London Design Biennale 2020, Somerset House

The third edition of the London Design Biennale will return to Somerset House in September 2020 with award-winning designer and artist, Es Devlin as its artistic director.

London got its very own design biennale in 2016 and despite its novice status, the past two editions of LDB have been phenomenal showcases of engaging and innovative designs and design solutions by world-leading designers, architects, scientists and writers from around the world. Last edition saw a wondrous smorgasbord of projects, from scratch-and-sniff wallpapers evoking the various smells of Hong Kong to immersive video game installations encouraging millennials to talk about mental health.

There's already a buzz of excitement around the next iteration of the event with Es Devlin set to take its helm. The artist is known for her large-scale installations which play with light and language. For last year's London Design Festival, her project, Please Feed the Lions, saw a fluorescent red lion prowling around Trafalgar Square which passersby could ‘feed’ poetry which was projected onto Nelson’s Column later that evening.

Devlin has chosen ‘Resonance’ as this year's theme to guide over 50 countries, cities and territories in their installations and presentations. 'We live in an age of hyper resonance, the consequences of which are both exhilarating and devastating' Devlin explains, 'everything we design and everything we produce resonates'. Resonance is a powerful part of our digital world where ideas reverberate across online channels and more people are reached on a greater scale than ever. The theme also seeks to shed light on environmental issues, as Devlin highlights that the products that we create 'resonate' through food chains and our climate.

The London Design Biennale's inaugural summit takes place 25 to 26 June which will see two days of panels and talks addressing the impact of design. Devlin will lead a day of discussion at the Google headquarters and the second day will take place at LDB's neoclassical home, Somerset House, where a series of workshops and guided tours will help designers and embassies develop inspiration for their participation in LDB 2020.