Downtown Design's line-up of talks and workshops at The Forum brings together global industry leaders - acclaimed designers, brands, journalists, and strategists, offering crucial insights on the evolving design landscape.
New Markets 2021: The Future of Design
Before design firms can contemplate the built environments of the future, they must rethink and reshape their tool-kits to better leverage emerging market opportunities.
Speaker(s): Ferdinand Cheung (LWK + PARTNERS), Philip Olmesdahl (SAOTA), Dr. Nasser B. Abdulhasan (AGi Architects), David Daniels (SSH), Elie Mrad ( ARADA)
The Empowered Design Client
They don’t teach client management in design school. Yet, the client-designer relationship is integral to a successful business.
Speaker(s): Ebba Thott (Sigmar)
The Future of Retail Design
Since the advent of e-commerce, retailers have tried just about everything to get people back into their shops.
Speaker(s): Rabih Geha (Rabih Geha Architects) , Doug Shaw (CallisonRTKL), Denise Neri (Aesop), Natalie Holland (Chalhoub Group)
How to Build a Brand
Launching a design business is one thing. Building it into a brand that stands out is the ultimate goal, but the road is littered with upstarts that didn’t make it.
Speaker(s): Alessandro Minotti (Minotti) , Dara Huang (DH Liberty), Joakim De Rham (Swiss Bureau Interior Design), Cutu Mazuelos (Stone Designs)
Design X Technology
Intersecting design, art and innovation with emotion, UX is the design currency of the time.
Speaker(s): Jonathan Chippindale (Holition), Samuel Chuffart (Icona), Michael Vasku (Preciosa)
Designed to Succeed
From a small studio in Sydney to international recognition and A-list clients, Greg Natale's career is a masterclass on the perfect balance between creativity and business savvy.
Speaker(s): Greg Natale (Greg Natale Design)
Creating New Heritage:Contemporary Architecture & the Middle East
New interventions in the Middle East's urban landscape share a collective responsibility towards supporting the aspirations of the region.
Speaker(s): Ian Purser (Pace Architecture Engineering+ Planning), Amy Lam (ALAM Creative Design Studio), Sara Abdulla (Dust for Experience Design), Mohamad Al Dah (Dubai Land Department, Government of Dubai)
Design 2021: Insights by Data
Backed by research and surveys conducted across the regional design scene, this session was curated to help design professionals future proof their businesses.
Speaker(s): Siddharth Peters (Love That Design)
Digital Marketing and Design
When done right, digital marketing can deliver maximum impact for minimum cost.
Speaker(s): Patrick Abbattista (DesignWanted)
The Power of Design
From the micro to the macro level, design impacts everything and everyone.
Speaker(s): Fernando Mastrangelo (Fernando Mastrangelo Studio), Lina Ghotmeh (Lina Ghotmeh Architecture), Ashiesh Shah (Ashiesh Shah Architecture + Design), Sanna Akerlund Gebeyehu (Frankly Aakerlund)
Influencing Design
Linda Dekkers and Kathryn Hawkes have not only used Instagram to build deeper engagement for design brands, they are now part of the rarefied circle of influencers who have successfully transition into entrepreneurs.
Speaker(s): Linda Dekkers (Fronteriors), Kathryn Hawkes (Fronteriors)
Beyond Tangible: The Values of Residential Design
With a growing demand for contemporary design and design-savvy clients calling the shots, goalposts for the premium residential sector have shifted drastically.
Speaker(s): Ebba Thott (Sigmar), Laura Bielcki (Ellington), Fouad Qeblawi (Qeblawi Brooks), Ellen Sohoel (XBD Collective), Andrew Dull ( IMKAN), Cristina Jorge de Carvalho ( CJC Architecture & Interior Design)
The Path to Effective Leadership
Before one can inspire others and align them with the organization's vision, one must master a skill that often gets relegated to the background - Leading The Self.
Speaker(s): Archana Bhatia
Shifting Focus: The evolving market of Hotel Design
A new generation of leisure consumer has overthrown the design rules established to cater to their predecessors, the Millennials.
Speaker(s): Adrian Battisby (LW), Pinar Calimano (Four Seasons), Patrick Waring (Silverfox Studio), Sean Clifton (Jestico+Whiles)
Design Trends 2021
Dubai-based trends expert Toni Snyder is the go-to specialist for many leading design brands.
Speaker(s): Toni Snyder
Oo La Lab : Fragrance Design & Mixology
Oo La Lab is a craft fragrance lab where perfume ingredients are stored in small batches and hand-poured to order.
Speaker(s): Terry Jacobson
A Designer is Never Alone
A winner of the Swarovski Designers of the Future Award, the Spain-born, London-based designer has carved a niche for himself with his elegant, linear and poetic objects.
Speaker(s): Tomás Alonso
The Next Step
From running the region's top design firms to leaving mega studios and launching their own practices, our panelists have done it all.
Speaker(s): Carla Conte (Brand Creative) , David Lessard (H+A Global), Yullianna Porter (JLL), Kristina Zanic (Kristina Zanic Design Consultants)
In Conversation with Christian Louboutin
Speaker(s): Christian Louboutin
Design Economy: What does it mean?
Perspectives on regional design industries, shedding light on the current state of design ecosystem in the region.
Speaker(s): Carla Saliba (Infographic.Iy), Mohamed Elshahed (Writer & Curator)