Brera Design District 2017: the game of design

«We should also make some didactic toys for adults, to remove prejudice and train the mind, to set hidden energies free». These simple and prophetic words of the great Bruno Munari are the starting point for the adventure of the 8th edition of Brera Design District. In a few years the district has become one of the benchmarks of the Milan Design Week thanks to the beauty of the area but also the presence of more and more active and important stores and showrooms, capable of attracting curious people and design enthusiasts. It is enough to say that in 2016 Brera Design District proposed over 168 events and had 250,000 visitors who took and uploaded more than 22,000 pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #BreraDesignDistrict.

Is gaming really capable of moving energies, as wished for by Munari? We find him again in this year’s theme “Designing is a game, playing is a project” that spurs us to ask ourselves to what extent is playing a serious issue at all ages, but it also reminds us that we should never stop having fun when designing. In such a view the 2017 Lezioni di Design award was given to Fabio Viola, one of the world’s top 10 gamification designers who teaches, spreads and promotes gaming in various companies. And we will see gaming also around the streets of the Brera district, in the maps and on the official website thanks to the graphic image curated by Stefano Marra and inspired by the snakes and ladders game.

In the cross-sectorial spirit of the Fuorisalone, big names and emerging designers will work hand in hand in the presentations and events of the Design Week in Brera. First of all this year’s ambassadors architect Michele De Lucchi, Tony Chambers from Wallpaper and the designers Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara Di Pinto from Studiopepe. Among the designers who will exhibit their projects are Patricia Urquiola, Federico Pepe, David and Nicolas, Bethan Gray, Germans Ermics, Cristina Celestino, Lorenza Bozzoli, Chiara Andreatti, Piero Lissoni, Raw Edges, Miguel Arruda, Giulio Iacchetti, Davide Fabio Colaci, Mario Scairato, Eley Kishimoto, Faye Toogood, Pedro Paulo Venzon, Philippe Malouin, Oeuffice, Philippe Nigro, Zaven, Matteo Zorzenoni, Zanellato/Bortotto, Makoto Kawamoto, Studiopepe, Davide Groppi. Their work will be exhibited by Editions, Golran, Internoitaliano, Exporlux, Kirk By Design, Matter Made, Novamobili, Sanwa Company.

Many are the names and projects and many more will add, but all of them will be present on the official website www.breradesigndistrict.it and on the event’s dedicated social channels. It will be a nice game to search them all from 4th to 9th April but especially on Friday 7th, in the Brera White Night, during which all spaces will remain open until late and a series of special events will enliven the whole district. 

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