The Tallinn Design Festival (TDF), the largest design festival in the region, marks its 20th anniversary in 2025 with a wide-ranging program under the slogan “Design for All”. Over the years, the festival has become an essential platform for design professionals, enthusiasts, students, and communities, while continually emphasizing accessibility, inclusivity, and human-centered thinking.

The festival is built on four core pillars: talks and exhibitions that highlight success stories for both experts and the general public; community-focused events that bring people together through design; a diverse and ever-growing satellite program; and design commerce, where creativity meets entrepreneurship. Recognized internationally, the festival has received the EFFE quality label from the European Festivals Association.
The next edition takes place September 29-October 5, 2025

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Tallinn Krulli Quarter: design festival hub

For its anniversary edition, Tallinn Design Festival once again places strong emphasis on context and venue. The festival hub will be the Krulli Quarter, where historic industrial architecture meets contemporary creativity. For the third year running, events will unfold in the atmospheric setting of the quarter’s metal plant, creating a dynamic backdrop for design discussions, exhibitions, and performances.

Across the course of a single week, nearly 100 diverse events will explore how design can enrich everyday life and foster a world where empathy, care, and inclusivity are the norm rather than the exception. The mission of TDF is to make design less abstract and more approachable—something everyone can understand, access, and engage with.

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Inclusive design: a central theme

A central theme of the 2025 program is inclusive design, which acknowledges that every individual’s unique needs, experiences, and circumstances matter. This perspective invites participants to reflect on how factors such as size, shape, age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, education, income, culture, customs, or diet influence the ways we navigate the world. It further challenges designers to ensure that these differences are thoughtfully integrated into the products, spaces, and services we create.

The international conference: Celebrating Diversity, Creating Equality

The highlight of this edition is the international conference “Design for All: Celebrating Diversity, Creating Equality.” This landmark event brings together world-renowned experts and accessibility advocates, including Patricia Moore (USA), Rama Gheerawo (UK), Jakob Rosin (Estonia), Cameron Sinclair (USA), and other leading specialists from the USA, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Denmark, and Estonia. The conference is organised in cooperation with EIDD – Design For All Europe and the Estonian Chamber of Disabled People.

In Estonia, the conversation around inclusive design is particularly urgent. With a rapidly ageing population and shifting demographics, there is a growing need for innovative and thoughtful design solutions that work for all citizens.

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Design schools and emerging talents

The Design Schools program will feature participants from Estonia, Poland, and Hungary, alongside the Global Creative Graduate Showcase by Arts Thread—the world’s leading digital platform for emerging designers. Arts Thread serves as a launchpad for design students and graduates, enabling them to present their portfolios and connect directly with industry professionals. Another key highlight is the International Haapsalu Graphic Design Festival, which will present some of the year’s most outstanding poster designs.

A Festival week rich in events

Alongside exhibitions and talks, TDF 2025 will host a wide-ranging program of social, educational, and networking events, including:

• The Anniversary Opening Party featuring a fashion show by Reet Aus
• Design Talks on creative leadership with Rama Gheerawo and Patricia Moore
• DOM Sustainable Fashion Show, spotlighting Estonia’s leading eco-conscious brands
• PechaKucha Night, with keynote talks from speakers based in Singapore and Sri Lanka
• Interactive Workshops for all ages, such as Memory Map of Eastern Europe and Anthony Luciano’s Sip & Stitch handbag workshops
• A curated Light Installation Area, with contributions from Klub Silencio and the Krulli Chapel
• Landscape Architects’ Bike Tour through the city
• The ever-popular KidZone, offering creative workshops for children and young people
• A Charity Design Auction, with the main item contributed by Yrjö Kukkapuro
• INTERIOR+, an exhibition showcasing the latest in interior and landscape design, in collaboration with Estonian landscape architects
• The lively Design Street Market, a weekend marketplace where designers and makers present and sell their newest works
• Festival Party “Jazz for All”, presented in cooperation with the Jazzkaar festival
• Close to 20 satellite venues across Tallinn, each hosting design-related happenings

Two decades of design that matters

Since its founding in 2006, the Tallinn Design Festival has grown into a significant international event that connects creatives, businesses, educators, and communities. Its focus is not only on aesthetic innovation but also on design’s power to inspire collaboration, solve problems, and make life better for everyone.

In 2025, the festival celebrates 20 years of impact, underscoring that design should be accessible, inclusive, and relevant to all. At its heart, TDF continues to ask how design can enrich lives, foster empathy, and help build a future where human-centered thinking is universal.

Why visit 

• Celebrate 20 Years of Design
  Join the region’s leading design event as it marks two decades under the theme “Design for All.”
• Engage with Global Experts
  Learn from world-renowned voices such as Patricia Moore, Rama Gheerawo, Jakob Rosin, and Cameron Sinclair, alongside accessibility specialists from across Europe and the USA
• Experience Inclusive Design Firsthand
  Discover how design can address diverse human needs and create products, spaces, and services that work for everyone
• Spotlight on Emerging Talent
  Explore fresh perspectives from design schools in Estonia, Poland, Hungary, and the Arts Thread Global Creative Graduate Showcase
• Unique Venues & Citywide Program
  Immerse yourself in the creative atmosphere of Krulli Quarter, with nearly 100 events across Tallinn and close to 20 satellite venues
• Dynamic Events & Networking
  From fashion shows and exhibitions to workshops, light installations, and markets, TDF offers opportunities to connect, learn, and exchange ideas
• Design with Purpose
  Support a festival that champions empathy, inclusivity, and design as a driver of social change

Tallinn Design Festival, September 29 – October 5, 2025

For professionals and general public
Size: one main venue, Krulli Quarter, plus 20 satellite events, over 100 brands and designers
Around 10,000 visitors
Free admission upon registration 
Visit Disainio.ee for info

Some images from the past edition