Women have been largely absent from the design historical canon. And the fact that female practitioners have not always been as celebrated as their male counterparts has significantly impacted our understanding of contemporary design. Therefore, SWPS University, in collaboration with the National Museum in Gdańsk and the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design in Tallinn, held a seminar showcasing the work of Polish, Estonian, and British female designers. The seminar proceedings are now available to download.
Design as a story: an online seminar
Design is an inseparable part of our lives. Whether it is furniture, everyday utilitarian objects, fashion, book covers, or signage in public places — we are surrounded by the fruits of labor of numerous designers. We see their designs, but we often know nothing about the designers themselves.
Consequently, SWPS University partnered with the National Museum in Gdańsk and the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design in Tallinn to organize an interdisciplinary online seminar on female design, Design Stories. The event was held on November 25–26, 2021, and showcased a perspective of female Polish designers who mainly work abroad and designers and researchers from Estonia and Great Britain. The researchers and historians focused on the socio-economic transformation of the design market, while the practitioners shared their personal experiences and ideas.
Excerpt from the proceedings
Excerpt from the proceedings
Excerpt from the proceedings
The seminar proceedings include presentations on female designers, their works and inspirations, as well as groundbreaking design trends, such as a new approach to household ceramics, a smart wearable device for preventing dance injuries, and designing learning experiences.
DOWNLOAD SEMINAR PROCEEDINGS
- Editors: Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, SWPS University; Gian Luca Amadei, Royal College of Art
- Text edit: Anna Jasiewicz
- Proofreading: Andrzej Samsel
- Graphic design: Kasia Kubicka
- Text: Authors
- Illustration: Anna Rosinke
- Photography: Dario Lombardi
- Publishers: National Museum in Gdańsk, SWPS University; ISBN 978-83-66433-30-4, ISBN 978-83-62443-89-5, Gdańsk-Warszawa 2022
The Design Stories seminar was part of a two-year project Looking Through Objects, carried out by SWPS University in cooperation with the National Museum in Gdańsk and the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (Eesti Tarbekunsti-ja Disainimuuseum) in Tallinn. The project is curated by Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, Ph.D., Dean of SWPS University's Faculty of Design in Warsaw and Program Director of SWPS University’s School of Form, Gian Luca Amadei, Ph.D., from the Royal College of Art in London, and Dario Lombardi, an independent photographer from Vienna.
About the Looking Through Objects project
The main goal of the project is to showcase Polish female designers and present their best designs to a worldwide audience. Through various objects, experiences, and design approaches, the curators want to depict the socio-economic transformation that has occurred in the design market over the last decade.
In 2022, the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design in Tallinn, which is the strategic partner of the project, hosted the Looking Through Objects traveling exhibition.
Learn more about the project
Looking Through Objects is a two-year project, financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage as part of the “Kultura Inspirująca” (Inspiring Culture) program.
Organizers
Co-organizer
Strategic partner
Partners