Which stories were you totally obsessed with this year?

Porter Davis’ new state of the art Docklands office, designed by The Bold Collective

“They came to us with a clear brief. The main objectives were to accommodate 300+ staff within one floor plate at 720 Bourke Street and reflect their unique World Of Style design process within the workplace. Currently their staff is widespread across 7 locations throughout Melbourne and this co-location project aspired to build and strengthen culture and enable better work practices. An activity based workplace approach was adopted with a variety of work settings and a number of client facing meeting rooms.”

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IKEA brought the harsh reality of the Syrian crisis in store, setting up a 25-square-metre replica of a real Syrian family home at its Norway flagship.

It’s pretty bleak out there – a fact that can be all too easy to forget when we are siloed into the working world of design. Swedish furniture giant IKEA knows just how easy it is to consume and be consumed, especially when strolling through its maze-like shop floor, lined with immaculate everyday lounge room installations and kitchen displays.

In October IKEA installed a 25-square-metre replica of a real Syrian family’s home at its Norway flagship, in amongst its standard styled displays. The idea was to drive home a harsh reality. However accessible its design is, IKEA’s neat flatpack furniture is simply not everyone’s everyday.

To make the experience as authentic as possible, POL (the ad agency who dreamt up the activation), built the installation on-site. “It would have been easier to just put up wallpaper, but it wouldn’t have felt the same,” art director Snorre Martinsen told AdWeek. “People who had fled war themselves have told us, ‘This is how it feels.’ ‘I remember this.’”

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The 7 Coolest Stands at Orgatec This Year

Whose stand game was on point this year? Indesign was on the ground, giving you the cream of the crop for Orgatec 2016. Featuring highlights from BuzziSpace, Vitra, Pedrali, Nendo, Normann Copenhagen and more

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At this year’s Salone del Mobile, a collection of unlikely, non-industry specific exhibitors broadened the scope of what we’ve come to expect at Milan. Pepsi and Nike were two of the highlights.

PepsiCo and Nike were just two exhibitors who crisscrossed disciplines to highlight the evolution of good design, and build upon a broader, more rounded conversation on design, and the pivotal role design can play for brands and products in creating meaningful experiences for users and consumers.

While PepsiCo could be the most unlikely exhibitor to ever appear at an international design fair – their pop-bright presentation rivalled critical attention again at Milan this year for its fresh approach to design thinking, and its intriguing design alliances. The presentation forms part of a budding crop of industry outsiders and conglomerates joining Salone del Mobile each year, like BMW and Apple.

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