Icograda World Design Congress Beijing 2009

Hosted by the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), the biennial Icograda World Design Congress will be held in Beijing, China for the first time. From 24-30 October 2009, some 100 speakers and thousands of delegates from around the globe will gather in a cross-disciplinary Congress, with communication as its central theme, offering five days of exchange and dialogue within the international design community. In the face of a worldwide economic downturn, we now have a chance to look at the energy of design, to share design experiences, and to restore our confidence in overcoming the challenges of this difficult period.

Icograda is the world body for professional communication design. Founded in 1963, it is a voluntary assembly of organisations concerned with graphic design, visual communication, design management, promotion, education, research and journalism. Icograda promotes the vital role of communication design in society and commerce, and unifies the voices of graphic designers and visual communicators worldwide.

The theme of this year’s Congress is Xin. Literally signifying human speaking, and hence Message/Letter in Chinese, Xin represents a primitive means of communication. Today, however, it has come to encompass many more dimensions. Under this theme, Icograda World Design Congress Beijing 2009 will explore contemporary issues surrounding communication design through a series of presentations, discussions and pre-Congress workshops.

The pre-Congress workshops are a special feature of Icograda World Design Congress 2009. These will take place between 19-24 October 2009 in a number of cities around China including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenyang, Jinan, Guilin, Tianjin, Suzhou, Nanjin and Jingdezhen. The call for pre-Congress workshop leaders and participatory students is now open. The project welcomes international designers, design educators and design students to join their Chinese counterparts in a unique exploration of local Chinese art and design. The results of these workshops will be collected and exhibited during the Congress in Beijing. The deadline for workshop leader applications is 10 September 2009. For student applications, the deadline is 30 September 2009.