DCA attended Milan Design Week 2018

DCA attended Milan Design Week to gain insights and inspiration from one of the biggest design fairs in Europe.

This year’s instalment of Salone was no exception and DCA was on hand to capture the key exhibition highlights surrounding the main fair. Every edition of the event has an extraordinary amount of insight to offer; Milan 2018 provided a glimpse of what’s coming next, whether surprising new brands, talks or tech innovations.

Exploration, trialling and testing have been celebrated throughout the show with a number of brands exhibiting honesty of development and delivery through process exploration. Openness and sharing were evident with big brands like Bang and Olufsen making a show of their process and thinking. Nendo’s exploratory models in their ‘HIDDEN SENSES’ experience elevated humble working prototypes to works of kinetic art.

This year saw a new generation of experience exploration where the capture of a reaction was explored. From individual moments through a focused lens to an arena of 100’s both creating an emotional response and connection of personal involvement in an artistic creation.

This year a number of brands strived to create immersive experiences, most notably Sony, Miele and Nendo offered visitors heightened interactions and visual delights through their exhibitions. ‘HIDDEN SENSES’ a sensorial space exploring lifestyle and technology integration to deliver enriched interactions. ‘Creating New Dimensions’ is a 360° multimedia experience elevating new possibilities of cooking and ‘Forms of Movement’ where everyday objects were reimagined and explored fully through process and trialling.

Sonos and HAY collaborated in a joint exhibition space in the historic Palazzo Clerici. The elaborate interiors provided an evocative setting for the exhibition installations and featured new works from The Bouroullec Brothers, Stefan Diez, Gam Fratesi and many others, all immersed in spaces filled with yet not overwhelmed by Sonos sound.

Reaction to light through transparency and reflection continued the experience theme yet embodied in differing forms.

The evolution of smart devices into our daily lives has reached a point where we are surrounded and almost overwhelmed by smart objects. Design trends have evolved beyond conventional thinking between shape and function to reduce tech independence and create a seamless integration. The lines between technology and beautiful furniture are blurring in the everyday environment, technology is becoming invisible. Seamless tech was felt to be an overarching theme throughout the design week.