Design world responds to coronavirus with virtual festival, a sanitation kit to fit your handbag, and a determination to forge a new world order

There are certain things that Marcus Fairs hates about design festivals. “Overpriced hotels and restaurants, queuing for taxis, getting lost in unfamiliar cities, bad weather, jet lag, lost passports, tired legs,” says the British founder of Dezeen, an online design magazine.

So when the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to international events, Fairs decided to organise a design festival without the drag of maintaining a physical presence. The result is Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival, which runs from April 15 to June 30 with a rolling programme of talks, lectures, films, exhibitions and product launches – all of it taking place online.

Fairs says the idea is to supplement existing design festivals and exhibitions that have been cancelled this year because of the pandemic. Partners include the London Festival of Architecture and the Serpentine Galleries, both of which have closed because of the crisis, as well as design events such as San Francisco Design Week and the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair.

A number of museums and cultural institutions have already launched online exhibitions, leading to what The Guardian has called “a golden age of virtual media”.

Unable to host its real-world edition, Helsinki Design Week has moved one of its most popular events to the web. Design Market Online runs from April 24 to 26, featuring products from botanical furniture designers Häli-Ann Tooms Studio, textile designer Johanna Gullichsen, modular furniture company Lundia, and at least 25 more brands. Each vendor will offer discounts during the market and customers can order products from their online shops.