Nurturing Thoughtfulness

Wanted Design’s founders discuss why a platform for socially and environmentally responsible design is so important.

- Avinash Rajagopal

Now in its eighth year, WantedDesign will examine the intersection of sustainability and social responsibility through its 2019 theme, “Conscious Design.” Come mid-May, design schools from around the world will exhibit student projects under this rubric at WantedDesign Brooklyn in Industry City, in the neighborhood of Sunset Park. Metropolis spoke to the fair’s founders Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat about how the theme furthers WantedDesign’s long-standing mission of promoting emerging design talent.

Avinash Rajagopal: How did the theme “Conscious Design” come about?

Claire Pijoulat: Conscious design is something we implemented three years ago in our own guidelines for exhibitors. The first thing people see in our guidelines is in capital letters: “Our exhibitors are encouraged to have a zero-waste purpose in the way they are producing their exhibition.”