• Preview of Material Vision 2007
• Blog from 100% Design London 2007
• Review of Berlin Fashion Week
• Interview with Lars Contzen - Page 1
• Review of Decorate Life: Tendence Autumn + Winter 2008

By Le Vin Chin

“Klein aber oho,” was Ramona Rockel of form Magazine’s verdict, “Small, but worthwhile.” And, indeed, Material Vision at the Messe Frankfurt was a small, but fascinating show. “You won’t find materials scientists here,” warned Karsten Bleymehl of Material ConneXion, and indeed, it was a show targeted at designers, in pointed contrast to the Materialica a few weeks prior.

Designs at the ContzenTrade stand. Interview with Lars Contzen.

It wasn’t any one type of designer either. The exhibitors were pleased to find designers from almost every field, automotive interiors, interior designers, architects and industrial designers were all represented. It was why they had signed up for Material Vision, now in its 3^rd edition, after all.

But actually, it wasn’t the professional designers who caught my eye as I entered the hall, but rather the swarms of students enjoying a day out and making their first fledgling contacts with industry. Based on this outing, I’d say industry has nothing to fear – the talent pool is vast!

Hat pattern on Tyvek^® PE fleece, by Schmitthut

But who was the industry who was there? A fascinating cross-section: major and less well-known names, suppliers of basic materials all the way to suppliers of consumer products. Swarovski and Corian (DuPont) were here, as were NCS. I saw a lot of ceramics with specialized properties, aluminum and technical textiles. The booths also ran the gamut, from the basic to the most creative. Here are some of the highlights:

Baking and Cooking Cups Vectra

Ticona, the polymer manufacturer were there for the first time, as part of their new Design campaigns.  Their stand presentation caught my eye, first bringing cultural mega-trends (in Sports, for example, or Personal Care) into perspective, before narrowing the focus into how their materials could be used to enhance performance in those areas.

kukI and kukO, by Ben Wirth

designafairs, the “full service” design agency, were also there, along with some of their materials supplier-partners in their Color Lab initiative. Michael Lanz of designafairs said the experience was very worthwhile: “We’re getting very good resonance here – with all kinds of designers and students, engineers, marketing people and product managers here - and due to the overwhelming interest all the partners’ samples have all gone already after three hours!”

Photoluminescent pigments on ceramic at LUX

One of the aforementioned aluminum suppliers and part of the designafairs stand partnership, Angell-Demmel showed an incredible variety of aluminum surfaces, with a variety of textures and finishes, achieved by brushing, printing, embossing and etching. Their main contacts are designers and they found Material Vision brought them together with the right people.

Rings made of Corian and flocked on the inside

In the afternoon, I went over to the conference area and caught the panel discussion, moderated by Chris Lefteri. Sustainability had again been of highest interest throughout the conference day and the panel ruminated on how difficult it was to get people and companies to actually want to do it. Strong cost arguments - of sustainability and of implementing sustainable solutions - needed still to be developed. Aside from that, an interesting discussion was also had on how sensitive consumers are to the materials used in their everyday environment, with Goretex given as a good example of penetration into the quotidian consciousness.

The Design Plus exhibit

Later that first evening of the event, came the announcements of the winners of the 2^nd Design Plus Awards, curated by the German Design Council, to recognize achievements in design and the innovative use of materials in design. The accompanying exhibit had already been a popular highlight of the show. My personal favorites were flocked rings made of Corian, kukI and kukO, wall lights which regress into infinity, and Schmitthut’s Do-it-yourself Hat Kit.

Swarovski is a trademark of Swarovski AG
Corian and Tyvek are trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Goretex is a trademark of W.L. Gore & Associates