navigate dubai design week 2018 events with their interactive, AR app

with 230 events spread over the dubai design district (d3) as well as the whole city, dubai design week 2018 will be its largest, busiest and best edition so far. inspiring local and international activities range from one-off installations to exhibitions, the downtown design fair to the global grad show, and keynote talks to public workshops.

to help visitors navigate the free-to-attend festival, which runs from november 12 – 17, an app has been built to create personalized schedules based on preferences and interests. from an interactive map to AR functionality, the official app also offers exclusive discounts and offers in the city – even a complimentary fast-track access pass to downtown design.

alia al mazrooei at ‘UAE design stories’
(main image: ‘original comes from VITRA’)
all images courtesy of dubai design week

at the heart of d3, facebook offers real-world activation to celebrate arab creative communities. customized workshops and knowledge sharing activities have been created with the aim of showcasing how people can use the social media platform to connect and build networks.

aljoud lootah at ‘UAE design stories’

eight of the brightest emirati talents have been united for the ‘UAE design stories: the next generation from the emirates’, curated by khalid shafar. with each designer sourcing inspiration from historic photographic archives of the country and its nomadic roots, the projects showcase contemporary works with a traditional link.

rouda al shamsi at ‘UAE design stories’

also presenting contemporary works but this time with a focus on french design, institut français in the UAE presents ‘le french design – how innovation creates history’, curated by maud louvrier-clerc. the exhibition groups 14 progressive projects that mix originality with the country’s rich design heritage.

abdulla almulla at ‘UAE design stories’

dubai design-incubator tashkeel exhibits ‘design+making UAE’, which explores the local design ecosystem, from concept to reality. this will include ‘make works UAE’ and the ‘tanween’ design program, with the latter creating a retail pop-up of affordable products.

the 2018 abwab pavilion will be designed by architecture + other things

also based regionally, DRAK – the design collective from dubai’s ras al khor community – presents an initiative titled ‘from RAK to DRAK’. designers amal haliq, faissal el-malak and khalid mazaina focus on three commercial outlets from their community. after research, each one has designed a new and contemporary product to display.

hussein hijazi at ‘protopieces’
image courtesy © ammar kalo

‘protopieces’ is an exhibition of furniture work designed by 12 students of the college of architecture, art and design at the american university of sharjah. each one explores and exemplifies a specific type of join or detail in wooden furniture design, creating thought-provoking yet extremely attractive forms.

bishoy abd el nour at ‘protopieces’
image courtesy © ammar kalo

already reaching iconic status, VITRA continues its roadshow exhibition ‘original comes from VITRA’ to highlight the stories behind some of their most famed and desired furniture pieces. the series of booths are each dedicated to an original and narrates its history through drawings, photographs and prototypes. examples of the work on display will include the ‘panton’ chair, ‘standard’ chair by jean prouve, and the ‘lounge’ chair by charles & ray eames.

at the same time as these exhibitions, dubai design week 2018 also hosts an extensive range of talks and panel discussions. highlights on the main stage at d3 include daan roosegaarde, paola navone and arab satirist karl sharro. ini archibong, marc ange, matthew mccormick and martyn lawrence bullard led a panel at downtown design, whilst AUDI middle east also hosts a series of innovation-led discussions at AUDI innovation hub. finally, UAE modern present a sustainability conference, named ‘people planet profits’, which includes expert panels and keynote speeches.

3D surface installation by SUPERFUTUREDESIGN

for professionals and the general public, the design festival welcomes everyone to workshops across the city. firstly, re:urban studio provides the setting for expert masterclasses. secondly, ‘making space’ at d3 encourages visitors to engage with design processes and creativity through first-hand activities, such as modelling, sculpting, weaving and sketching, led by UAE based and international creatives.

‘moire’ vases by atelier george at ‘le french design – how innovation creates history’