Design in Barcelona

Design has been synonymous with Barcelona ever since the industrial revolution, when a free design school was set up to train designers for the burgeoning industrial sector.

By the mid-19th century, Catalonia had become the main center of the industrial revolution in Spain, and design was essential for the manufacture of textiles, ceramics, furniture, and many other items. In Barcelona, it also played an important role in publishing and architecture.

Barcelona today owes an enormous debt of gratitude to exceptional architect-designers like Gaudí, Puig i Cadafalch, and Domènech i Montaner, but the city also owes much to its extraordinary design culture. Proof of this is that Barcelona has always been home to a wide variety of artists, architects, and designers whose innovation and creative talent has transformed the city. Barcelona is famous for its design culture, known worldwide as the Barcelona brand.

This makes Barcelona Design Week an unmissable date in the designer’s year.

BSW'21, Photo: Barcelona Design Week

BDW'22

Launched in 2006 by the Barcelona Design Center, Barcelona Design Week is the main design event in the city and one of the most important design weeks in the world, a must for professionals in the sector. The aim of the week is to raise awareness of design’s capacity to transform, particularly amongst the young.

Between 2 and 22 June, there will be more than 130 activities scheduled in 80 different spaces around the city. After a break of two years due to the pandemic, the Barcelona design fair is now coming back stronger than ever. The 17th Barcelona Design Week 2022 will present new trends in the sector, with a section on gastronomy and a special focus on solving the problems of elderly. In the European Year of Youth, BDW is also paying special attention to young artists, creators, and designers.

The design week this year, dubbed ‘Wayfindings’, is aimed at young people, who, after two years of uncertainty, may feel they have lost their way. The organizers aim to help all designers find a way out of a troubling present and to achieve their future goals.

Located in Jardinets de Gràcia, the centerpiece of this BDW will be an installation curated by tactica.bcn, which will host a range of exhibition and interactive micro-experiences for both casual visitors and designers. The space will also feature various performances by a number of design schools in Barcelona and the “Idea Hothouse” a space for talks and debates by prestigious designers and artists like Putos Modernos, Francesca Tur, and Laura Benítez.

BDW’21, Photo: Barcelona Design Week

Barcelona Design Hub

Once again, the Barcelona Design Hub will be the setting for the FAD, ADI and ADG Laus Awards. Furthermore, “the best design of the year” exhibition will offer visitors three itineraries that focus on beauty, sustainability, and inclusivity. All this, and the 500 most outstanding products in industrial design, graphic design and visual communication, architecture and interior design.

Food Design Week is back!

After the success of last year, there will also be a Food Design Week this year. From June 7 to 14, more than 30 bars and restaurants will be laying on workshops, activities, and special menus on 6 routes through the city that will demonstrate how food design can add value to bars and restaurants and even help to reduce food waste.

For those new to this sector, food design can be defined as a discipline aimed at introducing innovations to everything related to the consumption of food and the design of products, services and experiences for the food industry. The objective is to provide nutritional, cultural, and social benefits.

Food Design Week, Photo: Barcelona Design Week

Organized by Barcelona Design Center

The creativity of design professionals goes well beyond what we tend to see as design; In fact, designers play a key role in devising solutions for products, services, experiences, and businesses.

This is why Barcelona Design Center sees design as means of transforming society. The center seeks to promote innovation and creative talent, make the Barcelona brand known around the world, and, above all, give a voice to creative entrepreneurs through initiatives like Barcelona Design Week.