Design Week: Global Experts to Converge in Kochi from Dec 12-14

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Billed as India’s largest design conclave, the second edition of Kochi Design Week (KDW-2019) will be held from December 12 to 14 at Bolgatty Palace, bringing together experts from across the world to discuss the global trends in design and architecture and position Kerala as an international destination for design companies.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will address the valedictory session of the conclave on December 14. S D Shibulal, Chairman, High Power IT Committee (HPIC) and Co-Founder and Former CEO of Infosys, will inaugurate the event on December 12 at 10am.

The mega event will witness the assemblage of design professionals from India and abroad, heads of various design companies, architects, interior designers, thought leaders, policymakers and government officials besides the general public. The summit is being organised by the Electronics and IT Department of Government of Kerala in association with international bodies such as World Design Organisation (WDO) and Interaction Design Association (IxDA).

The presentations and deliberations will focus on making Kerala a global hub for design companies and the newest trends in design in various domains.

“The summit is being held at a time when there is an increasing awareness that design is an inevitable reality in almost all segments and not a luxury, as it was considered for long,” said M Sivasankar, Secretary, Electronics and IT, Govt. of Kerala, at a press meet here on Wednesday.“One of the aims of the event is to provide design inputs for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in product ecosystem.”

The list of speakers includes top representatives from companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, TATA Elxsi, YouTube, ISCA London, Indigo Airlines, Titan Company and PWC. Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty will also share his experiences and insights. The meet assumes added significance as it comes in the backdrop of the state government’s decision to set up a Centre of Excellence for Design in Kochi. Besides attracting big players in the field, it will have facilities to incubate startups and other nascent ventures.

Taking cue from the previous edition of the Design Festival, Silicon Valley-based Lumium Design has started its unit in Kerala. More companies, including social media majors, have shown keen interest in coming to Kerala, and parleys with them are on, Sivasankar said.

Arun Balachandran, CM’s IT Fellow, said around 5,000 delegates and 100-plus speakers are expected to attend the event. Curated by leading experts, KDW 2019 will chiefly hold sessions on design and architecture, besides holding exhibitions and installations. A food fair, which will exhibit 100 specially chosen items, has also been planned at the venue, highlighting the significance of design in food craft. These popular dishes will be selected from 20 restaurants in and around Kochi.

Another highlight of this year’s event is the charting of an exclusive ‘Design Island’ for the hosting of the annual event and setting up of design installations across Kochi’s high-visibility areas, besides laying special tracks for design architecture and interior designs.

The KDW 2018 had showcased technology options of use in any rebuilding phase as installations for various stakeholders to experience them. There will be free entry for the public after 6pm. For more details, visit www.kochidesignweek.org.