Under the theme The New Real, Designmonat Graz 2025 will unfold from May 9 to June 1. As artificial intelligence advances, technology reshapes our world, and reality itself undergoes a transformation, we find ourselves navigating a new kind of real—one that spares no industry. For professionals in design, communication, media, and the creative industries, these shifts bring profound implications. Throughout Design Month Graz 2025, we will explore these changes under the program focus “The New Real,” examining what human creativity means in an age of artificial intelligence, how business models are evolving, and the responsibilities of those shaping new immersive worlds.
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Graz: UNESCO City of Design
The first edition of Designmonat Graz took place in 2009. Since 2011 the city of Graz has been part of the international UNESCO network. The UNESCO network consists of 350 cities, of which 49 cities are in the field of design. In that sense, the networking society Creative Industries Styria acts as a competence center for design and an international partner in terms of development and linking.
Grand Opening on May 9, Program Until June 1
The design community will find answers to these pressing questions through dynamic discussions, exhibitions, workshops, and installations at the festival center, located at the Hornig Areal behind Graz Main Station. The Grand Opening is set for Friday, May 9, launching a program that will extend across various locations in and around Graz until June 1.
Designmonat Graz 2025: Festival Centre at Hornig Areal
In 2024, the festival introduced a major new element – a central festival hub located in the former Hornig Areal, an industrial site near Graz’s main station. Once home to an iconic Austrian coffee producer, this revitalized space became the heart of the festival and a gathering point for the design community. From this central location, the program expanded outward, engaging the broader city and region.
Once again, in 2025 the heart of Designmonat Graz is the Festival Centre at Hornig Areal – a vibrant hub for discussions, exhibitions, workshops, and installations. Visitors are encouraged to return time and again to immerse themselves in the creative atmosphere. Open daily throughout Design Month, the Festival Centre is free to visit and conveniently accessible by public transport.
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Designmonat Graz 2022
Design in the City
“Design in the City” brings together businesses and designers to showcase exceptional products, unique collections, and innovative creations. Experience firsthand how design shapes and enhances their work—right in the city’s shops and businesses, where creativity thrives. This initiative makes design visible, introducing fresh and exciting design products to a broad audience.
Design in the city
Green Utopia
Hydrogen from exhaust gases? Self-growing high-tech materials? Trains doubling as electric highways? Plant-based blood vessels? Climate-resilient suburbs? These futuristic ideas are backed by real research from the Green Tech Valley.
Join the Green Utopia presentation and panel discussion on May 27, 2025, where student teams from Styrian universities will showcase cutting-edge research through visionary short videos. Discover how disruptive innovations are shaping the future and find inspiration for your own groundbreaking ideas. Green Utopia highlights how pioneering research fuels transformative solutions – made in Green Tech Valley.
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Designmonat Graz 2025: the vision
Looking ahead, the vision for Design Month remains focused on growth, adaptability, and continued relevance. There’s potential for the event to evolve into a Design Biennale, building on its strong foundation. Whatever form it takes, the festival must continue creating spaces for visibility, discussion, and innovation within design. By encouraging experimentation and remaining open to change, the aim is to contribute to a better, more thoughtful future—one shaped by optimism, curiosity, and critical engagement.
Why visit
- Condenses and showcases the energy of the local creative industries within one month
- Makes this creative energy visible to a broader audience
- Contributes significantly to embedding the creative industries in public awareness
Purpose & Impact:
- Acts as a platform for innovative projects—both experimental and commercial.
- Emphasizes the true meaning of design:
- Not just decoration or styling, but as an economically relevant, value-adding, and transformative process in business and society
Collaboration & Structure:
- Involves numerous local partners in its programming
- Uses “Design Month” as an umbrella brand:
- Unifies various activities under a cohesive visual identity
- Maintains the independence of individual initiatives
Designmonat Graz
For professionals and general public
Size: 140 events, 50,000 visitors
Visit Designmonat.at website for more info
