What can design do?

Meta-topics such as sustainability, design and lifestyle, new work, digitalization and future retail define the framework programme of the consumer goods trade fair trio of Ambiente, Christmasworld and Creativeworld, the “Home of Consumergoods”, which starts on 7 February 2025 in Frankfurt. This also includes online events such as an event on design culture in Taiwan and Japan, which took place about five months before the start of the trade fairs and presented the work of Japanese designer Eisuke Tachikawa. He is working to improve people's connection to design. Tachikawa is convinced that the design of a chair, for example, not only has to do with the object itself, but also with the interaction of the body using it. The designer also transfers this idea to cities and societies. What is needed is an adaptation strategy for cities so that they coexist better with nature and are better equipped to deal with climate change.

At the same time, he emphasizes the importance of crisis prevention and has developed a disaster prevention kit of his own. He also symbolizes the interaction between people and the environment with his office.

While many historic buildings in the city have been demolished, he works to preserve old things - out of respect for the history of these buildings and out of respect for nature, which new buildings are damaging. That is why a large part of the space has been built from demolition waste and construction materials.

The interaction between people and design is also a theme for Johnny Chiu, founder of JC. Architecture & Design. In the Happier Café project in an old library, he created an installation with an entire room made entirely from recycled paper, including furniture, lights and a tent. Visitors were able to scribble their messages on it and thus become part of the artwork themselves. Chiu is also involved in other projects that use waste to create new designs. One example is leather from Kobe cattle, which is very thin and therefore not normally suitable for use. Instead of simply disposing of the material, he and his team researched into it and discovered that it is very stretchable. They used it to make a chair that looks like a foldable lantern and can be packed very flat, which in turn causes only a tenth of the CO₂ emissions during transportation compared to similar pieces of furniture.

Design is also the focus of the Conzoom Solutions Academy and its program at the trade fairs themselves, especially on Friday with award ceremonies, a panel discussion on circular design, a presentation by ambience designer Fabian Freytag and the daily trend briefing with Annetta Palmisano. Sunday and Monday are the Future Retail Days, which focus on the opportunities for retail, digital transformation and generational change. Finally, the Sustainability Day on Tuesday will place a special focus on the meta-topic of sustainability.