More than just an exhibition, CUSP: Designing into the Next Decade is a journey into the innovative world of design thinking. From furniture and gadgets to clothing and housing, design can improve how we look, move, work and feel. It has increasingly become clear that design can transcend mere ‘form or function’. When staring down the barrel of unprecedented planetary challenges, design’s true potential is revealed: it can show us a better future.

CUSP features the work of 12 designers, each developing creative solutions to some of the big challenges we are facing today and into the next decade. Working on the ‘cusp’, at the edges of what is possible, they’re exploring new and innovative territory in their practice. Removing the stigma of personal medical devices to turn them into covetable objects, designing programs that help sick children deal with pain, and ideas for solving the global housing crisis are all challenges addressed by designers in CUSP.

Explore the work of Chris Bosse, an architect who designs sustainable buildings and future cities by creating architectural technologies inspired by structures in nature such as soap bubbles, snowflakes and spider webs. Test your strength and stamina at Floyd Mueller’s Hanging Off a Bar installation, which takes the computer game into a whole new realm, creating fun, physical experiences that may well be the future of exercise. And connect yourself to George Khut’s body-focused artwork which becomes animated with colourful visuals and relaxing sounds as you consciously calm your body and mind.

An exhibition, a laboratory and an opportunity for learning and experiencing new ideas, CUSP takes us way beyond what we believe is possible when we think of design today. CUSP: Designing into the Next Decade will be at the State Library of Queensland from November 1 until February 8.