Art by Gab Tresvalles

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Last July 5 to 9, 2021, the Benilde Industrial Designers (BIND) celebrated World Industrial Design Week with a series of talks, workshops, and competitions such as Valorant tournaments. That sounds like the perfect way to balance learning and chill, right? 

BIND organized World Industrial Design Week with the theme, “Reinvent the Ordinary” which is in line with World Design Organization’s theme for World Industrial Design Day “Perspective, Experiences, Diversity.” The theme emphasizes the value of inclusivity and individuality in design. 

According to the organizers, the event’s main purpose is “to shed light on the aspects of design that foster inclusivity and to delve deeper into the direction and purpose of designing in this ever-changing world. Hence, we came up with [the theme].” Reinvent the Ordinary challenged how people view “normal” and encourage innovation for those who aren’t normally taken into consideration when it comes to industrial design like people with disabilities and marginalized groups. 

“Each [speaker] really gave their all in educating the participants with fresh perspectives that celebrate uniqueness and diversity,  which is what the event is all about.” they proudly said. Aside from talks, they also had incredible performances and even Valorant competition (yes, as in the game) for the first time.

With the event concluded, the organizers shared their realizations on reinventing the ordinary. “We consider ‘ordinary’ things to be something that we see every day or something that has become the standard of making things. As designers, we ought to reimagine these standards to something more inclusive, effective, and empathetic, especially in a world that never ceases to change,” the organizers shared. “The more the world changes, the more we need to reinvent the ordinary.”

As students, having the right balance of fun and learning is a must, especially with online setup. In Edukasyon, we wanted to make the future less scary by giving you insights on diversity, as well as providing useful school tips like how to deal with your not-so-fetch groupmates. But of course, we also put value in school-life balance check out these stories on  video games and online games that you can play on your barkada night that will help you ease academic stress. From us here at Edukasyon, we are with Benilde Industrial Designers on reinventing the ordinary.