DIT has launched ‘Design DIT’ as part of Design Week and Innovation Dublin. It is a showcase of work by 34 young designers who have graduated from DIT since the start of the 21st century. They include award-winning designers of furniture and interiors, product designers, animators, illustrators and graphic designers. While some of the contributors are continue to design in Ireland, others are working and exhibiting abroad, in London, Berlin, and New York.
Head of Design at the DIT School of Art Design and Printing, Kieran Corcoran, said the purpose of the exhibition is to remind people about excellence in design in Ireland. “Design Week aims to highlight the important contribution that good design makes to our cultural, economic and social lives.” He continued, “we felt this was a good moment to look back over the first decade of this 21st century and see a snapshot of the outstanding contribution that our DIT graduates have gone on to make as professional designers.”
President of DIT, Professor Brian Norton, said at the opening that “this exhibition provides a perfect opportunity to stand and admire some beautiful examples of good design in a variety of forms.”
Rina Keane and Kieran Corcoran enjoying Jenny Walsh's furniture design at the Design DIT exhibition
The showcase was just one part of the Innovation Dublin Festival, which runs until 18 November. Highlights include ‘Dublinked’, a workshop that will look at how data and information can be used to create jobs and opportunities, along with a seminar entitled ‘Afraid of the Dark’ which will examine the opportunities the incandestant lightbulb has offered to the design and technology sectors.
Dublin City Manager John Tierney says “For the third year running Innovation Dublin highlights the innovation and creativity that is happening across the city in so many fields. It will reinforce Dublin’s international position as a leading location for entrepreneurship.”
Dublin Lord Mayor Andrew Montague was similarly positive: “Innovation Dublin showcases the talents, dedication and hard work that is contributing to Ireland’s economic recovery. It will bring together people like web designers, educators, food producers, artists, fashion designers and entrepreneurs in an exciting programme that promises to stir the imagination.”
