ddp design fair

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.

Seoul Design 2022 brought together designers, makers, members of the steering committee, curators, buyers and journalists at the Grass Reception Room located on the fourth floor of the DDP Design Lab on October 27, 2022 at 7:00 PM. This event kicked off with a special performance, and the “Gala Dinner”, a design networking party that aims to celebrate the successful opening and journey of the DDP Design Fair, create new business opportunities and discuss the present and future of design, was held together with the awards ceremony for six winners of the Best Awards selected by juries of experts and a winner of the Citizen’s Award selected by the votes of citizens, attracting feverish attention from many people. Seven winners of the Best Awards chosen from a group of 120 finalists were presented with awards by Rhee Kyungdon, CEO of the Seoul Design Foundation. Amid cheers and applause from the audience, the first product to receive the award this year was a cabinet called “domo”, the outcome of a collaboration between Shin Jiho of loisto and Acplanet, the last winner of the Best Awards selected by the votes of citizens. Other cabinets available on the market require the act of opening and shutting the door. On the contrary, domo adds more fun with door motion by changing the way of how to open and shut the door. In addition, the material of the door is made of gradient acrylic sheet, so the door design is visible even when the door is opened. The next award-winning product was “Atomicage”, which is a piece of lighting created by Momentum Studio and LIFE.FAB with a concept designed to safely protect the inner center by forming a spherical shape with circular frames around the light bulb. The fixed axis of the frame can be adjusted with wing bolts, and when the fixed axis is released, it returns to the form of drawing a single concentric circle, making it easy to replace. “rhetoric Cutlery Set” also won the award. This cutlery set made from 100% biodegradable bioplastic materials is a collaboration product between Roh&Kim and rhetoric which focuses on eco-friendliness and recycling. The spoon, fork and knife can be stacked on top of each other. With the design focused on portability, a loop connector ring can be attached to the hole at the end of the handle, ideal to bring along on an outing. “Square Candle”, which is made in the shape of a square pillar that does not roll and looks beautiful when they are stacked on top each other, is a collaboration product between designer Jeon Minwoo and Drawing Candle. The metaphor of the subtle scent spreading across the room was wittily expressed with a gradation of pastel shades on candles and packages. In addition, it does not need a candle holder since the packaging made from flame-retardant paper can be assembled and used as a disposable candle holder. The “Unstack Series”, an all-rounder which can be used as a pendant light and also a table/floor lamp, also had the pleasure of winning the award. It is made with stainless steel bowls, which are one of the most common second-hand kitchen utensils stacked up along the Hwanghak-dong Kitchen Furniture Street. This unique piece of lighting combines ONE-THIRD’s value of upcycling and Almond Studio’s design. “Erosion Project” was also awarded the Best Award. It is a bath mat that uses diatomaceous earth that absorbs water and serves the purpose of both practicality and aesthetics. It captures the spontaneity and naturalness of COCS designer Park Chae-won and the natural texture of Yuxa xtudio. It is also an artistic work placed in front of the bathroom with the motif of ”the lines of nature. The last, but not least, award-winning product is the “Leaf Series”, a side table created by designer Jeon Hyungho and Ago Studio. It is designed in an organic form with flexible curves and can be used as a functional element of furniture and a decorative element as an object. The Leaf series was produced precisely and quickly with a CNC engraving machine for parts, which were difficult to produce in large quantities in the past, to make it much more efficient and suitable for mass production.

The Launching Pavilion located at DDP’s Art Hall 2 is a space where you can meet a variety of new design products that present a beautiful life for all, quicker and with style. It features 19 design studios in various fields, such as furniture, lighting, and home & living, and each booth contains their own story, so there is no time to get bored while you take a look around. The design of each product is, needless to say, trendy and stylish, but what is particularly noteworthy is that these design products both consider the environment and humans and offer possible solutions, making the viewers feel proud and inspired in some unexplained way. sogroup, which connects residents and artists in the neighborhood, and offers art storage solutions, and odd-office, which provides a variety of creative products used in an office environment, including office partitions based on brilliant ideas, will definitely pique your curiosity. PSH Framer and Bacci For Dwelling (BFD) create a comfortable space where visitors can experience furniture in a setting like their home to encourage the attention and engagement of visitors. Design Studio Lim Sung Mook (DSLSM), which produces and offers multi-use, eco-friendly packaging and goods, and Rawon Cleankitchen, which offers various home and living items made from Rawon’s non-fluorescent sochang fabric, stimulate the visitors’ desire to purchase. welle, which is well-known for its eye-catching speakers with stylish designs, also showcases a new product called Plug 5 Power Strip. Among the 19 booths full of personality, you will find a unique booth filled with orange-colored cabinets: the “Hello Creators” booth. It consists of products from designers at the Seoul Design Startup Center. The Seoul Design Startup Center is an incubation platform for design start-ups, established and operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation with the aim of encouraging next-generation young designers to start a business. As a place for communication for people to share and exchange a variety of information, it is establishing itself as a hub for design start-ups by supporting the start and growth of new businesses.After passing by the orange-colored booth, you can see a booth with cool blue waves: the 2022 DDP Brand Products of Young Designers” booth. It showcases the DDP brand products of the 10 finalist teams selected through a project to foster young designers. With the theme of “Designs for Your Firsts in Life”, such as first commute, first car, first house, etc., it features young designers representing Seoul and their products. The exhibition held at Art Hall 2, where you can meet collaboration products of 120 teams, new products of 19 design studios, design products of the Seoul Design Startup Center and DDP brand products of young designers, runs until October 28, 2022.