[Design Indaba conf] OMG, Martha's coming to Bierut!

All have merit

Of course, all the speakers have merit and some need little introduction.

Trend forecaster Li Edelkoort is back and hugely popular, as is famed graphic designer Michael Bierut (he was here in 2005). Graphic designer and editor William Drenttel from Design Observer fame will also be speaking. Martha Stewart is bound to draw the crowds and the press, so be a good homemaker now and come learn the magic formula to being all-American, as well as to being incredibly uptight.

Cartoonist Zapiro (Jonathan Shapiro) is the local headline act and must be one of only a handful people to attract mainstream appeal, even as he is drawing the Union Building in the shape of a giant penis.

Make sure not to miss out on the slightly left-of-centre edge the Design Indaba spotlights: speakers such as graffiti artist Faith47, who offers a startling alternative to corporate dominance in public spaces, or Eames Demetrios, who challenges us to take a closer look at our environment, seeking its value rather than assuming we know it already. You can view the full speaker lineup at www.designindaba.com/conference/speakers.
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Design Indaba Film Festival

The Design Indaba Film Festival at the Labia, 19 February - 4 March, is showing work by Eames Demetrios, Gary Hustwit (Objectified and Helvetica) and Doug Pray (Art & Copy). Make an effort to go see Helvetica - a film Time Out described as "a gleefully engaging investigation into the world's most ubiquitous typeface." It also dubbed Hustwit "the architect of a New Banal documentary movement." Is that even a compliment?

The Design Indaba is, of course, not just about sharing international best design practice with South Africans but also about promoting the country and the local design industry to influential designers and the international design press.

Abbott Miller, a partner in design firm Pentagram and speaker at the 2009 Indaba, found Design Indaba founder Ravi Naidoo's insight - that a developing country is the logical place to look for design innovation - to be really compelling. "He makes a persuasive case for the centrality of design in economic, political, and educational arenas: design is at its most powerful when it's used and understood by everyone," says Miller.

Karen Welman, a creative partner at design agency Pearlfisher and a speaker at the 2006 Indaba, says she experienced the event as a melting pot of creativity about to explode. "It seems out of suppression and poverty people are using the most surprising creative solutions to maximise opportunities," comments Welman.

The event is once again sold out, so obviously it also gets the thumbs up from South Africa's creative community. The Young Designers Simulcast has been opened to the public, with ticket prices starting at R1360. Originally launched to cater to (broke) young and emerging designers and students under the age of 25, the simulcast broadcasts from the main plenary session to a second auditorium.

Be warned, though. It lacks atmosphere, which can make for a very, very long day of staring at a big screen and hating everyone experiencing the vibe in the main auditorium. I should know - I've been there.

•You can find more details on the Design Indaba programme at its website (www.designindaba.co.za), on Facebook and on Twitter (more engaging than you might think and worth checking out). As a media partner, Bizcommunity.com will be bringing you daily updates, interviews and opinion live from the Design Indaba, and we'll be tweeting news and opinion from @marklives. Enjoy the Indaba and email me news and views at .