Leading designers shared their views and forecasts on the future of the field at the Symposium
On 8 October, as part of the open programme of the International Symposium "Inventing the Future" at the National Centre RUSSIA, a lecture titled "Design Today — Future Tomorrow" was held.
Design surrounds a person in every aspect of life, and even the smallest details contribute to the overall visual environment. To make this environment inspiring, harmonious and energising, it is essential to define the visual code of the future. In his presentation, artist, designer and curator of the educational programme "Art Direction for Cultural Institutions" at the HSE School of Design in St Petersburg, Ilya Bannikov, spoke about the approaches and formats used by students in their training.
"The present is not as simple as it seems. It is important to understand what to preserve to promote identity, how to think, and whether to repeat what is familiar. Perhaps the opposite — we should stop listening to others and break free from stereotypes and cliches," the expert emphasised.
Artist, illustrator, designer and co-founder of Faro Design Studio Andrei Shelyutto, who developed both the Symposium’s corporate identity and the logo of the National Centre RUSSIA, also shared his thoughts on the visual code of the future.
"Russian identity is shaped by letters, texts and literature, unlike others that are rooted in visuality. In any sign a person sees, they subconsciously look for a letter — but do we truly understand these ancient codes we invoke? When creating the logo of the National Centre RUSSIA, we were guided by the phrase 'There is nothing in the future but the past,' because they are inseparable. The word 'Russia' has six letters — and six times the country has fallen and risen again. The font and pattern of each letter correspond to each tsardom and era in our history," explained Andrei Shelyutto.
Producer, director, designer, author of the visual identities for many Russian TV channels, and founder and creative director of SHANDESIGN Studio Sergei Shanovich supported his colleague’s idea of preserving historical culture in modern creative space.
"Over the past 70 years, the world’s population has tripled, and in our postmodern and media civilisation, each person now generates before lunch as much information as someone 200–300 years ago would have learned in a lifetime. Think about it — we consume visual content that is not only secondary, but a copy of countless copies, essentially meaningless nothing that nevertheless becomes something tied to identity. Love your history, study your culture — Russian identity exists only in its origins and their rethinking," emphasised Sergei Shanovich.
Summing up the discussion, experts concluded that the potential of Russian style, promoted today by domestic designers and fashion creators, will be revealed by more than one generation. Yet the current one, by focusing on its unique features, can already make it recognisable around the world.
The II International Symposium "Inventing the Future" took place on 7–8 October at the National Centre RUSSIA, bringing together participants more than 85 countries countries and all regions of the Russian Federation. More than 260 Russian and international experts from China, the United States, Italy, Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa took part.
The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is organised on the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, under the auspices of the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Analytical partner is the VCIOM Analytical Centre. Literary partner is the Eksmo-AST Publishing Group.
Event photobank
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