Queensland’s Ideas Festival kicks off this week with the OpenIDEO Workshop, followed by a weekend of speakers and other events.
May 17th, 2011
The OpenIDEO Local Food Workshop began this week as part of the Ideas Festival in Brisbane (you can read all about it over here or on the OpenIDEO website). There’s a huge line-up of events and speakers to keep everyone involved over 5 days.
Tom Hulme, Design Director at IDEO in London, and Paul Bennett, Chief Creative Officer of IDEO, speaks about the company’s – and their personal – approaches to solving big problems.
Tom Hulme’s presentation ’Crowd sourcing: How do you engage those on the edge?’ explores “the rapidly emerging space of open innovation and confront[ing] the challenges of crowd sourcing” through the significant advancements in technology and social media.
Paul Bennett’s ’Global problem solving: Can small x many = BIG?’ – which he presented on late last year at the Unlimited Triennial – discusses how we can “challenge traditional interpretations of design and reveal[ing] how design thinking could be the universal problem-solving tool for the social, ecological and political challenges ahead”.

Australian of the year, Simon Mckeon, presents ’Inclusive Australia: Is there a place for profit in social enterprise?’, exploring “some of the ways that individuals and the business community can embrace philanthropy, social enterprise and inclusive business to shape a positive future for Australia and the Asia Pacific region”.
These gentlemen are highly sought-after speakers, with large international followings and are expected to draw big crowds.
The details:
Tom Hulme ’Crowd sourcing: How do you engage those on the edge?’
When: 1:30pm Friday 20 May
Where: Auditorium 1, level 2, State Library of Queensland
Cost: Free, bookings required
Paul Bennett ’Global problem solving: Can small x many = BIG?’
When: 3pm Friday 20 May
Where: Auditorium 1, level 2 , State Library of Queensland
Cost: Free, bookings required
Simon McKeon ’Inclusive Australia: Is there a place for profit in social enterprise?’
When: 11:30am Saturday 21 May
Where: Auditorium 1, level 2, State Library of Queensland
Cost: Free, bookings required
Follow our coverage from the Ideas Festival and OpenIDEO Workshop throughout the week and check out the full program of speakers here.
Ideas Festival
ideasfestival.com.au
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
In the first instalment of our three-part series exploring what it means to sit your best, we pose the question to Gray Puksand’s Dale O’Brien, who discusses the importance of ease and majority rule when it comes to sitting and reveals why specifying a task chair is not unlike choosing a Volvo.
The newest brand to emerge from Cosentino’s creative crucible is Ēclos, a next-generation mineral surface that embodies the organic beauty and tactility of marble in a precision-mineral surface or material.
Blending versatile cooking with smart performance, Bosch AccentLine appliances bring a quieter sense of order and simplicity to the modern kitchen.
In the second instalment of our performance seating three-parter, we turn to DKO’s Michael Drescher and Jacob Olsen to peek behind Sayl’s confident architectural form and explore the ideas of inclusivity, adaptability and freedom to move as hallmarks of what sitting your best actually means.
A leader in the production and supply of office storage solutions, we take a closer look at Statewide’s offerings.
Furniture is the crowning factor of a well planned and architecturally designed project. When Villanova Boy’s School was completed, they looked to ARKI Environments to help them prioritise furniture aesthetics and spatial flexibility in line with the building’s architectural design intent.
Viccarbe’s design furniture concepts draw inspiration from the vibrant spirit of Valencia and have revolutionised interiors across the globe. Featuring celebrated designers such as John Pawson and internationally acclaimed collections, Viccarbe offers a contemporary perspective on modern commercial and residential spaces.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
What does home mean to us and how does it shape the way we live? These questions and more will be the focus for the second Sydney Open Symposium on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May, 2026.
At Machine Hall, Herman Miller gathered Sydney’s design community to consider performance seating as part of workplace strategy, not just workplace furniture.