Victor Papanek
By Mariana Hristova
In his seminal book, Design for the Real World, Austrian designer and philosopher Victor Papanek expresses the concern that “recent design satisfies only evanescent wants and desires, while the genuine needs of man have often been neglected.”
This core belief places him among the pioneers of socially and ecologically responsible design, and defines him as a thinker who even back in the ‘70s stood against the mass production of showy and essentially useless products. The Barcelona Design Museum has now dedicated an exhibition on Papanek that demonstrates how his ideas are today being implemented in policy on media, digital social structures, biotechnology, design methodology & thinking, sustainability and social inclusion – all from the perspective of design as a political tool.
The pieces exhibited come from his foundation archives, while collaborating on the project are the Vitra Design Museum and University of Applied Arts Vienna.