Editor's Letter – October 2023

If you're anything like me, you're a bit of a dynamo. Movement gives you energy. As much as I love working in the online world, it's the analogue interaction with inspiring creatives and passionate design producers that really feeds me. In the past few weeks, I've been lucky enough to attend two edifying events organised by manufacturers seeking to make a difference.

The first was the matter-of-factly-named Design Week 2023, held in and around Stuttgart, the initiative of a small collective of pedigree, Made-in-Germany brands – Schönbuch, Freistil, Rolf Benz, Walter Knoll, Draenert, Kettnaker and Object Carpet.

Visitors were invited to experience the know-how and craftsmanship of these companies by getting up close and personal with their production processes. It's easy to forget that manufacturing also has a cultural value, driven by passion to help shape our material world for the better via quality, sustainable practices and isn't just about profit.

(The collaboration continues: watch out for these German brands at next January’s edition of imm cologne, where, for the first time, they will be exhibiting together in a specially designed space at the fair.)

The second was an installation created by fast-evolving Italian brand Mara at the Fenix Scenario showroom in Milan's design-drenched Brera district, where a micro-architectural landscape of their most iconic products was accompanied by a panel discussion on the need, now more than ever, for anthropocentric design.

Isn’t all design for people? Well, yes and no. Design that encourages its users to cultivate a deeper, more emotional relationship with objects, that contributes to better mental and physical well-being – and, by extension, persuades us to consume less – isn’t always top of the agenda when it comes to R&D. (There’s a feature on the Mara installation coming soon on Architonic, so keep your eyes peeled.)

Want more on events? We’ve got it. My colleague James Wormald scoured the recent annual design love-in that is the London Design Festival and has put together a report that takes as its focus the latest work on sustainable materials proposed by designers, architects and engineers from exhibitions and installations across the city. It’s a highly insightful edit. 

Meanwhile, Claire Brodka focuses on Dutch Design Week, taking place this month in Eindhoven, and, in particular, on how a group of furniture brands (Arco, CS Rugs, Gelderland, Label van den Berg, Lande Family and Leolux) have banded together to reveal how they are grappling with a common goal: achieving sustainability in our living environment. An exercise in transparency and knowledge-sharing, underpinned by concrete examples of actions and case studies, their joint exhibition, entitled ‘Future > Factory > Furniture >’, is a welcome counterpoint to the greenwashing that, alas, still exists to a large extent in our industry. 

Speaking of transparency and knowledge-sharing, I want to tell you about a major development here at DAAily platforms that I’m particularly excited about. We’ve just launched DAAily insights – a powerful new set of online tools that will allow manufacturers to get ahead, and stay ahead, in business by helping them target their brand and marketing actions more precisely and with fewer resources. How does it do this? By providing deep insights into their traffic, engagement, campaign and product analytics, as well as offering personalised, data-driven suggestions on how to improve their performance. 

What’s more, DAAily insights also provides invaluable information on the latest market trends. And, thanks to an additional service we’re calling DAAily index, companies will now be able to quantify their brand visibility in the market, their technical performance and their exposure across DAAily platforms. They will receive a score from 0 to 100, rooted in 220 million yearly industry data points from over 15,000 manufacturers, meaning they will be able to see exactly where they stand.  

If you don’t know, how can you improve?

Stay well and embrace change!

Simon Keane-Cowell
Editor-in-Chief

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