Organized by the Benildean Industrial Designers (BIND), the World Industrial Design Week (WIDW) 2024 featured talks, workshops, and exhibits all focusing on design. The event offered a hybrid set-up with both online and face-to-face modalities for the talks and workshops from July 1 to 5.
From glassblowing to product photography, WIDW: Halikha Na! featured many unique workshops and talks that aligned with this year’s theme of World Industrial Design Day, as posted by the World Design Organization (WDO). Taking place at the 5th floor of Benilde’s D+A Campus, the event was open to the public and accredited for both CSBLIFE and CSBGRAD subjects.
The Pathos in Design
This year, WIDW dove into the role of emotion in design with the theme “Let’s get emotional!” From user interaction to impact, the theme hoped to encourage more dialogue on affective design across a multitude of topics and disciplines.
In line with this, ID122 Industrial Design student and one of the Project Managers for WIDW, Cia Eugenio, shared how they were able to put their own twist into the theme, “[...] we kind of wanted to take the theme a bit further and incorporate local cultures.”
More than just adding more flair to this year’s celebration of WIDW 2024, Eugenio also explained the importance of highlighting local designers and their crafts during the event.
“[...] When you think of an international event, your mind doesn't really go to local crafts, which is why I feel like it's a new direction to take for WDO, [...] because you really make people think, instead of just focusing on such a broad, sustainability, what can our local works do for the entire world?”
With this goal in mind, Halikha Na! highlighted a wide range of disciplines and applications of design, inviting both international and local designers. Another highlight Eugenio aired was how they wanted to extend their invitation of local designers to those outside of Metro Manila, "Jadon Kilayko, because he's from Bacolod, [...] also reached out to artists or creatives that weren't just based in Metro Manila. I guess another thing about people trying to be local is they focus a lot on [...] maybe Luzon or Metro Manila."
Learning from diverse perspectives
This year’s WIDW is a goldmine for both aspiring and established designers, or any curious event attendees. Highlighting local designers and their contributions to the industry, Eryn Amante, ID121 Industrial Design student and Project Manager, explained how she wanted to give these individuals the opportunity to reach a wider audience.
“We take pride [in] [sic] having these designers. We made sure that they have a segment where they could reach out to our audience, here in Benilde specifically, and make sure that they gain the exposure they deserve,” she stated.
Aside from setting local designers and creatives a platform, aspiring designers were also able to learn from the diverse perspectives these local designers bring to the table. “I feel like a lot of the time we fail to realize that there's a lot to learn from our local crafts and that the world can also learn from us instead of just us learning from them,” Eugenio expressed. “So I think that's a good lesson to take [...] that you can learn a lot from the world but the world can also learn a lot from you.”
Similarly, Amante imparted how she believes attendees benefit from the practical knowledge gained from the event.
“I think it's more of the knowledge we gain, just because we have different scopes [...] what they can learn is also we have workshops (where) they can really hone their skills,” she ended.
