• Preview of the 2007 Design Annual
• Review of The Design Annual 2007, Inside: Private Identity, Part 1 – Design & Identity
• Review of The Design Annual 2007, Inside: Private Identity, Part 2 – Design & Materials
• Preview of Tendence Lifestyle 2007
• Review of Decorate Life: Tendence Autumn + Winter 2008
• All the Fun of the Fair - a Review of Decorate Life: Design Annual – Inside: Showtime
• Preview of Tendence 2009 – Why not decorate life?

Get ready for showtime!

Inside: showtime is the theme of The Design Annual 2008 between July 4 and 7 at the Frankfurt Messe, Germany, and it promises color, action, excitement and much to fascinate. The Design Annual is a discussion-oriented event that looks at processes within society as a whole. It is aimed at architects, interior designers, leading specialist dealers, property developers, head buyers and building project organizers as well as members of the public.

Showtime is a many-facetted concept – it is the moment that actors step in the limelight and take center stage, but it is also the moment when something that was shadowy and unformed begins to take on a distinct shape and substance. This year’s The Design Annual takes a close look at everything surrounding showtime: presentation, perception, visualization and orchestration, with the aim of stimulating discussion on how they have changed and their effects.

In its complementary program, this interdisciplinary showcase will be presenting famous designers and artists such as British lighting designer Paul Cocksedge, who will be talking about his perception of light and design, while furniture designer Jerzy Seymour’s performance deals with the different levels of reality of showing and looking and examines the relationship between staging and the viewer.

The complementary program will also feature young talent alongside experts and artists from other disciplines. Visitors will be able to enjoy a fashion show of chairs organized by designer and journalist Markus Frenzi, where various manufacturers will be launching their models on the catwalk. The designers of the architectural concept for the Design Annual 2008, Tobias Rehberger and Claus Richter, will also be taking part in the complementary program by offering a little touch of magic. Come see how color, special effects and staging can combine to change perceptions.

A Tendency Towards Design

This year’s Tendence Autumn and Winter is a first: it’s the first time the event is being held together with other important events in the same area under the umbrella name Decorate Life. Tendence will take place from July 4 to 8 and will also be at the Frankfurt Messe in Germany. Together with The Design Annual and Collectione Preview Spring and Summer, Tendence Autumn and Winter will be showing its design and lifestyle oriented offering with products and accessories from the fields of home, giving, cooking and pleasure.

Around 1,600 exhibitors will be showcasing their goods and ideas aimed at a broad range of audiences, from advice-oriented specialist retailers, home & furnishing stores and boutiques to design and concept shops as well as buyers from the international wholesale trade. Eight product groups and their tantalizing offerings are the reason for coming. Choose from “gifts unlimited”; “manufacture & collectibles”; “kids world”; “table & decoration”; “interiors & decoration”; “carat”; “young & trendy” and “loft”.

The breadth and diversity of the products on offer, combined with the size of the overall Decorate Life event, makes it a date not to be missed for everyone in the retail and manufacturing sectors.