London Design Festival – 100% Design

100% Design, the trade show staple of London Design Festival, is under new management this year, and has a rather fresh new look.

Outside the venue
Outside the venue

Media 10 bought 100% from previous owner Reed Exhibitions at the start of the year, and installed former LDF deputy director Will Knight to head it up.

One of Knight’s first moves was to bring in consultancy Shaw + Skerm to create a new look for the long-established show.

The Collider light tunnel artwork
The Collider light tunnel artwork

Shaw + Skerm has kept the Angus Hyland-designed 100% identity, but added new branding, based on the concept of ‘inspiring connections’.

This new look is used to full effect in the 45m-long LED ‘light-tunnel’ that leads visitors from the entrance to the main 100% bar.

The Collider light tunnel artwork
The Collider light tunnel artwork

Designed by Neil Musson and Jono Retallick, the Collider artwork apparently takes inspiration from neural systems and fungal networks…

And as well as being used on signage and wayfinding, there are also nods to the ‘inspiring connections’ idea in other installations, such as Paul Cocksedge’s auditorium and the glow-in-the-dark Concept Style Coupé stand for Mercedes.

The Paul Cocksedge-designed auditorium
The Paul Cocksedge-designed auditorium

As well as undergoing a brand overhaul, 100% also has a new layout, making it much easier to navigate than previous shows.

The show’s main spine is an avenue of Emerging Brands, from which lead four sections: Office, Interiors, Eco Design And Build and Kitchens and Bathrooms.

The Mercedes installation
The Mercedes installation

All the usual stands – office furniture, carpet tiles etc – are present and correct, and there’s a strong international presence too. Pandering to stereotypes, the Austria stand offers schnitzel canapés, while the Argentina stand boasts live tango…

One of the most popular stands was Yo! Home, the new concept from Yo! Sushi and Yotel founder Simon Woodroffe, is an installation in which mechanised floors and furniture emerge from the walls, floors and ceilings at the touch of the button.

Queueing for Yo!Home
Queueing for Yo!Home

And two stands provided a much-needed counterpoint to the 100% commercial morass.

The University of Brighton has brought its touring exhibition On Our Doorsteps to the show. Exhibitors were tasked to develop work that responded to their localities, with results including Dominic Wilcox’s Sound of Making – a vinyl recording of makers in Hackney, and Max Lamb’s masonry-carved 1882 Crockery.

The Mercedes installation
The Great Recovery stand

And also going against the grain is The Great Recovery stand. The Great Recovery initiative, run by Royal Society of Arts design directors Sophie Thomas and Nat Hunter, aims to reduce product waste by informing and engaging designers with all stages of the product cycle – from design to disposal.

The Thomas Matthews-designed Great Recovery stand is a mess of old DVD players, mobile phones and TV remotes, all taken from Islington-based repair and reuse shop Bright Sparks.

The aims, says Sophie Thomas, is to confront designers with the visceral, visual consequences of product waste.

The Great Recovery will also be hosting the launch of Daniel Charny’s Fixperts initiative – which aims to set-up a network of problem ‘fixers’ – on Saturday.

100% Design runs until 22 September at Earls Court, London. For more information visit www.100percentdesign.co.uk.

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  • Kirsteen Martin November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    In amendment to the above article:the tunnel installation, entrance and bar area was Not designed by Jono and Neil Musson – it was designed by Studio design UK and Shaw & Skerm. Manufactured by firecracker and lighting installed by Renegade design. The only element produced by Jono and Neil was the collider chandelier located at the entrance.

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