The main venue for this year’s cultural and artistic events will be the Budapest Society Event Center. The central theme of Budapest Design Week is New Standards: this series of events focuses on the “new normal” after the pandemic, ie “the beautiful new world” in which designers have a decisive role .

“The past year and a half has proven that the pandemic situation affects our daily lives in countless ways: our communication and shopping habits change, local products and amenities become more important, social ties and a sense of oneness are increasingly valued, and with travel restrictions less popular forms of recreation are becoming dominant. The current situation creates an exceptional opportunity to make the future more people-centered and on a human scale, in which designers will play an extremely important role, ”said Gyula Pomázi, President of the Hungarian Office for Intellectual Property and Development. Hungarian Design Council.

On the topics covered in the series of events, Judit Osvárt, Curator of BDW, said: “Budapest Design Week 2021 plans to discuss the phenomenon of the ‘beautiful new world’ with a decidedly positive attitude and to present a number of experimental projects and new phenomena, ideas and innovations to prove that designs can be effective, flexible and versatile tools for creating a new society. During these ten days, the new attitude will be reflected in social design, service design, product design, digital design, interior design and areas of sustainability.

Last year, Budapest Design Week was held in a hybrid form due to the pandemic situation, and one of the positive outcomes was that those who could not be physically present were able to join the programs as well. So this year there will be online programs. also.

As on previous occasions, the series of events will include two main types of programs: those organized by Budapest Design Week and those organized by external partners. The opening exhibition of the series of events will be “New Standards” at the Budapest Company, which will revolve around the central theme and showcase the work of 30 young designers under the age of 30.

The cycle of interviews linked to the exhibition explores many topics, from the future of the automotive industry through the evolution of leisure to the question of augmented reality, all approached from a design perspective. .

The Hungarian Design Awards and the Design Management Award will be presented on the opening night of Budapest Design Week. The exhibition, featuring the most outstanding winners and nominees, will also be open to the public until the end of the festival. Depending on the epidemic situation, guided tours will also be organized for those interested.

The Hungarian Design Council and its strategic partner Fabunio (Hungarian Union of the Wood and Furniture Industry) are also preparing a complex professional program this year. The most important topic of the event will be the impact of the design approach on the lives of individual creators and companies, the results achieved by the award nominees, and the experiences and challenges of collaboration between manufacturers and designers. . As part of the program, Fabunio also organizes factory tours where those interested can get a behind-the-scenes look at the furniture industry.

Joining the initiative of the European Union, the Hungarian Design Council as a member of BEDA and its partners will organize a workshop of the new European Bauhaus on October 12.

Traditionally, Budapest Design Week is the occasion for a well-known design publication of the Hungarian Design Council: the Start Up Guide. Along with the publication, a series of events titled Start Up Guide Live, which is a multi-day online interactive lecture series, will be organized. On October 12, the focus will be on how to make stores crisis-proof, on forms of financing and on monitoring market developments, while on October 13, the concept and importance of customer experience, remarketing tools and the benefits of thinking in the system will be the main topics.

On October 13-14, Moholy-Nagy University of Arts and Design (MOME), in cooperation with BDW staff, will organize the first Social Design Network Symposium and Exhibition. The Social Design Network, created by MOME in autumn 2020, brings together professionals to collaborate in Europe on the subject.

The Open Studios series of events awaits those who wish to experience the studio of Hungarian designers and design studios. The 18 participating workshops offer a variety of presentations and workshops for those who want to learn more about the work processes from the design office to production, or who want to hear the history of brands and collections live from designers.

As a strategic partner of BDW, the Hungarian Fashion and Design Agency (HFDA) is organizing an exhibition called “360 designs” this year. The exhibition gives Hungarian designers the opportunity to present themselves at the Bálna (The Whale) Cultural and Service Center, this year with a new concept, expanded programs and a stronger regional focus, highlighting sustainable solutions and the innovation potential. In addition to Hungarian artists, professional talents from V4 countries will be showcased at the event, and panel discussions will also take place.

On the occasion of BDW, the new Budapest Design Map will be published: it is the most comprehensive guide to the design life of the capital, in which Budapest residents and visitors can find the locations of the series of programs. and can even arrange a tour for themselves.

The detailed program is available on the website https://budapestdesignweek.hu.