October means design! The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA) awaited those interested in design to 360 Design Budapest for the third time this year. The exhibition space realised in Bálna Budapest was filled with over 100 innovative design objects by more than 40 designers between the 3rd and the 9th of October. In addition, visitors could enjoy interesting roundtable discussions and speeches by star speakers, and discover the details of this year’s exhibition concept through guided tours.
Many people were interested in the physical and virtual design objects of the 31 Hungarian and over 10 regional designers selected by the professional jury: almost 3500 people visited the exhibition in person, and almost 300 000 users clicked on the event’s Facebook or Instagram pages.
This year, the theme of the exhibition appealed to a wide range of visitors again, from young to old, from professionals to amateur enthusiasts, attracting many to the event, which focused on storytelling and aimed to educate. This was obviously also due to the emphasis on the diversity of the design world in the exhibition space, which was divided into three sections. In the design history part created in collaboration with the Museum of Applied Arts, visitors had the chance to see the designs and a piece of furniture by Lajos Kozma, one of the most outstanding and internationally renowned artists of the early 20th century, among other things. The LED projectors in the middle section guided participants from the past to the future as a gate, using the tools of the present. The large displays came to life when the visitor approached them, causing jungle vegetation to appear around the 3D designs, while a virtual image of the piece of furniture they wanted to take a closer look at stood out. The third section awaited visitors with a real “oasis” of design, where industrial architecture and the abundance of plants formed a spectacular contrast, which strongly emphasised the design objects placed in front of them on pedestals as a background. The ceramic objects were presented in an exciting way as well: in one of the corners of the room, they were placed on a huge table, evoking the theme of The Last Supper with their composition. But even in the lounge area, visitors could spend time among the creations of Hungarian designers, where, naturally they could even purchase the design objects.
Many wanted to hear the star designers’ presentations, who enchanted the audience with their professionalism and experience. Piero Lissoni, one of the most outstanding architects and designers of our age, talked about his Hungary-related projects in detail as well in his presentation 1:1 Humanist Approach. Before the presentation, he held a guided tour with Gáspár Bonta, 360 Design Budapest’s programme director. Those who registered for the exclusive guided tours could gain a special experience as well: they were guided through the exhibition by Judit Osvárt, Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Decoration; Iván Vitáris, lead singer of the band Ivan & The Parazol; and Dr Judit Horváth, Head of the Department of the Contemporary Design Collection of the Museum of Applied Arts. Besides meeting their favourite designers during the Meet the Designer programmes, visitors could participate in two roundtable discussions of the HFDA Academy under the Inside Art & Design programme series created in collaboration with Art Market. Points of Intersection: Art & Design was the title of the English discussion in which international guests talked about the differences between art and design, their overlaps and intertwinement with the moderation of Nóra Winkler cultural expert. During the other roundtable discussion, Anita Korn, creator and creative producer of Ruhastory talked to designers participating in the design LAB incubational programme about collaboration as a driver of innovation.
Similarly to previous years, the exhibition was realised in cooperation with regional professional organisations such as Art Market Budapest, Budapest Design Week, Czechdesign, the Museum of Applied Arts, and LuCreate Design Development Foundation.
You can re-watch the sneak peek event video on the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s YouTube channel.