The Biennial of Design (or BIO, from its Slovene acronym) is an international design exhibition that, through its selection of well-designed works and emphasis on quality, originality, and innovation, presents current trends in contemporary design. The exhibited works are eligible to receive the Biennial’s awards for the best designs of the past two years.

With a tradition of 48 years, BIO is one of the world’s oldest international design events. The organiser of the Biennial, the Museum of Architecture and Design, is inviting submissions for the 23rd Biennial of Design.

Margriet Vollenberg and Margo Konings from the studio, Organisation in Design, are the curators of BIO 23. The curators have decided on the theme for BIO 23, themed, “Design Relations”, and they will select the works to be exhibited. In making their selection, they will be guided by the criteria of functionality, sustainability, commercial viability, cultural significance, social importance, the concept of the work, the use of materials, the production process, and aesthetics.
The theme investigate ‘How are designers and the works they create influenced by modern technologies, digitalisation and globalisation?’ And ‘how is design evolving?’ BIO 23 will seek to show fresh new ideas and explore how design relates to the social, the sustainable, and the cultural, while displaying crossovers between culture and commerce, crafts and industry.

Applicants may be designers, commissioners, manufacturers, academics, or students, who are involved in the creation of the submitted work, as well as BIO’s partner organisations, provided they do so with the consent of the author of the work or concept.

Eligible disciplines from which works may be submitted are: product design, industrial design, environmental design, communications design, transport design, spatial design, social design, experimental design, and others. Either finished design works or design concepts may be submitted from these fields.

Entries for BIO 23 will be accepted between 6 February and 8 April 2012.

The BIO 23 exhibition will be held from 27 September to 11 November 2012 at the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

For more information visit http://www.bio.si/