Europe by Design
Europe ByDesign TV Show
The über-popular program America ByDesign is in its third season on CBS and streaming. In each episode, various hosts interview design professionals about innovative products, hotel design, architecture, and other subjects. Since October 2022, Messe Frankfurt, which produces Ambiente, the largest consumer goods fair in the world, has partnered with the franchise. The collaboration now moves to another stage with Europe ByDesign, set to debut in late summer in the Entertainment Tonight prime-time slot on Saturday nights in the United States.
“We’re excited to provide this opportunity for European design innovators to gain significant exposure on American television,” says ByDesign Co-Founder (with wife Una Maybin) and Executive Producer Mike Chapman, who pioneered the show’s template in Australia.
Longtime industrial designer Scott Henderson, who, as consulting producer, has helped the show expand in the United States and now in Europe, explains: “The topic of design and design innovation is probably the most underestimated topic given its relevance to humanity. People don’t know what it is we do, though it’s in every aspect of our lives—the watch on your wrist, the eyeglasses on your face, the coffeemaker in your kitchen.”
The team commenced filming at Ambiente in February, capturing interesting products in various booths and also interviewing people such as designers Ross Lovegrove and Karim Rashid, Detlef Braun of the show’s management board, and Enrico Destro, the COO of Italian design firm Alessi. “As an industrial designer, Messe Frankfurt really opens your eyes,” says Henderson. “Literally, you see stuff you can’t see anywhere else. About half of it isn’t even sold in the United States. It’s like going to the Emerald City.”
Henderson cites the example of the e-car introduced at Ambiente this year. Made by Polestar, the Swedish manufacturer of electric performance vehicles, the Polestar Precept concept car is something virtually unknown to countries outside of the European Union.
Henderson says that Europe ByDesign has the potential to change that by bringing examples of European innovation to some 3 million viewers of CBS and the CBS News Streaming Network. It is also syndicated around the world and offered on in-flight TV programming.
Like its American counterpart, the last of the six episodes will award the top 10 innovations and also present a Sustainability Award, a Bright Award, and a People’s Choice Award, for which viewers vote. You can watch former episodes and keep up with the latest ByDesign developments at bydesign.global.
