High-brow or low-brow, high-tech or simplicity, tradition or experiment -- what are the determining forces in product design for 2010? This is the question that Hansjerg Maier-Aichen will address this weekend as Ambiente opens Feb. 12.

Professor Maier-Aichen is professor of product design at the Technical University of Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung) in Karlsruhe, and on the Saturday and Sunday of the trade fair, he will be inviting representatives of the media to accompany him on an exclusive design-based tour round the leading world trade fair, Ambiente. In discussions with the sector's market leaders, exciting niche providers and newcomers in the design world, he will find more than one answer to this fascinating question.

Polarising tendencies of the market are presenting designers with new challenges in 2010 and leave a good deal of room for new interpretations. On the one hand, it is going to be a matter of creating authentic products based on a sensible view of things: usefulness, function, durability, reduction to the essentials and minimalism are the features that are clearly in the forefront of concerns. On the other hand, the borderline between design and art, technology and simplicity will become increasingly blurred -- with unorthodox, effective products that are brightly coloured, tasteful and sometimes also a little kitschy!

In economically straitened times, people's own homes become a social center for meeting friends and family -- there is a growing need for privacy and cosiness, and with that comes the growing significance of the whole thematic area of table and kitchen. Again this year at Ambiente 2010, the leading trade fair 'Dining' will show itself to be more multifaceted than ever before, with a new concept for the halls, a new "Talents" area in the "Table and Contemporary Design" section and the exhibition "300 Years of German Porcelain," which tells the story of this great traditional cultural asset using products from Ambiente exhibitors. On his tour, Hansjerg Maier-Aichen will be looking out for one thing above all else: "In the midst of a flood of trend predictions and speculation about a new and largely short-lived 'spirit of the age,' it is high-quality materials and traditional craft skills that are becoming more important. Instead of large-scale industrial production, it is the smaller workshops and factories that are gaining ground, in Germany, in Europe and in Asia alike." With young up-and-coming designers, too, and in the universities, we see an increasing desire to take a fresh approach to craft skills and materials, stresses Maier-Aichen. "Talents" represents the creative, young up-and-coming designers of today, and will provide, in 2010 as before, a stop on the design tour, which promises many surprising insights.

The current economic situation has not only brought about a return to conviviality and hospitality, but it also provides a breeding ground for new creative opportunities. "In the light of the deep economic upheavals, new ways of thinking about things in product innovation are indispensable. 'Making the everyday special' and high levels of brand recognition for the product range should be the goal of a sustainable company culture -- producers have a certain responsibility to the consumers here," explains Maier-Aichen.

Ambiente is the leading international trade fair for products for the table, kitchen, household, for giving and decorating, as well as for home and furnishing accessories. For five days early in the year, around 4,300 exhibitors show what consumers will find in shops around the world in 2010. Trade buyers from over 100 countries come to Ambiente to order their main assortments for the coming season. However, Ambiente is a must not only for the unique range of products, which is unparalleled worldwide in terms of depth and breadth, but also for the numerous events, trend presentations and awards ceremonies held at the world's most important consumer-goods fair.