London Design Festival: industrial designer Yves Behar will be in conversation with Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs at midday today as part of the seminar program at trade fair 100% Design.

Behar will discuss his work and his design philosophy, explaining why he feels good designers are “successful contrarians” – simultaneously making things that people want while striving to disrupt the status quo by doing things that haven’t been done before.

Behar will also discuss how designers no longer solely work with atoms (by creating physical products) but also with bits – software, apps and experiences. "Both atoms and bits are the building blocks at the core of the new businesses and brands being created right now. They are not the afterthought they once used to be, they are the whole story."

The breakthrough products of the Twenty-First Century will increasingly combine both physical and virtual attributes, Behar believes, with designers playing a pioneering role as disruptors of old methodologies and propagators of new modes of producing useful, sustainable and beautiful products for our time. "There is no segment of the economy that isn’t been disrupted by these new ideas right now."

Behar is one of the most feted and successful figures in Twenty-First Century design, with a portfolio of products to his name that includes the XO affordable computer for One Laptop Per Child and the Jambox portable wireless speaker for Jawbone.

See all our stories about Yves Behar »

Dezeen's Marcus Fairs will also host Dezeen Live at 100% Design at 5pm today, featuring talks with Icelandic graphic artist Katrin Olina, Tom Hulme of IDEO and design commentator Sam Jacob of FAT, plus an emerging 100% Designer and a DJ/musical performance featuring Dezeen Music Project.

See this week's full Dezeen Live lineup »