Berlin, you eternal design — between construction fences and brilliance, between experiment and essence — there is nothing more to love than your rich offerings of art, culture, and design. For several years, and inked into the city’s cultural calendar, Berlin Design Week, from 15.05. to 18.05.2025, has transformed the city into a vibrant laboratory for ideas, materials, and visions. Anyone wandering the streets with an open mind will quickly see this isn’t just a place to exhibit, it’s a place to negotiate what will matter tomorrow. BDW is less trade fair and more manifesto. And this year’s motto? “Common Sense.” Even if it sounds simple it’s precisely in this world, that becomes more tangled each day, that we need a collective pause, a shared language for what connects us. Here, design isn’t just conceptulized, it’s felt. Whether through subtle exhibitions featuring emerging talents and major brands like A-N-D Light, SMEG, Ligne Roset, and Zieta Studio; through discursive panels or haptic experiments, this week offers a platform for all those who understand design not only as form but also as responsibility. It’s about cycles. Context. Cultural capital. “The Berlin Format” kicks off the first day of BDW — a two-day program that begins with a keynote by British designer Tom Dixon: one of those rare voices that resonates even before he speaks. And that’s exactly what sparks curiosity.
More inspiring keynotes and standout speakers will follow. For those thinking bigger — about cities, for example — the panel “City, but better” is not to be missed. Featuring Werner Aisslinger, Martin Jasper, and Julia Pülz, the conversation explores how we can create cities worth living in: with vision, repurposing, and urban sustainability. An inspiring exchange about bold decisions and what sustainability can look like today. The halls also open up to international perspectives from Central and South America: soulful design from Guatemala, poetic expressions by Luján Cambariere — approaches that are different, and for that reason, necessary. Anyone who still thinks of design as strictly German will be pleasantly surprised. The second day holds its own. Is Berlin finally ready to be a true design capital? In the panel “Design City Berlin: Always Talent, Never Champion?”, creatives meet decision-makers. It’s open, controversial, constructive (and typically Berlin). One of the week’s central themes is materials of the future. Few speak about them with the expertise and passion of Prof. Dr. Sascha Peters — first solo, then in collaboration with Matters of Activity and Studio F.A. Porsche. If you’ve ever wondered what the circular economy means, you’ll find answers that reach far beyond the obvious. And as if that weren’t enough, on 16.05.2025, leading agencies from the WPP family — from Scholz & Friends to AKQA — will host studio sessions and an after-party under the motto “Sense the Uncommon”. Starting at 19h, panels give way to drinks, DJs, and a design crowd ready to talk well into the night. Also not to be missed: Berlin Design Night on the evening of 15.05. Studios, galleries, and universities open their doors for rare behind-the-scenes glimpses. If you’ve ever wondered what design can do today — and what it must do tomorrow — Berlin Design Week is a must. Not as a spectator, but as a participant. BDW is an invitation to join the conversation. What makes sense? What truly moves us forward, not just as consumers, but as a community? And perhaps, the best part, it doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful. Sometimes, a quiet impulse is all it takes for the world to rethink.
Text: Alina Herbel / Photos: AND & Objekte Unserer Tage
Berlin Design Week (15.–18.05.2025)
@berlindesignweek
