It is great to see design has not become so posh as to ignore the daily needs of people altogether. Neu/Now offers a few great examples of young designers choosing problem-solving as the substance of their work.

Elderly eating set by Ana Simona Iliescu (http://elia-artschools.org/festival/work/elderly-eating-set) is a great example of how an issue, which I sadly fear most people would not consider neither "cool" nor sever enough to deal with, can be handled in truly good taste and fashion.

Another great example is Take 'n' Make by Aker Collective (http://elia-artschools.org/festival/work/take-n-make). This is the first time I have heard the term "consumakerism" and I like it! If more of our modern living solutions were customizable, we might produce much less waste, not to mention being able to adapt our living space according to the needs of our fast-paced life, alternating moods and ever-changing fashions, which have come to define this day and age.

A slightly ironic twist on the whole reusing subject is Function Enters Form by Zorko Huljic (http://elia-artschools.org/festival/work/function-enters-form). For me, it both made fun of and applauded the fashion of using objects for a purpose different from the one intended by it's maker. But after all, if the author is dead and we now life in the age of the reader, why should the engineer be spared and the consumer be suppressed. And after all, we have enough stuff any way, maybe what we need is whole generation of "assigners" (instead of designers) as Huljic calls himself.