When design steps out onto the streets of Zurich

There are things we use every day and almost never think about. The chair we sit on, the glass we drink water from, the sign at the stop that tells us where to go, the light in a restaurant that keeps us there longer than we planned, or a poster on the street that makes us stop. Someone designed all of it, chose the material, the size, the colour and the way we would communicate with that object or space. Design is everywhere around us — we simply tend to notice it only when something does not work.

That is why I find it interesting that every autumn, through Zurich Design Weeks, Zurich opens up the subject of design far more widely than we usually imagine when we hear that word. From 17 to 27 September, different locations around the city become places for exhibitions, talks, workshops and encounters with people who think about how we shape objects, spaces and the future we are going to live in. This year's motto "OUT OF…" already sounds like an invitation to step outside the usual frame and look at what happens when we see familiar things from another angle.

I am particularly interested in design through cultural events. When you organise a performance, you quickly learn that the audience experiences far more than what happens on stage. The poster is often the first encounter with the event. The entrance to the hall, the light in the foyer, the way the chairs are arranged, the programme someone is holding and even the route the audience takes to their seat all shape the whole experience. Good design does not impose itself. It simply helps a person find their way, feel comfortable and keep their attention where it belongs.

Switzerland is a country where, over time, I have learned to appreciate exactly that kind of thoughtfulness. You can see it in public transport, in graphic signage, in architecture, in books, in packaging and in the way public spaces are arranged. Of course, not everything is perfect here either, but there is a long tradition of thinking seriously about function and form. When you live in such an environment for a long time, you start noticing details you may never have registered before.

Design is also interesting because it tells us a great deal about the time we live in. It used to be enough for an object to be beautiful and functional. Today we talk more and more about durability, usability and sustainability. The same goes for cities. The question of what public space will look like is no longer only an aesthetic one; it is tied to the climate, mobility, an ageing population, children, accessibility and the way we want to live together.

That is precisely why I would recommend Zurich Design Weeks even to people who would never describe themselves as design lovers. You do not have to know the names of designers or follow trends. It is enough to be curious about how the things around us come into being, and why we feel good in one space while we want to leave another as soon as possible. A good programme often opens a question we carry home with us and start noticing in our own flat, office or street.

These days I find it especially interesting to watch how cultural life in Zurich overlaps. As Design Weeks begins, we at HELSE are on the eve of our play "Ljudi odozgo" on 19 September at the Volkshaus. Two completely different events, and both of them remind me how important it is to step out of the routine and see something live. One time we watch what designers do with objects and space, another time what actors do with a text, a stage and an audience. In both cases the experience depends on our own willingness to be present.

If you have time this weekend, walk through one of the Zurich Design Weeks programmes without any obligation to understand or see everything. Choose a theme that feels close to you, visit one space you have never been to before, and pay attention to the city along the way. Afterwards you may look differently at the bench you are sitting on, the shop window you walk past or the poster that until yesterday was just part of the street.

Those are exactly the kind of cultural events I love most. They give us a new pair of eyes for a few hours, and then return us to the same city, which suddenly looks a little different.

— Evica