After much anticipation, designEX , Australasia’s forum for contemporary design and architecture, will open next Thursday 19 April at 9am with a champagne breakfast hosted by Jamie Durie, with official proceedings by The Honourable John Brumby, MP, Victorian Treasurer and Minister for Innovation with responsibility for design.

The event, which runs until Saturday 21 April, will see Australia’s top design-related experts meet for three days to see the new design and innovative products and speak to industry leaders about upcoming trends and launches from around the world. Co-located with designEX is Form & Function, the leading event for the building and construction industries.

In addition to exhibitors from big name brands to boutique labels, unveiling products, services and innovations in the design, architecture and building industries, highlights for designEX include:

  • Presented by Home Beautiful and Monument, twenty of the nation’s good recent design graduates will display their innovative sustainable design works at Latitude. Dubbed Full Cream Talent, entries (ranging from furniture, lighting to jewellery and more) will be housed in the Milk Bar a display suite by Melbourne’s Buro North design studio made from flocked milk crates

  • Under the theme What Counts in Design, The International Seminar Series will bring visitors up-close and personal with some of the world’s design and brand communications experts. In addition to an informative and engaging line-up of seminars and workshops will be the new At Lunch With series, a collection of interactive workshop-style lunches where visitors will dine with the big names in the design industry in an intimate setting to discuss debate and be inspired by the new feast of design topics. The national conference of the Royal Institute of Architects will also be held to coincide with designEX and Form & Function
  • The New Products Awards will also be a featured at this year’s designEX, awarding excellence in eight different categories. The award recognises the exciting, inspirational and innovative products at the exhibition
  • New: Celebrity sensation to designEX 2007 will come in the form of The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie, a fresh modern concept that takes a traditional interior setting outside and welcomes the exterior in, blurring the lines between indoors and outdoors. Durie will also be one of the stars at the International Seminar Series (At Lunch With) events
  • New: The Champagne and Oyster Bar provides an opportunity for visitors to rub shoulders with industry leaders, or a social area to network with colleagues and clients over a glass of Moet and a shucked oyster at this chic and transparent, circular bar
  • The Interior Trends Market Week will showcase the opulent fabrics from Australia’s fabric importers and wholesalers as part of the Textile Distributors of Australia official exhibition. Interior design and fashion collide at the Interior Trends Market Week Fashion Cafe. Watch models draped in the new colour and fabric combinations take to the catwalk in daily fashion parades boasting Australia’s leading fabric houses
  • The achievements of Australia’s top designers and architects will be recognised at the Interior Design Awards Presentation Dinner (Friday 20 April), held to coincide with designEX

Australia’s trade event for building and architectural professionals, Form & Function, staged in collaboration with the Royal Institute of Architects, will be held in conjunction with designEX. The Seminar Series and Sustainable Products Feature will be a major draw card to the event.