Times' only perfume critic to date) and Bompas & Parr (the minds behind the breathable cocktail) will undermine expectations of what forms exhibitions — or products — might take. With an audacious program of workshops and interventions, "Common Sense" will consider how designers can affect our experience of the “now” — and what that might mean for the future.
9am-10am - Coffee & registration
10am-10:15 - Welcome from Nate Pinsley, Managing Director and introduction by Daniel Pittman, Design Director, A/D/O
Location: Urban-X space
10:15am – 11:00 – Panel: PlayLab & Friends Introduce the theme of “Common Sense”
Panelists: Archie Lee Coates, IV and Luiza Dale, Playlab; Ben Sisto, designer; and Carly Ayres, Partner, HAWRAF
Moderator: Max Fraser, journalist & advisor, A/D/O
Location: Urban-X space
11:15am - 12:15 - Presentation by Nelly Ben Hayoun: "Designing the Impossible"
Moderator: Greg Lindsay, journalist
Location: Urban-X space
The Willy Wonka of Design and Science, critical explorer and fearless and passionate provocateur, Wired Innovation Fellow and designer Nelly Ben Hayoun will create a space for thoughts, debate and provocation around the sociological and critical impact of new technologies. She will define her design work and practice as a Designer of Experiences and demonstrate how the Human Condition can prevail over technology. She will introduce members of the public to her ‘hammering and total bombardment’ philosophy.
12:30pm – 1:30 – Presentation by Harry Parr, Bompas & Parr: "The Dirty Senses: Who's in Control?"
Location: Urban-X space
Challenging our perception of taste and smell this interactive talk will show how each person's experience of the world is radically different because of genetics, social conditioning and the environment.
How can we learn from our interaction with food and drink to unlock the power of the senses in design?
1:30pm – 2:30 – Lunch by NORMAN
Location: NORMAN Restaurant & Atrium
2:30pm – 3:00 – Presentation by New Reality Company, A/D/O Designers-in-Residence
Moderator: Arwa Mahdawi, journalist, The Guardian
Location: Urban-X space
3:15pm – 4:15 pm – Presentation by Chandler Burr: Scent Design 101: What You Can't See Can Thrill You
Location: Urban-X space
Design using the medium of scent raw materials, from rose oxide to cis-3-hexanol, is every bit as concrete and powerful as in any other medium. Journalist and former New York Times scent critic Chandler Burr argues it’s probably more powerful, if humans could just get over their visual cortex. In this talk, Burr gives us an experience of multiple and wildly different scent designs.
4:30pm - 5:30 Keynote by Jay Osgerby, Barber & Osgerby: Making Sense
Moderator: Max Fraser, journalist & A/D/O
Location: Urban-X space
The positive manipulation of peoples' senses is a fundamental outcome of creating successful, desirable and memorable projects. Designers make objects, spaces and even experiences intuitively. They overlay their own references, emotions and memories onto a project's development - mostly without asking how or why.
Jay Osgerby, one half of design studio Barber & Osgerby, makes an analysis of some of the studios major projects - deconstructing them, seeing which of the senses they have manipulated, intentionally or subconsciously. Osgerby proposes a new way of appraising and understanding the studio’s output and uncovers new ways of thinking about what they do and why they do it.
ABOUT THE DESIGN ACADEMY
The Design Academy is the flagship program of A/D/O to illuminate the issues and boundaries of contemporary design. It informs every aspect of the A/D/O experience, from events to installations, and explores a new theme every 4 months.
At the heart of A/D/O is the Design Academy, which offers a range of programming for professional designers, intended to provoke and invigorate their creative practices. It informs every aspect of the A/D/O experience, from events to installations, and explores a new theme every season.
ABOUT A/D/O
A/D/O is a creative space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn dedicated to exploring new boundaries in design. At its heart is the Design Academy, which offers a range of programming to professional designers, intended to provoke and invigorate their creative practice. It convenes pioneers from diverse backgrounds and engages in thorough exploration of new frontiers – to spark debate and inspire relevant new work.
Built for designers yet open to all, A/D/O provides opportunities for professional development while inviting the public into its 23,000 square-foot space — to work and explore design through a range of installations, exhibitions and events.
A/D/O was founded by MINI as part of the company’s own design practice and continued exploration of innovations that improve urban life. It aims to stimulate great design and be a prolific source of new ideas for the future.
For questions about the Festival or the Design Academy, please email Ben Scheim: ben@a-d-o.com
Press may contact press@a-d-o.com to apply for a press pass.
