Design for All: Celebrating Diversity, Creating Equality

Let’s start with the highlight of the Festival: the international design conference “Design for All: Celebrating Diversity, Creating Equality.” (And let’s not forget all the other events, which are just as good, but when you put together such a line-up of speakers, it’s inevitable that the conference will be the moment everyone remembers most).
This is also and above all due to the topics covered. What does Design for All mean? Does design really can empower the inclusion of diversity? Can leadership be different from “classic” leadership? Can empathy be taught? And again: does an inclusive public space add value? These and other topics were discussed by world-renowned experts from different fields of design.

International Design Conference at Tallinn Design Festival 2025

The conference was opened by Patricia Moore, a legendary American designer with an extraordinary story. Throughout her life and career, Moore has always sought to humanize design, applying empathy as a guiding principle. In her talk, she recounted episodes from her life, including the one that shaped everything that followed: when she was 26, Patricia Moore disguised herself as an eighty-year-old woman and traveled across the United States for three years to understand what conditions an elderly woman faced in public spaces. During that time, she was the victim of an assault that left her with permanent injuries. That episode further deepened her sensitivity toward others, increasing her empathy, which has permeated her entire professional life. Design, through empathy, helps bring different people closer together.

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Patricia Moore

Rama Gheerawo, President of the EIDD-DFA (Design for All Europe) Association, asked the audience a crucial question: “What is your love letter to the world today?” His love letter to the world highlighted how the practice of design is a constant exercise in care and responsibility. Not only that: through his work, he brought to light how design is a daily practice that can truly change the way we see and perceive things and behaviors. Leadership can also change, becoming creative and overturning the classic top-down approach. A creative leadership can lead choices with empathy.

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Rama Gheerawo

The day was filled with talks by experts in different kinds of inclusive design. Beata Fabisiak presented a project to teach children empathy and its value, a project co-funded by the EU. Jasmien Herssens, a researcher, extended the conversation to multisensory perception, clearly explaining why truly inclusive environments must involve more than just the eye. Inclusive public spaces should be easy to understand, through sound, touch, smell, and proprioception, especially for people with disabilities. Anders Berggreen, on the other hand, redesigned mobility by presenting wheeled walkers designed for people, not patients. Cameron Sinclair, a design strategist with extensive experience in inclusive sports design, also emphasized that people, not people’s disabilities, should be at the center of design. Teete Kallaste spoke about designing public spaces for people with hearing impairments and the various mistakes that can be made when designing these spaces.

Antonio De Antonis, member of the EIDD board of directors and president of AIPI, the Italian Association of Interior Designers, highlighted the responsibility of interior design in promoting inclusion. De Antonis explained that we spend most of our time indoors, so interior design must be a driver for accessibility. He particularly drew attention to the hospitality sector, where inclusive design is not only a moral imperative but also an economic opportunity: welcoming spaces for all attract more people and encourage them to stay longer.

Design for All

The Tallinn Design Festival has thus confirmed its role as a hub of knowledge and a center for inclusive design. Among the many lessons that we can learn from the Design for All International Conference, moderated by Pete Kercher, honorary member of EIDD – Design for All Europe, one fundamental lesson is that design is a powerful tool for making the world a better place, but we need to use it in the right way.

Pete Kercher

Exhibitions and Design Market: the Krulli Kvartal

The international conference took place at Krulli kvartal (Krulli Quarter), an abandoned industrial complex undergoing renovation, the heart of the Tallinn Design Festival. The main exhibitions and the Design Market have also been held here. The backdrop of the rundown buildings is always very charming and is the ideal setting for design events, as it offers designers more opportunities to express their creativity.

Design exhibition at Krulli kvartal

After Fire AfterLife: the Kohila International Symposium

The exhibition “AFTER FIRE AFTERLIFE,” curated by Cristopher Siniväli, is one of the most striking examples of how fascinating some spaces can be. Dedicated to the history of Estonian wood-fired ceramics, the exhibition brought together for the first time the sculptures from the last twenty-five years of the Kohila International Symposium. Since its inception in 2001, the symposium has created an archive of clay works. The sculptures on display, therefore, emerged as distinct characters, each with its own history, character, and spirit, creating a dialogue between fire, time, and the creator. All this in a fascinating setting.

After Fire AfterLife, the sculptures by Kohila International Symposium

The Interior Mini-Fair

Many other events also took place at Krulli kvartal. The Estonian Association of Landscape Architects, in collaboration with Maali Roomet-Allese, created a welcoming public space, together with Extery and Lode. An example of how urban furniture can improve outdoor spaces.

The Design Market

The program also included the B2C INTERIOR+ mini-fair, showcasing a wider range of interior and industrial products and illustrating the latest trends in the furniture scene. On Saturday and Sunday, a Design Market allowed independent designers to sell their products directly.

The Interior Mini-Fair

The art project: Klub Silencio

To celebrate the anniversary of the Tallinn Design Festival, Krulli kvartal also hosted the Klub Silencio art project, produced in collaboration with the Stalker Museum. Club Silencio featured leading artists and designers from EAA, TalTech, and the Tartu Art School, and offered a pop-up bar in the evening.

Klub Silencio

Tallinn and the Design Festival

The Design Festival also extends to the city of Tallinn, involving showrooms, cafes, restaurants, and museums. Among the many events, and to further highlight the inclusive spirit of the Festival, the “Design for All” store opened during those days, with the participation of Wolfberry’s, manufacturers of children’s furniture, Myceen, which makes furniture from a mushroom-based material, and the Moscot eyewear brand.
Oot-Oot, Sipa, Standard, and Thulema are among the contemporary companies that took part in the Design Festival, offering an opportunity to learn more about contemporary design production in Estonia.

Design for equality: Tallinn Design Festival