DIRNDL
AND DESIGN

NADINE
VICENTINI

Nadine Vicentini, Managing Director of bayern design, talks to us about munich creative business week (mcbw), Germany’s biggest design event, high tech in Bavaria, and the ambivalent role of designers in societal discourse.

The upcoming mcbw has the bold motto of Why disruption unleashes creativity. What does it mean to have such a powerful motto?

 

  N
V

It highlights our philosophy of opening up the mcbw to debate and discourse. Of course our roots are in the world of design, but during that week we raise the really important issues of our time and strive to spark discourse across society as a whole. We hope to explore a multitude of different perspectives, and that’s very clearly expressed in this year’s motto: two powerful concepts, disruption and creativity, that have themselves already sparked debate. That moment alone was wonderful because it flipped a switch in our minds: we have to break out of our bubbles.

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Designers are connectors, accustomed to dealing with a wide variety of different sectors and skills, opinions and hierarchies, and knitting the whole together to create a service or a product. But are they trapped in their own design bubble?

 

  N
V

Oh yes. Designers are connectors in a whole slew of directions; they can integrate other disciplines, carve out new facets and combine them with existing elements. And yet I would still wish for more openness in design. Because design has comfort zones populated by like-minded people, all thinking along the exact same lines with no need to explain themselves in any great depth. It’s only human, of course. But that was why the mcbw’s approach from the outset was to bring together different perspectives, first and foremost those of design and business.

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The business aspect of the mcbw is reflected in the name.

 

  N
V

I’m delighted that creative business is so prominent there. It throws creativity open to the idea of creative business—business that’s based on a creative approach. In Bavaria, this kind of creativity has a strong presence alongside classic product and communication design or UX (user experience) design. It seems as though new subdisciplines are constantly emerging, because design is such a broad field and is continuously changing and developing.

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Would you say the mcbw’s approach of bringing business and design together is its USP, setting it apart from other design festivals?

 

  N
  V

It’s certainly an important core aspect of the event. Of course there are other aspects too, some likewise represented at other design events. Like the emphasis on networking, showing how people can benefit from each other. The fascinating thing is actually the question of what we understand by business. There are so many different facets to business, so many different cultures. And when we talk about business, we’re also talking about society and social transformation, sustainability, and much more besides.

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The mcbw has long had the status of Germany’s biggest design show. Where will the next level take it?

 

  N
  V

We’re a member of the World Design Weeks network. We all share a passion for increasing the visibility of design and for carving out a fitting space for the topics of creativity and design within the context of our age and within the context of transformation. Operating within a network is a constant enrichment, and an opportunity for everyone to learn. Constantly developing and honing various positions is a vital part of that—and of design itself.

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When it comes to positioning Munich among other festivals, is there strong competition, rigorous benchmarking …?

 

  N
V

Collaboration is a far greater priority. I always keep my eyes open for opportunities to operate together. That should actually be the impetus for us all, when I think of our knowledge society. It’s a win-win situation. Competition is only focused on public attention. Our society caters to every kind of need, and design festivals cater to the need to generate dialogue and debate among creative minds and with society. We’re an important and integrative part of society, and that plays out at a variety of locations.

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But there’s still a lingering impression of design as something that needs to be explained. Even after 150 years of modernism, the fundamental questions are still the same, or at least similar. Has absolutely nothing changed? We hear again and again: No, it’s not only about styling, it’s fundamental. But why does this debate have to be rolled out over and over again? Has there been some kind of communication failure?

 

  N
V

In fact, design as a subject and the role of designers, or the profession—if we can even talk of a single, uniform profession—actually do have to be explained over and over again and justified in some way. Part of that is because design isn’t a simple, straightforward discipline, but a complex topic. Not even the design community itself is always in agreement. Design is not predictable. Open-endedness is an innate element of design, so that it can never really be pinned down. But on the other hand, design is acknowledged by many fields as an intrinsic part of them. COVID-19 served as a catalyst. We need the creativity of design and its approach to tackling issues. Given this, there are two aspects: the role of enlightener, and the role of communicator. We have to keep presenting the results of design vigorously and proactively, again and again.

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WHY
DISRUPTION UNLEASHES CREATIVITY