I'd call myself an artist rather than a designer, I do design, I do it cheaply, but only to put a little food on the table. For those who fetishize design in all its manifest forms I can completely understand the fascination, the consumer-designer relationship is a vibrant one, yet there are pitfalls. One of those being 'taste for taste's sake', i.e simply redesigning something to make it 'look cool', the other being the media's habit of latching on to big names for a decade or two, desperately hoping that those few mega-successful designers out there that make a household name for themselves actually know what they're doing.

I understand the fuss about designers that can simplify and stylise mundane everyday objects, such as Philippe Starck's lemon squeezer on a basic aesthetic level at the very least, James Dyson's vacuum cleaners actually do represent a leap in technology as well as style, and even I will turn my head for the occasional uber gadget, but the truth is that design for me is just a natural part of life, somewhat like evolution. The point when design starts to become interesting for me is when it challenges public perceptions and precepts, reimagining our society in another way, as with the Bauhaus movement, Le Corbusier, and even the Art Deco period to some extent, both reflecting new attitudes and predicting our future behaviour.

Ever so slightly reminiscent of the Biblical struggle between David and Goliath, the behemoth yawn fest that is The London Design Festival is looking a little less confident this year after a 9 year stint as a monopoly, The Anti Design Festival is preparing to pull the media rug from beneath them as it challenges what the organiser Neville Brody sees as a 25 year cultural freeze in UK design. Set to run simultaneously in the last week of the LDF, it should really cause a commotion. You can see it for yourself from 18-26 September on and around Redchurch Street in Shoreditch, London the ADF gathers contributions of art and design that challenge contemporary stereotypes. This is work that is seen as un-commercial, dangerous, and anti-establishment. For artists, designers, and other creatives, this is an opportunity to exhibit work alongside contributors including Jonathan Barnbrook, Stuart Semple and Stefan Sagmeister.

Here's what Brody has to say on the subject:

"This is the chance to show previous work that has failed with clients or instructors, or to produce completely new work without the imposition of market restrictions. Because this festival is completely non-profit in orientation, we cannot pay for contributions. However, this is an opportunity for your work to engage a wide audience in a context that will challenge and provoke the public to rethink the role of art and design in contemporary culture.

We have two separate streams that you can submit your work to. Submissions will be accepted until Friday, 13 August 2010 at 11:59PM BST. There is no need to confirm your interest.

The first stream is for small, reproducible multiples. Submissions can take any form you want, but the bulk of the work should be cheaply-made and reproducible so that visitors can take it and use it however they want. For more information, including creative prompts and a submission upload form, please see this link. Please write to andy@researchstudios.com with any questions related to this first stream.

The second stream is for large, one-off pieces of various sizes that will be framed and hung closely alongside each other. The theme for this stream is State of Mind, Mind of State, which considers the reciprocal relationship between personal psychology and state control. For more information, including submission details, please see this link. Please write to submit@antidesignfestival.com with questions related to this second route."

Read the full interview at It's Nice That or visit the ADF site at www.antidesignfestival.com.

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