One festival centre and 40 venues across the city, around 15,000 visitors, 94 participants: the anniversary edition showed how Berlin lives design – internationally connected and deeply rooted in the city. The next edition follows from 22 to 27 April 2027.

From 28 to 31 May 2026, around 15,000 people came to the tenth Berlin Design Week. Under the motto DESIGN REAL, 94 participants and partners showed in one festival centre and at 40 venues across the city how broad design is today: from product and interior to architecture, light and graphic design, textiles, mobility and research. For the first time, the festival centre was Die Macherei in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

It was there that “Titan” premiered: a four-seat electric supercar developed entirely in an academic setting by Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín and the Technical University of Ostrava. Next door, “Guatemala Designs with Its Hands” combined traditional craft with contemporary design across some 90 square metres, centred on a walk-in installation inspired by Temple I at Tikal. The Tolerance Poster Show, initiated by Mirko Ilić, presented 82 posters in 82 languages – all on a single word.

Swedish designer Monica Förster showed her exhibition “Form and Adventure” at Unique Factory and spoke at The Berlin Format, the conference at the festival centre. In total, 29 speakers discussed AI and design, architecture and research, and design and democracy. Universität der Künste Berlin and ERCO showed how closely research and industry work together in Berlin: their project “Hands-on Light” produced fifteen prototypes that make light tangible again in digital environments.

The Berlin Design Night opened the festival on 28 May, with studios, galleries and showrooms across the city opening their doors. Twelve curated tours led through the evening – through Kreuzberg, City West and Friedrichshain, to universities and young studios, and behind the scenes of MYKITA HAUS. Satellite venues carried the programme into the neighbourhoods over all four days. Universities from Berlin and Brandenburg stood alongside guests from the USA, the Czech Republic, Austria, Ukraine, Egypt and New Zealand.

“Berlin lives design in its full breadth. Diversity here does not mean arbitrariness, but excellence across many disciplines at once. That is exactly what Berlin Design Week shows – from the research lab to the open studio around the corner,” says Alexandra Klatt, founder and festival director of Berlin Design Week.

With designboom as official media partner, coverage appeared in 13 countries on three continents, with a potential reach of around 125 million. The anniversary coincided with another: in 2026, Berlin marked 20 years as a UNESCO City of Design.

Berlin Design Week 2026 in numbers

• around 15,000 visitors over four days
• 94 participants and partners, one festival centre and 40 venues across the city
• 29 speakers, twelve curated tours
• press coverage in 13 countries, around 125 million potential reach
• around 600,000 organic campaign views, more than 10,000 newsletter subscribers

Looking ahead to 2027

The eleventh Berlin Design Week takes place from 22 to 27 April 2027 under the motto “What’s Your Code_?”. Six days, five formats – and, for the first time in years, in the same week as the iF Design Award Night.

MATERIAL

BDW 2026 recap film
BDW 2026 catalogue (PDF)
Press images

KEY FACTS

Dates 2026: 28–31 May 2026
Motto: DESIGN REAL
Next edition: 22–27 April 2027