It has been a year of milestones for Indesign Media. In June we brought home our most successful INDE.Awards yet. With 430+ entries from more than 14 countries, the awards program has carved out a uniquely democratic platform for the Indo-Pacific region – something which no other awards program does. Design excellence is not dependent upon big budgets and slick imagery; weight is given to the role of design in respect to local culture, community, and user needs.

Closely following the INDEs was Saturday Indesign, making its exciting comeback to Melbourne after a two-year hiatus. Its festival-like atmosphere creates an event dynamic as yet unmatched in our region. And the opportunities for connection and collaboration are plentiful.

On the commercial design front, we staged the second annual FRONT.design at Barangaroo, Sydney. It’s an ambitious event – the first and only of its kind in Australia – with a rich and multi-faceted program that addresses our complex commercial ecosystem. It has been effective in bridging the gaps between a vast playing-field of stakeholders and building productive links where before none existed.

The success of these initiatives is leading us with renewed vigour into 2020, the year in which we celebrate 20 years in business and in print. Stay tuned for some exciting reveals! On the topic of futures: what are the imperatives for our cities in 2019 and beyond? I put the question to the design leaders and industry experts for the ‘City Futures’ issue. What arose were vital and important themes around urban density (pages 142 and 152), housing affordability (page 132), multi-functional aged and healthcare environments that foreground the dignity of the user (page 145), and the critical importance of moving forward in a ‘co-design’ partnership with Indigenous people (page 154).

This is an issue that is alive with the voices of our design community. You’ve put words to it, we’ve given it the platform it deserves. Enjoy!

Alice Blackwood | Editor