D3 Design Talents showcase at German event
Koelnmesse has been promoting a special presentation format for international young designers on various levels since 2006 New locations set to enhance the integration of the presentations with events at the fair

The forum for upcoming designers and colleges, D3 Design talents, will be taking place in familiar form in 2011 too - with the three areas D3 Professionals, D3 Contest and D3 Schools. For students and designers who are still at the outset of their career, D3 Design talents offers a unique opportunity to present themselves to both professional circles and the media. Over the last few years, D3 Design talents has evolved into a real highlight for visitors to the imm cologne, bringing fresh impetus to the interior design sector with creative ideas, abundant talent and fresh perspectives.

The compact format of the D3 Contest has proved particularly attractive - perhaps because it crystallises the creative potential of the next designer generation into concentrated form. The exhibition is curated by the German Design Council - the best 30 works amongst the numerous entries are selected for the show and the best three contestants presented with an award. All students and graduates who qualified less than three years ago are eligible to enter their prototypes. The D3 Contest aims to give young designers a platform where they can present their interpretations of the furniture, lighting, home textiles and accessories of the future to an international public.

Visitors will find the D3 Professionals a few steps further on - independent designers and design studios who surprise the public with their unusual concepts and original design and have come to the imm cologne in search of contact with manufacturers and dealers. They include groups like "unseen products" with their Fair Trade concept or the British group BEDG with fresh design from the United Kingdom. The D3 Schools section is a very special attraction, for it is often not so much about the design items as the creative process itself. For some years now, not just German colleges but an increasing number of schools from abroad have been demonstrating how engaging with design can heighten perception and result in some very different forms of creative collaboration. D3 Schools not only provides a professional framework in which the institutions can present their course content from the fields of architecture, interior architecture and product design, it also draws attention to some outstanding student projects. Awards for the three best presentations are also presented to the schools; last year the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle proved particularly convincing. One new development next January will be the presentation form, which will integrate newcomer designers in particular more closely with events at the fair. Instead of being located in the lower section of Hall 3 as in the past, the presentations of the D3 Contest winners will be exhibited in the "pure village" section. The stands of the D3 Professionals will also be occupying their own "quarters" here - i.e. one floor higher in Hall 3.2. With its high standards of design, the intimate atmosphere and systematic fair architecture of the "pure village" format launched in 2010 provides the ideal setting for the creative fireworks of the next designer generation and their unconventional ideas. And the colleges are being given even more space for their presentations in a very special location: in 2011, D³ Schools will be situated in the Congress Centre near the northern foyer. With its high air space and abundant daylight, it is the perfect setting for large-format installations. "Just like the world of interior design, the imm cologne is in a state of constant change. But when it comes to promoting newcomers, we believe continuity is key," says CEO of Koelnmesse Gerald Böse of the restructuring. "In 2011 we will be taking some particularly big steps on our way to becoming the most modern interior design fair, for instance with the integration of the new LivingKitchen format as well as the increased involvement of major textile brands in the specially created forum "pure textile". However, D3 Design talents has become such an integral part of the way we see ourselves that, when it came to finding a new location, we wanted to bring our newcomer platform even closer to the public."

SOURCE: Koelnmesse
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