Catalogue for the fifth edition of the Gwangju Design Biennale 2013.

'Titled “Anything, Something,” Gwangju Design Biennale 2013 will explore cultural habits, shared knowledge, and coded contexts that inform the many unspoken ways we communicate with one another. Our use of empty or ambiguous placeholders, or signifiers, such as “anything” and “something” key into elements of communication beyond literal speech that encompass cultural, or rather emotional, prompts and responses. The ability to grasp these hidden contexts and habits in our day-to-day communication can be especially important for designers who are constantly in search of insight into the yet-undiscovered needs and wants.
On the other hand, “Anything, Something” in Korean (거시기, 머시기) reads as “thing, value.” “Anything” gestures to the day-to-day task of designers to create an endless storehouse of ‘things,’ while “something” points to the designers’ value-creating role to identify the specific needs of the public and translate them into effective design.' - from organisation's website.

For a list of participating designer units, please see here.