Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
The local audience in Croatia is already well acquainted with the international design festival Dan D, which was held for many years now at various locations in Zagreb, organized by Croatian Designers’ Association. But its new format, and new name Plan D, are still unknown to the public.
You can read more about this unavoidable design project, whose first stage will be held at the end of September at a completely new location in Zagreb, in an interview with members of the organizing team of the festival and the Plan D platform, Luka Borčić, Petar Milički, Karla Paliska and Morana Matković, originally published on Vizkultura.
What is Plan D?
Plan D has emerged as a necessary development of the international Dan D design festival. The new name – Plan D – reflects the transformation of this long-lasting design event, its move from the festival format to the design educational platform, which is active all year round. The platform’s emerging goals are multiple – from affirmation of designs at lower levels of education to professional training of young designers and promotion of contemporary design practices. The first edition of the Plan D festival will take place from September 27 to October 1, 2017 in the space of the abandoned discount store behind the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla in Zagreb. The organizer is HDD – Croatian Design Association, and the first edition will be realized in partnership with the Technical Museum of Nikola Tesla. Each new edition of the festival will also set the theme for both exhibitions and the conference program.
Theme of the first edition will be “Techno-optimism/Techo-pessimism”.
The relationship between man and technology has always been complex and ambivalent. Since the very beginning and to this day, man has used technology as a tool to comprehend and form himself and his reality. Emergence of new technologies often challenges and redefines this reality, which causes a wide range of differing reactions – from resistance to excitement. While some see innovations as fulfillments of fantasies and dreams of a better life, others find them a source of fear and frustration. These two extremes, which outline the wide range of attitudes toward technology, are described in popular public discourse as techno-optimism and techno-pessimism. If techno-optimism denotes a tireless faith in the omnipotence of technology to solve even the most challenging social issues, techno-pessimism considers technology the source of a number of new social problems. Read more here.
Through the exhibition, educational and discursive program of this year’s Plan D festival organizers will present the widest spectrum of design practices that deal with different views on design and using technology in designing the everyday environment. Meaning, practices and projects that perpetuate the dominant technological paradigms, but also those that question and subvert them. At the same time, it will build upon a number of other disciplines that comprise an indispensable collection of knowledge and guidelines that can shed light on the interwoven nature of everyday life and technology, but also show the ability of the design practice in articulating new approaches to the modern discourse on technology.
In addition to the curated exhibition that will present Croatian and international works and projects alike, a special segment in the program will be the International exhibition of young authors. It is envisaged as a competition exhibition, and the call is open to all students and young authors (under the age of 30) who recognize their work within the thematic framework of the festival – ‘Techno-optimism / Techno-pessimism’, or those authors who, in their commercial or conceptual design work, are reexamining, using and designing technology, taking into consideration its positive and negative implications.
You can find all information on entries and terms of contest at pland.hr/en