Brendan McGetrick, curator of the Global Grad Show reveals how this year’s event will uncover the design stars of tomorrow
Designers these days are well thought of but poorly understood. Most of us assume that a designer’s job is to make things beautifully, to elevate an ordinary object so that it sparkles. This assumption isn’t unfair, but it misses something essential.
The beauty of a design is often in its idea, in the impulse that the work responds to and the effectiveness of its answer. A great design delivers both a diagnosis and a cure. It identifies an unseen opportunity or unexpressed need and suggests a solution.
Global Grad Show is an exhibition of beautiful ideas. The projects presented here take many forms. Some are conceptually simple, some technically complex. Many are physical; some are purely virtual. There are products intended for infants and for the elderly, for athletes, office workers, fruit vendors, and families displaced by war.
The work you’ll see here is drawn from 50 of the world’s best design schools. They are spread across 30 countries and 6 continents; to visit them all would require 98 hours in the air alone. Rather than sectioning them off in school-specific zones, at Global Grad Show the works are mixed together and organized according to what a project does, rather than what it is. The exhibits in the Empower section offer new ways to spark ideas and expand our abilities. The Connection section is concerned with encouraging exchange and building community. Sustain is a survey of innovative approaches to reducing waste and generating energy.
Like its exhibits, Global Grad Show is concerned with design but motivated by humanity. Every project included in the exhibition is represented by one of its authors, making Global Grad Show the largest student gathering ever assembled. Throughout Dubai Design Week, this exhibition will host workshops, discussions, informal interviews and impromptu meetings. No topic is off limits; no question is too simple or issue too complex.
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