Budapest, 8 October 2025 – Hungary’s largest creative industry event series was launched at the 360 Design Budapest exhibition, the central venue of Budapest Design Week, showcasing nearly 400 contemporary objects. Organizers from the capital and the provinces jointly opened Budapest Design Week at a press conference, which for the 22nd time showcases the diversity of Hungarian design and visual culture. Coordinated by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (MDDÜ), the national series of events will take place in ten cities and will feature nearly 200 events between 8 and 19 October. The design week reflects the traditions, strength and continuous renewal of the Hungarian creative industry, with programmes for all ages, including decades-old events and the latest initiatives.
Budapest Design Week has become the most important forum of the Hungarian creative industry, inviting both professionals and the general public. With more than 100 participating organisations, including galleries, design studios, educational institutions, chambers and cultural centres, the event aims to provide inspiring design content for all, regardless of age or interest.
The programme structure this year again covers the whole spectrum of the visual and applied arts and design industries: more than 40 exhibitions showcasing the latest trends in contemporary material culture, industrial design and visual art, around 40 workshops to help you experience practical design thinking, nearly 60 performances, installations and hybrid events exploring the boundaries between art and design, and more than 20 professional roundtables and thematic guided tours exploring the social and economic role of design. In addition, the programme will include a series of pop-up shopping events, open studios, award ceremonies, film screenings and face-to-face meetings with designers .
Zsófia Jakab, CEO of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency and Ministerial Commissioner for the Development and Sectoral Coordination of the Creative Industries, said at the opening ceremony.Budapest Design Week has been celebrating Hungarian creativity for more than two decades and has become one of the most important common platforms for the Hungarian creative industry. It is a source of particular pride that the festival offers programmes that are not only of national but also of international relevance. One of the greatest values of Budapest Design Week is that it builds a bridge between tradition and innovation: several events have been part of cultural life for fifteen or twenty years, but Budapest Design Week is always looking ahead. This year, graduating students from several higher education and vocational training institutions, including Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest Metropolitan University, Sopron University, the Budapest Complex Vocational Training Centre and KREA, will present their diploma exhibitions. This is an opportunity for the youngest talents to show how they think about the future of design. These events are a testament to the continuity and professional strength of the industry in our country. Every year, the festival is a collective celebration of creativity, where the profession, young creatives and the general public can experience that design is not just a form, but a way of thinking, an experience and a community, and that it contributes to the performance of the national economy. .”
This year, the series of events will be organised nationwide: in addition to Budapest, nine other cities – Debrecen, Pécs, Sopron, Győr, Kecskemét, Veszprém, Szentendre, Tata and Balatonfüred – will join the series of events, presenting their own cultural values and design programmes in the Local+ section. The events will strengthen both the presence of local creative communities and regional cooperation.
Sopron Design Week has announced 11 programmes. “This year Sopron Design Week celebrates its 10th anniversary, so it was especially important for us that during this year’s event series designers and designers living and working in Sopron or connected to the city show their objects and creations to the public. We have prepared exhibitions, workshops, open studios, but also inspiring talks and podcasts with architects, designers and business people who can show the way for future generations. ” – said Judit Käesz, co-founder of Sopron Design Week.
And DesignPécs, organised by the Pécs-Baranya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, offers more than 40 programmes for visitors. “The Pécs-Baranya Chamber of Commerce and Industry is organising the DesignPécs event series for the 11th time. The initiative provides an opportunity for local creators, designers, creative professionals and all people and businesses related to the arts to showcase their activities. DesignPécs events in Pécs are particularly important for three reasons: firstly, they build on the assets and opportunities of the city and the region, and secondly, they bring together the major entities of the city to work together along their respective competences. Thirdly, hidden champions and values are revealed and professional results become public knowledge ” – said Szabolcs Rabb, Secretary General of the Chamber.
Debrecen Design Week ‘s programmes also showcase the strength of the city’s cultural collaborations through 6 programmes. “We are delighted that Debrecen will again be part of the vibrant series of events at Budapest Design Week this year. The cooperation between the DE BTK Art Centre, the Kós Károly Art College, the Malter Film Festival and MODEM will give a new impetus to the creative life of the city. The joint aim of the partners is to bring the values of design thinking, innovation and creative collaboration closer to the public of Debrecen and to make the vibrant cultural life of the city visible. I look forward to welcoming even more institutions and creators to Debrecen Design Week next year, further strengthening the city’s role in the national design and art scene.” – emphasized Katalin Vizi, managing director of MODEM and chief organizer of Design Debrecen.
This year, a printed BDW Guide, banners and stickers on the event facades, detailed descriptions and interactive maps on the official website will help visitors to easily create their own programme.
The opening took place at the central exhibition of the design week, 360 Design Budapest, which opens its doors for the sixth time this year in the Buda Castle District.
Zsófia Jakab said, “Over the past five years, the exhibition, which has won numerous international awards, has been visited by more than 14,000 people. This year, the exhibition showcases around 400 works by nearly 100 Hungarian and regional designers and creative manufacturers, presenting the latest trends in Hungarian and Central European design. In addition, the exhibition will feature a special section dedicated to the work of Sándor Borz Kováts, one of the most prominent figures of 20th century Hungarian design, while music and dance performances, interactive workshops, subjective guided tours and professional discussions will enrich the programme.”
But it is not only on the spot that you can admire the special objects. On the 360DBP online site, anyone can take a virtual tour to discover Hungarian and regional artefact culture. The 3D interface not only allows free access to the exhibition space of more than 1,000 square metres, but also allows visitors to click on the information panels of each work of art to go directly to the exhibitors’ pages, where further content, information and behind-the-scenes secrets await them.
More information:
Official website of Budapest Design Week: https://budapestdesignweek.hu/
360 Design Budapest official website: https://360dbp.com/
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Budapest Design Week
Budapest Design Week is the largest series of experiential events in Hungary aimed at the widest possible audience. Organised annually by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, its aim is to demonstrate the direct impact of design in all areas of life, and to raise awareness and recognition of design as a cultural and economic resource. The event is organised by professional partners through accompanying programmes, flagship programmes and co-events, offering events in the capital and co-events in other major cities. The longer-term objective of the MDDÜ is to develop the BDW into a regional experiential design event series.
360 Design Budapest
The MDDÜ’s annual 360 Design Budapest series draws attention to the role of design in our everyday lives, 360 degrees around us. The aim of the event is to raise the profile of Hungarian and regional designers through modern means, to promote the international market entry of Hungarian design brands and to present new, innovative and sustainable trends to a design-open audience. By organising the event, the Agency aims to help Hungary become a regional centre for the design industry and to create a programme with a European-wide tourist appeal.
About the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency
The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency was established in 2018 with the aim of providing efficient and structured support to all players in the fashion and design sector along predefined strategic pillars – professional coordination, improving the availability and commercial opportunities of domestic products, education development and production development. To achieve these objectives, national events such as the Budapest Central European Fashion Week, the region’s central fashion event, and the international award-winning 360 Design Budapest exhibition are organised year after year. In addition, Hungarian designers are given the opportunity to exhibit and showcase their work at professional events abroad, such as Milano Fashion Week or the Maison & Objet design fair. Their main tasks include strategic cooperation with professional organisations, increasing exports and supporting the professional development of Hungarian brands through their mentoring programmes.
