“Kontext” is an initiative launched by Swiss Textiles. Its aim is to draw attention to trend knowledge, promote promising future developments in the areas of design and industry, and encourage exchanges between designers and industry representatives. “Kontext” also wants to identify relevant topics that provide impulses for innovation.

 

By organising events and producing publications, “Kontext” offers a platform that presents seasonal trends, socio-cultural developments, state-of-the-art technologies and findings from applied research. It is managed by an interdisciplinary team of specialists in the fields of design, industry, media and research.

 

Interdisciplinary exchange

 

The target audience of “Kontext” encompasses textile, interior, industrial and graphic designers, as well as architects, business managers, and marketing and communication specialists. “Kontext” events are addressed to an interdisciplinary audience. The keynote speeches are intended to provide an insight into the activities of designers, applied researchers, graphic artists and industry representatives, as well as into developments on which they are currently focusing special attention. Outstanding achievements and pioneering technologies will also be presented at these events.

 

 

Discussing current issues

“Kontext” will also focus strongly on current issues: For example at the next event “Kontext View” on Tuesday, June 19th, the Kontext team has defined sport and sustainability as two themes that converge in all design disciplines. How can the challenge to bring together function, sustainability, and aesthetics be tackled? Function moves to the heart of the design process. Here function is considered in an expanded way: unless the consumer has a long-lasting relationship to the product, no matter how sustainable it is produced or well it functions, it will not be sustainable. Ultimately, the aesthetics of an object guarantees the consumer-product relationship. So interpreting function comprehensively means that now aesthetics has become the primary function. “Now it’s overall aesthetics of an object that is the focus – encompassing as a whole how it develops, endures, functions, is used, and how it eventually vanishes away .“ Evelyne Roth, Creative Direction of Kontext — Swiss Textiles

 

Kontext-Swiss-Textiles-Kontext-View-Flyer
Flyer design for the “Kontext View” event in June 2018.

 

Click here to get more information about the next “Kontext View” event.

 

Be part of the “Kontext” network: www.swisstextiles.ch/kontext