Saturday in Design in Melbourne is all wrapped up and everybody’s talking – from the Indesign team to the whole design community (thedesignfiles.net).

Things got started on Wednesday with the Launch Pad exhibition opening, including a mentoring event for these talented emerging designers.

+Friday was a busy day, with over 40 showrooms open and many hosting breakfasts, lunches and evening functions. Austrian designer, Harald Grundl, brought out by Walter Knoll, spoke at Classique in the CBD, a warm up for his talk on Saturday at Living Edge.

Michael Plank launched Konstantin Grcic’s ‘Myto’ chair for Insitu, Sebel announced the winner of the Sebel Green Furniture Design Competition and GHD presented their Zero carbon neutral building project at the State Library.

And the Geyer debate, a light-hearted back-and-forth on the subject of ‘The hand of the designer is lost in this age of technology’, was moderated by our own ‘immoderate moderator’ Paul McGillick, Editor of Indesign and Habitus magazines.

But Saturday is when things started to really rev up, with outstanding presentations in all precincts. Find out what the indesign team had to say about the weekend and check out the galleries for all the action you might have missed.

Nicky Lobo, SiD Editorial Co-ordinator

So this was the best SiD yet, hands down. I’ve been for a fair few years now, and everything just seemed to go extra smoothly in 2008. Was it the vibrant design precincts, the eager events and tourism student ambassadors, or just the happy Melbourne crowd?

Whatever it was, it made for a great couple of days. One memorable product for me was the already-famous Myto chair, launched in Australia by Michael Plank at Insitu. A video presentation showed the true might of Myto (mee-toe), seemingly unbreakable and able to withstand 890kg of weight. So even after eating all the fantastic food at SiD showrooms this year, we can sit stylishly overweight, thanks to this collaboration between Konstanstin Grcic, BASF and Plank.

The Project was a fabulous addition – surely this will be a regular from now on! Credit to those who totally transformed their showroom – take a bow Schiavello – and to those who rose to the challenge of a restricted time frame and budget – enter Mark Simpson from Universal Design Studio. Asked to create an installation in Format’s space a mere 10 days before the event, he roped in some friends for a marathon origami folding session, resulting in a simple, beautiful and effective artwork using only the pages of Indesign and DQ magazines.

I’m so looking forward to Brisbane Indesign and next year’s SiD as well – you’ve got a lot to live up to Sydney!

The ’Myto’ Chair, at Insitu

The Schiavello Showroom

The Format Showroom

The Corporate Culture Showroom – reflecting their theme – ’Lounging around at Corporate Culture’

Penny Craswell, Indesign Magazine Deputy Editor

My highlights included presentations and conversations with our international guests: Harald Grundl of design trio EOOS, brought out from Austria by Walter Knoll, product designer Jeffrey Bernett, brought out from New York by Space Furniture and Michael Plank of the brand Plank, brought out by Insitu.

I didn’t get around to all the precincts, but I also enjoyed meeting and seeing new work by Australian designers, including Tait and ISM who showed their Australian designed and made furniture and lighting (respectively) and MAP International who rushed to finish their beautifully-designed pieces especially in time for the event.

I was entertained by buskers at the Meat Works and spray paint artists working steadily away creating art for Elite Space’s filing cabinets. Also at the Meat Works, I was impressed by Whitecliffe Imports’ installation which included a hills hoist, grass and a fence, all made from completely re-cycled materials, including the packing felt and boxes. Chairbiz also went for the Aussie look of a hills hoist and fake grass, with a walkway of chairs which leading from the fake yard into the showroom.

There was plenty of joy and enthusiasm around this year, from the Geyer Debate which provided lots of belly laughs to some showrooms that were just plain fun, like Sampford IXL and Zip, where the staff created a sense of joy and friendliness, dressed in a rainbow of bright-coloured t-shirts and with cooking and games all day.

There’s plenty more I could mention and not enough space to list everything, but overall it was a fantastic weekend.

Elite Space Exhibit (Meat Markets)

James Richardson Exhibit (Meat Markets)

Whitecliffe Imports Exhibit (Meat Markets)

At Chairbiz

At the Geyer Debate

Angela Raven, Events Co-ordinator

My highlight was the Launch Pad mentoring afternoon – the chance to meet and catch up with a new generation of Australian designers and watch as discussion, questions and suggestions flew around the room, leaving us all with a positive feeling about the future of Australian design.

Click here to see pics of Launch Pad

Top Hero Image: ’Rims Perfect Packages’ were placed at locations around the city as part of a competition to name three attributes of Rim Fabrics. If you think you can name them, send an email with your answers to info@saturdayindesign.com.au