A special feature for 2008, take a walk through this unique Australian design precinct. This spectacular entry portal to the exhibition showcases the very best in Australian design over the past 20 years. Curated by a number of industry professionals, gain a once in a lifetime insight into how design has developed over the past 20 years.

 

It was always going to be a contentious and provocative exercise making a selection of the most iconic designs released in Australia over the last 20 years. But the coming edition of designEX will mark an important milestone for this premier design event. The 20th anniversary will be celebrated through the ‘Design Through Time’ exhibit.

 

This exhibit features a 27 metre long tunnel, on one side the 20 most iconic designs from each year since 1988 will be displayed, on the opposite side LCD screens will present the short listed designs from each year.

 

The project to fill the tunnel with iconic designs was conducted in two stages. Stage one was the task of researching and nominating potential candidates for each year, this was assigned to a group of industrial design students from the University of Technology Sydney. The students were given the brief and prepared a list of between 5 and 10 designs from each year, confirmed potential availability of physical samples, checked dates, designers name and company details.

 

The products were then shortlisted, the designs were required to have been commercialised and at some point made available in Australia, therefore prototypes were excluded. Because of the nature of the exhibit a physical example of the design needed to be able to be sourced for potential display. Finally designs needed to fall within the scope of products that are closely linked to those exhibited at designEX, hence product groups such as automobiles and sporting goods were not considered.

 

Even with these clearly defined parameters making the selection still proved problematic. An icon implies something that is universally recognized, but should the design be judged on commercial sales or professional impact or both. Make sure you visit 'Design Through Time' and take a look at our choices. We hope you enjoy the exhibit,   for it alone is an important statement that Australia has matured as a design aware society and look forward to the next 20 years.