4 Design Days Event

Yesterday, we met up with the other three Erasmus students again and all met at the 4 Design Days Event, held at the striking Spodek Arena in Katowice. We had found out about the event through an email that Agnieszka sent us and felt it would be a good opportunity to learn about modern Polish design. It cost just 10 zloty for a group ticket, 2 zloty for each person - this converts to just 43p!

The 4 Design Days website:

http://www.4dd.pl/en/

Before we went into the event, we walked up to the top area of the arena to get a panoramic view of the city. It was quite a striking view and made me realise quite how spread out the city of Katowice really is. I look forward to exploring the city in more detail, there is still so much to see.

There were many displays and exhibitions set up in each of the halls, the first hall we went into was the selling area. Products on sale to buy included artwork, bags, lamps, jar gardens, clothing, jewellery and unique pieces of interior design. There were some beautiful items, many of which may have been handmade. This was reflected by the prices, they were quite expensive but many of the items did appear to be specialist.

Maggie Plu - artist

We went into another hall area where there were more display exhibitions for the purpose of observing or discussing with the people at the stand. These may not have been available to purchase today or at all, they were more like forms of advertisement and show and tell. A stall that particularly stood out to us was run by a company called Wolf Design and presented a 3D printer in action. The 3D printer was printing models of wolves to advertise the brand and there was also an example table that had been 3D printed. It was very clever. The 3D printed wolves were being given out to young children and we later went back just before the event finished at 6pm to see if they had any left. They did and it felt great to be given something to keep that had been 3D printed.

3D printed wolf sculpture
They also had red, yellow and blue wolves. The separate components that have been used to create the structure are quite geometrical with sharp edges. I think the wolf appears quite stylish and modern, perhaps a reflection of the Wolf Design company.

3D printed table
The form of this table appears to be quite complex and is very much a series of lines crossing over one another. It is quite abstract and the shine makes it appear modern and stylish. We discussed the design with a man at the stand and he said it took 4 months to 3D print.

The event was mainly focused on interior design, architecture and spatial design. I am interested in each of these disciplines, I find they can give my illustrative work a source of inspiration. I picked up some leaflets, postcards and business cards that I can use to create collages with or keep as sources of inspiration. The space in which the event was held was fairly large and spread out so we were walking around for about 3 hours, taking in unique forms of design.

As we were walking towards the main Spodek arena, there were a series of mirrors displayed that gave you different appearances when you looked into them. This was quite fun and we took some funny photos.

In the main Spodek arena, there was an exhibition run by graduates of ASP Katowice, who I think had studied Industrial Design. One of the students who gave us a tour of the university was there and he spoke to us a little about the different projects that were on display. 

ASP Katowice exhibition at 4 Design Days
I like the boldness of this design both in terms of the style and colour palette. It stands out and would make quite a statement as a feature wall in a room. I have a keen interest in pattern design and hope to create some pattern designs inspired by my studies and travels in Poland.

I think this pattern design is beautiful, it reminds me of Springtime and I would definitely choose it for an interior design purpose. The blooms appear lifelike and as if they are floating. The pattern is a repeat but the flowers have been rotated rather than repeated in exactly the same direction throughout.


This next drawing was in a separate display in another area of the arena.

360 degree angle pencil drawing, This has been cleverly drawn to convey curves and to create a sense of depth and perspective. The use of tone is consistent and varied. 

Once we had left the event, we walked to the Supersam shopping centre. We hadn't yet been in there so it was good to have a look around. The three other Erasmus students bought food in there but we decided we would go home to cook as we still had food in the fridge to use up. We made a quick visit to the supermarket, Aldi, to buy some sweet goodies. Now that we know that it is here, we will go back and do more shopping. Aldi was laid out more like it is at home and we recognised quite a few of the brands so it would make our shopping experiences easier. We also noticed they had a few dessert cafes within the shopping centre, the ice-cream looks amazing and one of the places sells pancakes so we will definitely come back to satisfy our sweet cravings!

Supersam shopping centre

Sweet treats from Aldi

Mixed cheese and hotdog pasta 

I now hope to take what I have learnt from visiting this event into my own work, perhaps taking more consideration when designing to come up with unique and skilful outcomes.   

Leaflets and adverts collected from the event 

4 Design Days map