WHAT DESIGN MEANS TODAY Our judges on the issues facing the industry and the search for solutions
DESIGN, right now, in the early autumn of 2020, is flourishing. Yes, this year has been full of challenges that have affected brands big and small, but creativity is booming. That was the feeling at the judging day for this year’s Homes & Gardens Awards, where our team of industry experts met virtually to discuss the merits of dozens of designers and creative stars, all nominated by the panel themselves.
In fact, this feels like a time of revolution. Routes to customers have never been easier, as more and more creatives take to social media and the internet to sell their wares, while technology is allowing new materials to be born, old materials to be reused and ancient techniques to be given new life. At the same time, the industry is trying desperately to answer the questions around sustainability and, as the Black Lives Matter movement gathers pace, about inclusivity and how design can be more open to all.
Sustainability dominated the conversation, particularly how true sustainability is hard to achieve. ‘The basic principle is that for something to be really sustainable, it has to be able to be broken down again and again, and used for something else,’ said designer Sebastian Cox. ‘A lot of times, people will take junked material, cast it into resin and make it into something else, which is okay because it uses materials otherwise doing nothing, but it’s not truly circular as the resin means it won’t be able to be broken down again.’ It’s a hard-line approach, but a criterion that several of the entrants discussed were able to meet. Not that anyone who didn’t was automatically dismissed. ‘I don’t want to make good the enemy of perfect,’ said Charu Gandhi, designer and founder of the design practice Elicyon. ‘There is merit in doing something, at least, and it’s better to try to be sustainable than be too scared of doing it wrong and do nothing at all.’
Other issues facing the industry included how to support supply chains. ‘As soon as lockdown began I was heartened to hear everyone talk about how we must support British factories and get those orders in to keep them running,’ said Lulu Lytle, founder of Soane. ‘But no one mentioned that there are factories overseas that need our help too, places in India, Vietnam and China that are run ethically and keep entire communities going.’
What emerged from the mound of nominations were people who offer a mix of answers to the questions currently being posed. From using 3D printers in the hope of avoiding creating waste to breathing new life into handcarving principles with a range of breathtaking wooden spoons, the winners and shortlist represent the breadth of talent that Britain has to offer. They’re the names to know, the people to be inspired by and the brands that are going to keep this country at the forefront of creativity. →