Finally DesignTalks!

The international conference and signature event of DesignMarch, DesignTalks, took place for a full house in Harpa on May 4th, opening the DesignMarch festival. Leaders from the field of design and architecture took the stage and gave guests a full doze of inspiration.

DesignTalks has not been on the festival's programme for the past two years, so it was a relief to be able to hold the conference and reopen the international conversation after the pandemic.

The curator for DesignTalks 2022 was Hlín Helga Guðlaugsdóttir and moderator was Marcus Fairs, founder and editor of Dezeen. Presenter was Guðrún Sóley Gestsdóttir.

The program inspired the audience with a day filled with inspiration from creative leaders that explored how design and architecture can help imagine and propose alternative futures and promote change.

Among speakers were Michael Pawlyn, a pioneer in the field of biomimicry and regenerative architecture, the designers and artists Aamu Song and Johan Olin, the founders of COMPANY, who run Salakauppa (The Secret Store) in Helsinki, the creative director and pattern designer Gabriela Sánchez y Sánchez de la Barquera, Anders Lendager, entrepreneur in sustainability and co-founder of the architectural firm Lendager group, Tor Inge Hjemdal, CEO of DOGA, Stefán Laxness, architect, scholar and artist, formerly employed by Forensic Architecture, Giorgia Lupi, information designer and partner Pentagram, digital fashion designer Susanne Vos from The Fabricant, Valdís Steinarsdóttir, designer and Liam Young, award-winning sci-fi architect, director and producer.