I didn’t go to Milan Design Week this year, but my dear friend Kristina Dryza did. Her perspective is pretty great, and sort of what I expected to hear. Excerpt below:

In the West, we crave experiences that help us know ourselves better, and better express ourselves. The companies showing at design week needed to use ‘illumination' as the filter from which to deliver their brand experience as the world doesn't need another chair, light fixture or cabinet. The world needs design steeped in meaning. And as many social commentators keep reiterating, meaning is the new currency.

Read the rest over here.

Our pal Alice Wang dropped us a note letting us know about her latest project, Commodity Love. She’s at it again making us scratch our head wondering what’s true here. She says “As products get more and more attractive, can they replace the feelings we have towards our loved ones? Will you love your phone more than your girlfriend? Or will you love your car more than your wife? And how would you feel if your wife told you she suddenly loves chocolate more than sex?”

Depends what kind of car I guess.

The badges are made out of stainless steel with a piece of magnet at the back that can be attached to any garment.

They are on sale at Galleria Nina Lumer in Milan:

22-27 APRIL 2009
GALLERIA NINA LUMER
VIA BOTTA 8 20135 MILAN

Related Posts: Chairs with Personality, Sleep Inventions, Peer Pressure

Nobody is perfect. Even the most advanced design prodigy has room to improve a little bit. So how does a creative creature continue to grow? Well, the first step is admitting that you don’t know everything. The second step is going on an Italian vacation and checking out the four summer courses offered at Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, Italy. Starting on June 27th (but continuing through the rest of the summer) the prestigious design school will offer successive week long workshops with the likes of such industry luminaries as Ross Lovegrove, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Matali Crasset, and Marti Guixa. The individual programs will focus on corporate design collaboration and future innovation. If this sounds like something you want in on, buy an Italian dictionary, book a flight, and reserve your space right now.

Grace, my good blogging pal from Design*Sponge spent what looks like a solid week of furniture flirting in Milan at the Furniture and Design fair– you can view the coverage on her own site, or at her House & Garden Blog (her travel sponsor). The fair just wrapped up and she’s back and jet lagged (welcome to the club), but this is some of the best Milan event coverage I’ve seen online– go check it out, it’s a lot of fun!