MCBW 2017: The Smart Revolution

The 2017 edi­tion of MCBW will direct the spot­light on Design Con­nects – The Smart Rev­o­lu­tion to illus­trate that design not only con­nects peo­ple with prod­ucts and new tech­nolo­gies – design rev­o­lu­tion­izes, design joins aspects across dis­ci­plines, design chal­lenges the sta­tus quo. Thus, it is essen­tial to the pol­i­tics of innovation.

In its sixth year, MCBW will offer an inspir­ing mix of con­fer­ences, work­shops, award cer­e­monies, exhi­bi­tions, tours, and mul­ti­ple oth­er events and cam­paigns host­ed by diverse part­ners for pro­fes­sion­als and all those inter­est­ed in design.

To orga­nize your own event and become a part­ner of the largest design venue in Ger­many or to high­light the band­width of Bavar­i­an cul­ture in a Cre­ative Spot, please sub­mit your appli­ca­tion by Octo­ber 7.

Design Con­nects – The Smart Revolution

The impact of tech­nol­o­gy on human behav­ior has nev­er been greater than it is today. Tech­nol­o­gy alters our com­mu­ni­ca­tion rad­i­cal­ly, and inten­si­fies our crav­ing for func­tion­al­i­ty. In what ways can we influ­ence this rev­o­lu­tion to ensure that it address­es the peo­ple? What can we do to shape dig­i­tal unrest so that it does not turn against people’s free­dom and auton­o­my? Because we need smart design to achieve these goals and get the peo­ple on board, the mot­to of MCBW 2017 is Design Con­nects – The Smart Rev­o­lu­tion. Design la révolution!

These are the five focal themes of MCBW 2017:

Smart Peo­ple: Co-work­ing spaces inspire, dig­i­tal­iza­tion sim­pli­fies, col­lab­o­ra­tive con­sump­tion designs, crowd-sourc­ing enables, and upcy­cling pre­serves the future. Always with an eye on con­nect­ing people.

Smart Objects include wear­ables for the entire body. eHealth increas­es our qual­i­ty of life, smart grids sup­ply and, at the same time, save ener­gy con­tin­u­ous­ly, cyber-phys­i­cal sys­tems enable com­mu­ni­ca­tions between soft­ware and mechan­ics. Design ensures that all this occurs with peo­ple in mind.

Smart Cities: Return­ing pro­duc­tion sites to the cities is an actu­al vision of the future that requires shap­ing. Top­ics include smart mobil­i­ty, smart growth, and smart homes.

Smart Econ­o­my: How do you buy time? You can, for exam­ple, deploy intel­li­gent process­es such as com­put­er-inte­grat­ed man­u­fac­tur­ing, the Inter­net of Things, or smart factories.

Smart Brands: Brands no longer are devel­oped and com­mu­ni­cat­ed top-down but inter­ac­tive­ly, joint­ly with users. Brands tell sto­ries and lis­ten, they are adapt­able and elas­tic, they kin­dle our desire for hon­est communications.

MCBW 2017 will again offer a host of unique high­lights and cre­ative ideas. The Repub­lic of Korea will be the exclu­sive Coun­try Part­ner of the sixth MCBW. “We set great store by our part­ner­ship with the Repub­lic of Korea because the coun­try is the per­fect exam­ple of lived design. We have built our close rela­tion­ship for many years, attend­ing con­fer­ences and diverse trade shows togeth­er,“ says Dr. Silke Claus, Man­ag­ing Direc­tor of bay­ern design.

In addi­tion to BMW, MCBW has signed up anoth­er major spon­sor: Steel­case, the lead­ing glob­al man­u­fac­tur­er of office fur­nish­ings and inno­v­a­tive solu­tions for rooms, and the sym­bol of inno­v­a­tive, sus­tain­able design.