ddp design fair

After the fair, what was the reaction when you proposed the product? The response was less strong than expected. I think the Tea Garden Rug didn't get a lot of traction at first because it's more of a relaxing, tranquil tea plantation look than a striking design. But as the sales increased, so did the satisfaction, and it became a best seller. What did it take to get the word out about the new rug?From the time we kicked off the Tea Garden Rug Project at the DDP Design Launching Fair until the launch of the product, we created content and showed it on various channels. The stories about why we started the project, our deliberations about the design, and how we created it together, made for great marketing material. As time went on, users naturally realized the value that a tea garden rug can add to an interior space and started to spread the word. A good match has led to a good product, what’s the next step?Many people still want to see the products in person, and they're more beautiful in person. Next year, we'll be opening a brick-and-mortar showroom, and we'll have a display that tells the story of the Tea Garden rug. In addition, we plan to expand our product lineup by utilizing the pattern design of the rug.What is the DDP Design Launching Fair to likethix and BEFORMATIVE?At likethix, our business model is that brands and designers should grow together as partners. Going beyond the idea that brands are clients and designers are workers, we believe that the growth of brands and designers as partners, maximizing each other's strengths, will have a great impact on the design industry in Korea. We believe that the DDP Design Launching Fair is a fair that fits this idea very well. We believe that the products created by designers and brands together will allow us to walk side by side with the brand without leaving out the designer's name, and create heritage over time, and the DDP Design Launching Fair is the starting point for this growth.  

Your relationship with the DDP Design Launching Fair continues with the Best Activity Award! The DDP Design Launching Fair is like a birthday that comes around once a year for designers and makers who want to share their products with the world. Nami Furniture and H.O.U Design received the gift of being in the final exhibition team the year we participated as a matched team, and this year we received the gift of the Best Activity Award. Is it too much to say it’s a gift in return? We will also try to move forward and expand instead of staying in the present. We hope that the DDP Design Launching Fair, which heard our stories and brought us out of the shadows, will continue like now.What were the challenges of distributing and selling your product? We were able to get a lot of interest through our exhibition at the DDP Design Launching Fair. At that time, we were greedy to do a lot of things using this opportunity, but it took time to open a store that sells our main product, Heim Cat Tower, and we couldn't keep the initial interest going. This was the most regretful thing, and it was difficult to get us back on the original trajectory. How have consumers responded to your products on online and offline store platforms? There was a lot of shared interest from customers for the idea, "How can we create a space where we can coexist with our pets? I think due to the rising standards of consumers and changes in their living environments it resonated with them. To get more realistic feedback, we regularly participate in platforms such as the fair every year to make direct contact with consumers and get their feedback.I'm curious about your approach to PR and marketing.As the Heim Cat Tower is a pretty but practical product for small spaces, we suggested collaborating to people who have difficulty living with their cats due to small spaces, and the promotion effect was very good. Sales surged due to reviews that reflected their high satisfaction from using the product. It was cost-effective because we targeted people who had the environment to use our product well, not just focusing on the number of followers they had. Tell us about your plans for the future.We have received many inquiries asking why we don't make dog furniture if we specialized in cat furniture, so we have newly launched a staircase dog furniture that follows the design of the 'Heim Series'. Also, we are preparing a slide type as there have been constant requests for products that cats can jump on. In the future, we plan to introduce additional products such as toys, curtains, and fabric products so that you can fill a room with the HOWOODESIGN product lineup. 

While we were busy preparing for the DDP Design Launching Fair, one question led to curiosity, and that curiosity led to a spotlight on the teams active after the fair. As a one-of-a-kind platform that matches designers and makers to develop products that don't exist anywhere else, what are some of the best products that have been created through the fair so far, and what are the designers and makers that created them doing now? The Best Activity Award, which is given to teams that are working on distribution and sales with even more passion for their products after the fair, is more than just a way to cheer them on, but a starting point for a virtuous cycle of design.The selection criteria was based on quantitative evaluations that can be objectively scored and qualitative evaluations such as capabilities, development potential, and popularity, with particular weight given to quantitative evaluations of store (distribution) status, sales performance, and publicity. After announcing the purpose of the Best Activity Award, the application rate was low as it was the first time it was held through application. However, as collaboration curator Ha Ji-hoon said, "I think the award for the best activity team is as meaningful as the collaboration, and I hope that more teams will know the purpose of the award and apply next year." This will be something to look forward to in future fairs.  

In July, the Launching Studio Review, held on the second floor of DDP Design Lab, ran well over the scheduled time and was both playful and serious. This is because all 41 teams that participated in the screening of businesses and brands that will meet visitors at the launching hall of the 2023 DDP Design Launching Fair, now in its fifth year, were highly skilled. The teams submitted basic business and product introductions, as well as images of their exhibition concepts and composition, demonstrating their enthusiasm for the Design Launching Fair.  Among the products, which were divided into household goods, lighting, furniture, and beauty/fashion, some were already proven as the curators had purchased and used the products themselves, while others were almost eliminated, but joined the final selection team because they fit the theme of “valuable partnership” with ESG. The judging process, which was accompanied by admiration, applause, and productive comments from the launching curators, was based on the originality and innovation of the products and their suitability for design product classification, design expertise such as marketability, and business capabilities such as brand awareness, market development, and promotion performance. The final selection of 16 teams was made amidst shared conclusions and diverse opinions, but it didn't end there. Through a secondary screening that complemented the exhibition planning, the best launching team will receive 10 million won in exhibition support. All 16 teams are currently working on their exhibition plans, trying to figure out how to best communicate with visitors. 

