About the Victor J. Papanek Foundation
The Victor J. Papanek Foundation, University of Applied Arts Vienna, seeks to advance the understanding of design from the perspective of social responsibility. It supports design as an innovative and creative practice with the potential to transform societies and enhance human well-being. Inspired by Victor Papanek’s critical and cross-cultural approach to design culture, the newly established Foundation will further an inclusive approach to design that challenges the purely commercial imperative of product culture.
News and upcoming events
James Hennessey (USA)
‘How Things Don’t Work’: The Politics of Design
James Hennessey discusses the 1970s challenge to conventional consumer product design, in the context of alternative economies of design.
Chaired by Professor Alison Clarke as part of the advanced seminar series ‘Alternative Economies of Design’, Summer Semester 2013.
Design History and Theory, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Seminar Room, Postgasse 6, 1010 Vienna, June 12, 2013, 10.00
Nomadic Furniture Revisited
Archive Talks
James Hennessey, Designer, Prof. Emeritus Delft University of Technology, Netherlands and co-author with Victor Papanek of Nomadic Furniture 1 & 2, in discussion with Univ-Professor Dr. Alison J. Clarke, Chair Design History and Theory and Director of the Victor J. Papanek Foundation, University of Applied Arts Vienna.
MAK, Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria, June 13, 2013, 18.00
Papanek Lecture 2013
Frugal Digital Design? Technology for the Underserved
Vinay Venkatraman, co-founder of Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) and TED speaker, will address the issue of digital design in alternative and emerging economies.
Trained as a product & interaction designer in India and Italy, Vinay helps shape policy initiatives for the Danish government and consults for global companies on innovation around new product experiences and design strategy; previous clients include Nokia, Intel, Novo Nordisk, Maersk line, Lufthansa Technik, Philips lighting. His passion lies in incubating new technological ideas, finding new models of sustainable socio-economic development using appropriate technologies; he will be sharing these ideas in the 2nd Papanek Memorial Lecture.
AULA der Wissenschaften, 1010 Vienna, Austria, November 14, 2013, 18:00.
Papanek Symposium 2013
Alternative and Emerging Economies of Design
The Papanek Symposium 2013 brings together international experts from China, Europe, India, Singapore, and the US, to examine the social and political imperative of design in emerging economies.
Design in the 21st century, harnessed by rising powers striving for economic competitiveness and cultural profile on the world stage, has taken on a newly urgent political significance. The unprecedented quantity of production and cultural engagement with design, from China to India, is shaping our collective futures. Can alternative design genres develop on the periphery of established neo-liberal models of economics and consumer culture? What is their potential to generate social innovation and challenge pre-existing, unsustainable economies of production?
Alternative and Emerging Economies of Design: The Social Imperative of Global Design joins together voices from leading international design institutes, research thinktanks, social science projects and applied design initiatives to question the social futures of design. From the frugal digital initiative led by TED-speaker Vinay Venkatraman (frugaldigital.org), to the ethnographic corporate research of PARC Xerox (parc.com) and the smaller scale initiatives of hybrid design innovators (quicksand.co.in), this second Papanek Symposium offers a unique perspective on the design politics of emerging economies.
AULA der Wissenschaften, 1010 Vienna, Austria, November 14-15, 2013
Curated by Alison Clarke with Heng Zhi
Kindly supported by the Austrian Ministry of European and International Affairs
Design For The Real World Exhibition
Helen Hamlyn Centre For Design
The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design's annual exhibition of work by its research associates will take place at the Royal College of Art this autumn as part of the 2012 London Design Festival. Its title pays homage to the 40th anniversary of the English-language publication of Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek.
Papanek Symposium 2011
Anti-Design: Prescription for Rebellion?
The Victor J. Papanek symposium celebrates the legacy of Papanek as a leading critical thinker of design. Each bi-annual event embraces a timely theme, bringing together interdisciplinary speakers to discuss and debate issues with a bearing on contemporary design practice.