Design Preis Schweiz Exhibition @ Cité du Temps  - Design Talk:

How does Design influence Economy and vice versa?

The recently held DPS Design Talk brought together four Swiss design experts in front of an intrigued audience. The topics of this panel discussion was the influence between designers and the economy - a relation with many faces and forms.

Martin Heller is the director of the Museum of Design in Zurich, a cultural entrepreneur and author of many articles and books. He was the artistic director of the Swiss National Exposition in 2002 and part of the jury for the Design Preis Schweiz 2009.

Pierre Keller is the director of the renowned University of Art and Design Lausanne (ECAL). With his strong dedication and unconventional ideas, he has successfully built ECAL's reputation as a well known design university even beyond the borders of Switzerland.

Patrick Reymond, architect and designer, chairs the Federal Design Commission. He is also one of the partners of a design agency.

Heidi Wegener, former Administrative Director at the College of Art and Design Zurich; has been the curator of Design Preis Schweiz for many years until today.

The talk was moderated by Maroun Zahar, editor-in-chief of the Swiss design magazine Espaces Contemporains.

From left to right: Martin Heller, Heidi Wegener, Maroun Zahar, Patrick Reymond, Pierre Keller

To Pierre Keller, a successful relationship between design and economy is all about finding the right partner. “A good partner not only supports a designer financially but also with know-how and opportunities - that is just as important as money”, he said.
Martin Heller agreed with this definition: Superficial sponsoring and funding should best be replaced with an intelligent cooperation from which both sides can profit. However, this more intense partnership requires knowledge about each other’s needs and expectations.
Good sponsorship is much more than just giving money to designers - it is about creating publicity for them, giving them an opportunity to present their work and making the relationship beneficial for both parties.

“The partnership with private funders can be extremely fruitful because they usually expect more for their investments”, Heidi Wegener stated, “money given by the state is often less tied to high expectations”.
Therefore, Pierre Keller finds it very important to prepare his students for the reality of a designer’s career: “We cannot become too academic and we must never forget our future clients out there”.

Design has a vital function in today’s society - it connects culture to economy.

Heidi Wegener presenting the exhibition

The talk was followed by a happy hour. A young DJ provided musical entertainment with the pocket-sized DJ system Pacemaker that had won the Rado Product Design Award at the Design Preis Schweiz 2009. Thomas Schaad, the creator of the Pacemaker, was also present. He and the DJ had a good time discussing the advantages of this innovative gadget.
The guests - an inspiring mix of designers, students, and interested non-professionals - enjoyed debating with the design experts and took the opportunity to have a look at the Design Preis Schweiz exhibition.