Scheduled between May 28 and 31, 2026, Berlin Design Week celebrates design as a driving force for solving problems. The event’s 10th jubilee will be held under the motto DESIGN REAL, featuring four interconnected formats.
Celebrating substance design
The upcoming edition will be held under the motto DESIGN REAL, reflecting the event’s dedication to substantive design that solves problems and contributes to real change. Throughout four days, Berlin will welcome a full spectrum of design, starting from strategic branding, product design, interior design, architecture, and design research. DESIGN REAL presents a solution-oriented, aesthetically elegant, authentic, and international approach to design. The event will connect international guests and Berlin’s design community on equal grounds. The connections created across disciplines, spaces, and cultures reach beyond the event itself, entering future visions and implementation.
Day-to-day program
Berlin Design Nights will kick-start the event on May 28, allowing visitors to navigate the city to the best design studios, galleries, and universities across Berlin. The visitors can use online and offline maps optimised by district and working hours. The following day, the Berlin Format will host talks and short bits on the topics of brand strategy, materials, circularity, architecture, and many more. The speakers will present best practices to illustrate innovative business models, transformative strategies, and networking.
Design Pool, taking place between May 30 and 31, 2026, presents a combination of market and fair. Throughout these two days, the producers, designers, and visitors will be able to discover special and small editions of jewellery, fashion, furniture, interior, accessories, and many other interesting items. The programme is accompanied by self-organised formats across the German capital. In the past editions of Berlin Design Week, over 90 satellite locations all over Berlin participated in the program. Every one of them will have the opportunity to showcase their work in their own location or at one of the design spots at the festival and have it added to the official programme, catalogue, and press cloud of the event.
“Four days, four formats – each bringing DESIGN REAL to life in its own way. We are creating a framework that works for every discipline.”
Alexandra Klatt, Festival Director
Partner Programs and Design Hub Programme
One of the most widely recognised digital design magazines in the world, designboom, has become an official partner of the event, aiming to boost its international reach. The organisers announced a new Design Hub partner programme that will guide visitors through studios, showrooms, and unique locations across the city. The programme that engages the entire city offers a set of curated spaces at special rates, including, among others, AMTSALON at the former courthouse and PLATTE. BERLIN.
Berlin Design Week
From its beginnings 10 years ago, Berlin Design Week has focused on innovation and sustainability, connecting emerging and established designers with research institutions and special networks. The event presents design as a tool for social, technological, and ecological transformation and creation of realities.
In 2026, after 10 years of its development, the festival’s diverse program will bring urban innovation, hidden gems, and uplifting atmosphere to Berlin’s vibrant design community.
