Herald Media, the publisher of The Korea Herald and Herald Business, is holding the first iDEA Herald Design Forum on Oct. 5 and 6.

The iDEA forum, (short for information, design, entertainment academy) will bring together leading designers and futurologists from across the world to hold discussions under the theme of “design changes the world.”

The forum, held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, will provide the stage to shed light on the increasing importance of design, and the significance of design on national, economic and cultural levels.

Experts attending the forum will include some of the most well known names from the field of design including the brand futurist Martin Lindstrom, former BMW chief of design Chris Bangle and industrial designer Karim Rashid, and they will present their philosophy and vision for design.

Leaders from Korea’s design industry will also be present at the forum. Leaders of Korean design industry participating in the forum will include designer and Innodesign chief executive Kim Young-se and Choi Sang-hyun, who is responsible for the hit animation Pororo the Little Penguin.

The two-day forum will be divided into three main sessions; “National and city design,” “industrial and corporate design” and “culture and design.”

In the first session, the attending experts will discuss ways to design a sustainable city, and the second session will provide insight into smart designs and IT industrial design.

The third session will be held under the theme “Design, story of changing the world,” and will include a mentoring session for aspiring designers.

In the run up to the forum, The Korea Herald will also hold a design presentation competition for university students. Applications to enter the competition can be submitted from Aug. 16 to Sept. 19, and 10 selected teams will be given the opportunity to hold a presentation to the VIPs attending the forum on Oct. 5.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)