'Clerkenwell Design Week 2024 is a wrap, and what a week it was!' says Interface. During this year's event, the Pennybank showroom was packed full of seminars and workshops discussing the biggest challenges facing today's designers, including how to use colour effectively in workplace design, and specifying truly circular products. Visitors to the showroom also got an exclusive first look at new carpet tile collections, Earthen Forms and Etched & Threaded ahead of their official launch later in June.
Every year, Clerkenwell offers-provoking discussions and endless product inspiration, and this year did not disappoint. Clerkenwell also gives organisers the opportunity to see how key trends in the industry are developing and gauge emerging trends for the coming years.
Laura Light, the organising team's Concept Design Team Lead, shares her thoughts on what's next for commercial interiors: 'Demand is growing for designing spaces that focus on how people feel and behave, rather than purely aesthetic choices, for truly inclusive and supportive workspaces.' She continues. 'In our breakfast seminars on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, I was joined by behavioural design expert Karen Haller, where we discussed the importance of designers understanding the behaviours of end-users rather than making emotional, aesthetic-led specification decisions. We discussed the process of colour selection in accommodating neurodiversity and sensory needs, which involves understanding the client's needs, conducting a thorough analysis of the brief, and then selecting colours based on their psychological impact and harmony to deliver a space that truly supports individuals to do their best work.'
AI was another hot topic at this year's festival, with sessions exploring how designers can adopt the technology to create impressive designs that remain human-centred.
Blum UK hosted a talk on the AI landscape and the opportunities and challenges it poses, while ERCO and Zaha Hadid Architects hosted a series of three talks during the week on technology in design. These sessions explored how AI can be used to create better designs without losing the end-user focus that the industry is rightly shifting towards.
More information:
Interface
www.interface.com