Hidden Art in association with Creative London presented Design London 2005, a showcase of more than 70 exciting new and established London-based designers and furniture companies during the world famous Milan Furniture Fair in April 2005.
Design London built on its successful debut at Milan 2004, providing a consistent international platform for London’s designer-maker community. The stand will occupied about 700 sqm in Superstudio 13, in the popular Zona Tortona area – a long established focal point of the Milan fair.
Design London creates a regional pavilion that provides a taster of what the capital has to offer the international design community. It is a platform to show the fruits of the collaboration between London’s network of designers, manufacturers, retailers, membership organisations and business support initiatives.
The exhibition design by Frank and Multistorey was based on a UK electrical switchboard. The interconnecting circuit acted as a visual metaphor for the network of partners and the uniquely British three-point plug represented the originality of UK design.
Design London 2005 consisted of five areas:
1) Hidden Art Prototypes – prototypes selected by an industry panel for their originality and innovative use of materials
2) Hidden Art In Production – companies with products ready to sell, selected by an industry panel for their design quality
3) The Isos Collection – contemporary furniture collection presented by Furniture Works and Furniture Link
4) All Zones – product range inspired by London Transport’s design heritage
5) DesignUK – showcase of British designers
Address: Superstudio 13, via Forcella, 13, Milano 20144
Dates: 13 – 18 April 2005 10am-9pm
Press preview: Tuesday 12 April, 3-7pm
Opening party: Tuesday 12 April, 7-10pm
DESIGN LONDON, presented by Hidden Art in association with Creative London, made a dramatic impact in Milan with its second outing during the city’s world famous Furniture Fair in April 2005.
Design London 2005 was twice the size of its predecessor, occupying 700 sqm in Superstudio 13 in the popular Zona Tortona area, with a visitor count exceeding 33,000, all toting their Design London shopping bags on their shoulders.
Word spread of the head-turning exhibition design by Frank (stand design) and Multistorey (promotional material and signage), based on a UK electrical switchboard, showcasing more than 70 new and established London-based designers and furniture companies. The space was dominated by the spectacular information wall graphic, towering above visitor’s heads at over 4m tall.
For the first time, Design London brought together four exhibiting partners: Hidden Art, the Isos Collection, All Zones and DesignUK, creating a platform to show the fruits of the collaboration between London’s network of designers, manufacturers, retailers, membership organisations and business support initiatives.
The Italians and international design crowd were charmed by All Zones, a collection inspired by the design heritage of Transport for London, displayed in the iconic red double-decker bus. The bus stopped traffic on its arrival in the narrow streets of the Zona Tortona, and was a clear crowd-pleaser.

Transport for London bus and exhibits at the Hidden Art Design London stand, Superstudio 13 in Milan 2005
Images – clockwise from top left: the Design London information wall, a view of the exhibition, signage of the central information hub, the AllZones bus causes traffic in the narrow streets of Milan, Julian Mayor displays his General Dynamic chair as a hat, Dan Black demonstrates the usefulness of Black+Blum’s Lou Read, Jocelyn Warner hides from the big bad wolf in her wallpaper house, Anti-Quaint’s Alec Birkbeck play fighting with Lothair Hamman and Arturo Gonzalez Bravo of One Bravo.

Black & blum at Design UK exhibition at the Hidden Art Design London stand, Superstudio 13 in Milan 2005
Hidden Art’s exhibitors in Milan
Hidden Art’s presence in Milan has grown from strength to strength since our Italian debut back in April 2002. In 2005, Hidden Art’s exhibition showcased the work of 23 members, selected by an industry panel including Tomoko Azumi, Sheridan Coakley (SCP), David Dewing (Geffrye Museum), Max Fraser (Design UK), and Lynda Relph-Knight (Editor, Design Week).
Jocelyn Warner’s distinctive wallpapers breathe new life into interiors, and she launched new colourways to her Leaf and Scribble wallpapers in Milan.
Ghost by Gitta Gschwendter for CTO Lighting