Keynote speaker Kjetil Fallan

To the extent materials have been a matter of concern in design history, it has largely been in the shape of finished goods. But this image of design history as a history of objects is getting challenged by an increasing interest in material ecologies of design. After all, an artifact is just a particular, solidified state of the material flows making up design culture. Such a shift in perspective not only brings materials to the foreground, but also lays bare the landscapes from which they are extracted. By following material flows, then, landscapes can be seen as shaped by design, but also as shaping design.

Dr. Kjetil Fallan,
Professor of Design History.
The University of Oslo