The 2023 DDP Design Launching Fair has received the largest number of applications ever with 418 teams participating and 282 teams matched! The enthusiasm became even more intense after the makers and designers were matched. This year's slogan, "Valuable Partnership," made everyone think about something worthwhile and focused their thoughts and ideas on how to make products for the environment and people, not just products that look good and are easily discarded. The doubts about creating new products followed, however the mentoring with the curators was well-timed at such moments which gave the participants the motivation to push forward again.The matching teams, which were divided into household goods, furniture, lighting, and beauty/fashion teams, had two rounds of mentoring with the curators, and before the mentoring the teams decided what questions to ask, shared ideas and rough sketches of designs with each other. All the feedback for the short but fruitful mentoring week was praise.  "The mentors pointed out things I hadn't thought of, so I was able to rethink the direction of our product," "I received realistic feedback to consider when producing the product," "It made it easier to make decisions about the design step," "It was easy to understand the value of the ESG concept," was just some of the great feedback. After the mentoring week, the matched teams are working hard to create sustainable and valuable products, which can be seen at DDP Art Hall 2 from October 24 to November 2.   

As soon as we announced the start of the 2023 DDP Design Launching Fair, the invisible shouts and cheers of Korean makers and designers quickly turned into the highest participation rate ever, with a record-breaking 418 teams participating. Soon after, we held a workshop orientation on April 27 and 28, where designers and makers met face-to-face for the first time. After an informative lecture by the curators, they mingled, shared their thoughts, ideas, and directions, and began a pleasant search for matchmaking.Before meeting on-site, they were able to see which designers and makers were participating through the online DDP Design Launching Fair matching platform (https://ddpdesignfair.or.kr) by viewing their portfolios, and were able to confirm their mutual interest by pressing the "Request a Match" button for the team they wanted to work with. Through online matching, on-the-spot matching in person, and curatorial matching, a total of 282 teams were ultimately matched. As the participation rate of makers is relatively low, there are cases where one maker team is matched with several designers, but this is the moment when the skill of Korean makers shines! As one maker said, "I'm looking forward to working with designers in various fields," and it is clear that valuable products for the world will be created that have never existed before.You can check out the portfolios of the participants on the website (https://ddpdesignfair.or.kr), and the 5th edition of the fair will be held at DDP from October 24 to November 2, alongside Seoul Design 2023.    

Among designers and makers in Korea, the Design Launching Fair is now considered more than just a fair to participate in, but a remarkable and focused business venue. This is reflected in the fact that more than 400 applicants applied to participate in the fifth edition of the fair this year, demonstrating its growing popularity. As a starting point for the October 2023 edition of the fair, a two-day workshop was held on April 27 and 28. Through the workshop, the 200 teams of makers and designers who will work together to develop new products were decided, and they will be provided with expert mentoring to improve the quality and mass production of their products, patent attorney advice on copyright, contracts, and other matters, and domestic and international marketing training. Some of the products that participants submitted contained witty stories and ideas, reflecting the social changes since the corona pandemic with a focus on individuals, and included a variety of household and beauty products such as home lighting devices, camping goods, and body care products, as well as thought-provoking products on environmental issues. he top 60 teams, selected through expert judging, will receive 3 million won each to pay the production costs for prototypes for online and offline exhibitions, support for product studio shoots and participant profiles, and the opportunity to participate in the Design Launching Fair. In addition, the top three teams will each receive 5 million won in mass production support, one team will be given the citizen's prize and receive 2 million won, and all four teams will receive the Seoul Mayor's Award and a chance to enter the DDP Design Store. Participants' portfolios can be viewed on the Design Launching Fair website (https://ddpdesignfair.or.kr), and the fifth edition of the fair will be held at DDP from October 24 to November 2 alongside Seoul Design 2023. 

Back for its fourth annual event, the DDP Design Fair, which was held for about 10 days from October 19 to 29, has come to a successful end, drawing a fervent response from many people. New design products created through the passionate and delightful collaboration between makers and designers have brought happy moments to a lot of people. In addition, it allowed us to discover the possibilities of design that shapes our present and future by producing and launching more practical and eco-friendly products, beyond being aesthetically pleasing. A wide variety of products contain global trends that go beyond the Korean borders and individual stories that many people can relate to, even capturing the attention of international buyers with their durable, high-quality finish. Since 2015, the DDP Design Fair has evolved from pilot projects including “Eujiro, Lightway” and “DDP Dongdaemun Design Market” with its mission to support growth by matching small manufacturing businesses in the underdeveloped area of central Seoul with young designers, thereby contributing to revitalizing the manufacturing industry ecosystem and the design industry,  led by the DDP. The fair showcases the process of how small manufacturing businesses translate designers’ “possibility” into “reality” and their new products — the end result of the process — and continues to grow amid massive attention from related industries and the design world in Korea and overseas. A total of 576 new design products have been unveiled and launched over the past 4 years, which led to the great accomplishment of supporting 603 designers and 383 makers. In addition, the DDP Design Fair has once again proven its unrivaled presence as a design-business launching show representing Asia, recording more than 144,000 in-person visitors so far with more than 860,000 cumulative visitors from home and abroad to its online platform. With designers and makers already rushing to participate in the fifth DDP Design Fair to be held next year, many can’t wait to see what kind of design products will make our daily lives more enjoyable and how much more Korean design will grow in the years to come.