The expertise of the Zukunftsinstitut, one of the most important think tanks in Europe, meets more than 70 years of design experience: the iF DESIGN TREND REPORT brings together analyses of social megatrends and concrete examples of sustainable design achievements. What can and what must designers achieve today?

Dr. Sandra Groll kicks off the iF Design Marathon with a top-class panel: Patrick Speck, Ana Relvão, Hanne Willmann, Johanna Loomis and Prof. Nils Krüger reflect and discuss the urgency of a second-order future forecast.

What can, what must design and technology achieve in categories such as Home, Consumer Tech and Mobility? We cordially invite you to the start of the iF Design Marathon with this exciting round around urgent (design) topics:

Uwe Cremering, CEO iF Design, welcomes you and the guests to the opening event of the second iF Design Marathon in Berlin!

Design makes the difference!

Patrick Speck is the Leader of LIXIL Global Design (EMENA) in London (Great Britain), holding the regional design leadership for LIXIL’s GROHE and Cobra brands, assuring to remain well defined, authentic, and with a unique sense of purpose. After completing his studies in industrial design as well as in product design and engineering from PUCPR – Pontifical Catholic University, Curitiba PR in 2000, he led numerous projects for global brands such as Electrolux, Zanussi and AEG before he joined GROHE in 2006. With the purpose to deliver insight-driven and meaningful product solutions, he ensures all designs add real value to consumer lives.

In 2014, the award-winning industrial designer Ana Relvão founded the Munich-based studio Relvãokellermann together with Gerhardt Kellermann. She won the award of the INOV-ART scholarship of the Portuguese Ministry of Culture and was nominated for the Design Award of the City of Munich in 2016 and 2020. Ana was a guest professor at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart in 2018. Relvãokellermann works in the field of industrial design, spatial design, art direction and consultancy. Some of their clients over the years include Auerberg, Buthaup, COR, Holzrausch, Huawei, Samsung and Stylepark.

In 2015, Hanne Willmann founded her eponymous Berlin-based design studio, where she‘s focusing on Product Design and Creative Direction. The multidisciplinary designer's core competences include the areas of furniture, lights and tableware. Hanne's designs are characterized by her deep passion for details and the high value placed on aesthetic appeal. After studying at the University of the Arts in Berlin and at Elisava in Barcelona, Hanne worked for the design studio Autoban in Istanbul and for Werner Aisslinger in Berlin. In 2015, she was selected as "Design Talent of the Year 2015" by A&W Magazine, followed by the German Design Award "Newcomer Finalist 2016". From 2017 to 2021 she was lecturing at the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Dessau and the University of the Arts in Berlin.

Johanna Loomis is an Industrial Design Lead in Hamburg at Vay, a Berlin-based start-up, driven by design’s potential to provide long-lasting solutions for society & the planet. She is focused on developing innovative approaches to driverless mobility, as well as building up a team to craft unique, branded user experiences. Since 2010, Johanna has been working in various international design agencies, leading interdisciplinary and strategic design projects in B2B, FMCG and B2C industries.

Prof. Nils Krüger is product designer, managing director as well as partner of the Berlin design office büro+staubach. Since 2014 he is professor for design with focus on design and mobility at the Kunsthochschule Berlin Weißensee. From 2004 to 2014, he was professor for product design with digital media at the Postsdam University of Applied Sciences.

Dr. Sandra Groll is a design scientist, systems theorist and designer. She studied at the hfg Karlsruhe and received her PhD from the HfG Offenbach in 2020. From 2016 to 2018 she was a substitute professor for system design at the Kunsthochschule Kassel. Since 2010, she has taught and lectured at various universities in Germany and abroad, including FH Potsdam, FH Bielefeld, Freie Universität Bozen, HfK Bremen, Zhejiang Wanli University Ningbo, Design Factory International and Brand University Hamburg.