Brit Insurance Designs of the Year

Over the summer, I visited for the first time this year’s Brit Insurance Designs of the Year exhibition at the London Design Museum. I really enjoyed it, I loved how there was work from all the different sectors of the design industry, and I found it really interesting to view the non-graphics work as it was fantastic to see what they were capable of.

Entries came from all over the world and there was such an amazing selection to view. One of my favourites was High Line Park in the architecture category. Located in New York, High Line Park is 1.5miles long and built on a neglected elevated railroad. It was designed by James Corner Field Operations, a landscape architecture and urban design company and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, an architecture company. I love the idea of reenergising a previously abandoned and disused space, and I greatly admire the designers for maintaining what was left behind and adding a modern twist whilst blending in with the original foundations.

The Daily Visual Column for de Volkskrant by the Dutch Gorilla collective also caught my eye. Six times a week, they are allowed three hours to create a graphic related to the day’s news, which is then printed on the front of de Volkskrant, a Dutch newspaper. I was attracted to this entry partly because of the challenge of having to work under the pressure of a deadline nearly every day. I also admire the collective because their visuals are simple, bold and a tad cheeky. If de Volkskrant was available in England, I would buy it just for the tiny graphic in the corner, despite the fact I can only say 2 things in Dutch: "great" and "that tastes really nice."

I’d definitely recommend the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year exhibition, and it will without question become an annual trip for me.