New exhibition to explore the art of the designer-client relationship

Somerset House has revealed the details of a new group exhibition called Design Frontiers, which will see installations from the likes of PriestmanGoode and Jaguar.

Running alongside London Design Festival (LDF) this September, Design Frontiers will look at the tension between design innovation on the one hand, and the demands of the modern marketplace on the other.

“Progress in design is only possible with enlightened clients, and the exhibition will look in detail at some of these engaged conversations and present the fruits of these collaborations,” says Somerset House.

The exhibition will see installations from 30 international designers spanning sectors from product design and graphics to digital and automotive.

All of the installations will be created in partnership with the designers’ chosen clients, and will include product designer Tord Boontje’s reimagining of the chandelier with Swarovski, and a glimpse into the “beautiful, fast cars of the future” by Jaguar’s director of design Ian Callum.

Design touches every part of our lives

London-based consultancy PriestmanGoode will move its design studio to Somerset house for the duration of the exhibition as part of an installation called Please Don’t Feed the Designers. It will showcase individual designers including material specialists and visualisers working on real-life projects, allowing visitors to gain an insight into their creative processes.

Layer founder Benjamin Hubert will create the sustainability-focused Axyl collection for UK furniture maker Allermuir, which will be displayed as part of an architectural installation spanning three rooms in the gallery.

Layer will also launch a new, lifestyle-focused technology brand called Nolii – which has been co-founded by design entrepreneur Asad Hamir – and debut products from its first collection.

Other collaborations will include Kvadrat with 19 emerging and established designers; Katie Greenyer for Pentland Brands and Arik Levy with Compac, alongside installations by Form Us With Love, Super-Flux, and Pentagram.

LDF director Ben Evans, says: “Design Frontiers displays the broad reach of the discipline: the way in which design touches every part of our everyday lives, and ultimately how it might improve them.”