13 star speakers you can’t miss at the country’s biggest design event, India Design ID 2018

Have you booked your passes for India Design ID 2018? This edition takes it up a notch, with brilliant artists, real-life cyborgs and legendary designers speaking at ID Symposium. Scroll down to get acquainted with the speakers, along with a schedule for ID Symposium:

Neil HarbissonOfficially recognized as a cyborg, the contemporary artist has an antenna implanted inside his skull that refutes the colour blindness he was born with. Allowing him to listen to colour, the antenna also has an internet connection that lets him receive colours, phone calls, music and images directly from other devices. Thus, Neil creates artwork that reflects the union between colour and sound in a way no human can.Website: www.harbisson.com

Amit SyngleAs President of Sales, Marketing and Technology for Asian Paints Ltd., Amit Syngle has been the man behind the brand’s research oriented colour prediction system. Setting the tone for colour trends around India, Amit has propelled the brand into a league of its own, with handcrafted wallpapers, collaborations with Sabyasachi and more.Website: www.asianpaints.com

Ron AradFrom designing chandeliers for Swarovski to building a cancer treatment center for both Palestinians and Israelis, Ron Arad ventures out of the industrial design box quite often. The Israeli architect and designer’s genius lies in his ability to go beyond the mere form of everyday objects and create bold new dimensions. For 25 years, he has straddled the thin line between industrial design and contemporary art. Often working in steel, Arad now capitalizes new technology – remote controlling his own designs and fabricating Bluetooth-enabled furniture. “Boredom” he says “is the mother of creativity”.Website: www.ronarad.co.uk

Javier MariscalComics, movies, interior design, painting and sculptures are only a few of varied things Javier Mariscal does. “My speciality is being creative, innovative, making language go as far as possible, trying to develop codes, signs and graphic messages. Bringing them up to date,” he says. And his creations range from Cobi, the mascot for the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics and Chico & Rita – a cartoon movie, to the electronically charged interiors of the H&M store in Barcelona.

Website: www.mariscal.com

Simon VelezThirty-five years ago, Simon discovered a construction technique that allowed him to use bamboo as ‘vegetal steel’ by injecting cement mortar into bamboo. Based on his belief that architecture needs to become more natural or “vegetarian”, Simon has used bamboo as well as other materials for his projects, with the firm exception of plastics, asbestos cement and drywall, to design over 200 buildings around the world.Website: www.simonvelez.net

Takaharu TezukaAfter doing his M.Arch at the University of Pennsylvania, Takaharu went on to found Tezuka Architects. He is now the President of Tezuka Architects, as well as a Professor at Tokyo City University, and has won the Japan Institute of Architects Award (in 2008 for Fuji Kindergarten and 2015 for Sora no Mori Clinic), and the Good Design Gold Prize in 1997 and 2013.Website: www.tezuka-arch.comTarun ThakralAlthough Tarun works in the hospitality sector as the Chief Operating Officer at CJ International Hotels Ltd, he is equally passionate about vintage cars. He developed India’s first comprehensive Transport Museum: the Heritage Transport Museum, which includes Tarun’s own personal collection of more than 200 vintage cars, commercial vehicles and more, to promote the preservation of Indian transportation.Website: www.heritagetransportmuseum.orgMukul GoyalSpot ‘Flying Locomotives’, Mukul’s eclectic installation at the Mumbai International Airport, or browse through his range of quirky tableware, barware and more from his eponymous label. The principal designer and director of Designwise India Pvt Ltd. creates designs that sell around the world under his labels – Tattva and Mukul Goyal.Website: www.mukulgoyal.com

Ross LovegroveA graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, the visionary authoring ‘Alessandri Office System’, he returned to London to work with names like Cappellini, Idee and Renault, amongst others. His projects have also been exhibited in museums like the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Guggenheim Museum. Website: www.rosslovegrove.com

Sameep PadoraGraduating with a Masters in Design Studies from Harvard University, Sameep Padora of sP+a designs with socio-cultural contexts in mind. He is the creator of the ‘Lattice house’ or the home made entirely with horizontal bands of wood. His studio’s approach believes in the practicality of traditional crafts, and actively engages with forgotten techniques. Website: www.sp-arc.net

Swapan SethFrom starting an advertising agency, Equus, and authoring ‘This is All I Have to Say’, to writing frequently for The Economic Times, Hindustan Times, Harper’s Bazaar, India Today and Travel+Leisure, Swapan’s creativity spans across all mediums. He is also one of India’s largest private art collectors. Website: www.swapanseth.com

Anuja GuptaAlong with her husband Mayank, Anuja Gupta runs the high-end décor brand Apartment 9, as the Design Creative Director and Co-Founder. Website: www.apartment9.com

Michael VaskuMichael Vasku believes in magic with crystal. The Creative Director of Preciosa Lighting creates stunning chandeliers with the belief that no revolution is necessary to create radically innovative chandeliers- and that an understanding of history and context is all one needs. Website: www.preciosalighting.com

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Also read: Visit India Design ID, India’s definitive design week in New Delhi