Gdynia Design Days once again transforms the Polish coastal city into a celebration of recent developments in contemporary design. The event continues to support a vision of design that is inclusive and democratic, rooted in local contexts, and capable of driving real change, in respect of the natural environment. The annual design festival returns to Gdynia, opening its doors to the public on June 24th.
This 18th edition explores the theme of Dispersion, assembling a rich programme of over a dozen exhibitions, curator-led tours, and workshops. As designers become increasingly aware of the multitude and diversity of challenges in their field, this coincides with the constant acceleration of modern production, both in terms of product and concept. The hypersaturation of potential resources and solutions leads down a dangerously vague path, where experimentation overshadows coherent ideas. “We are everywhere and nowhere in particular”, state the curators of the event, while simultaneously suggesting a momentary pause from the search, and a regain of focus.
Design for the People
For Whom Should we design? This major question tackled during the event resonates strongly in the context of the current global demographic shift. Among the selected shows, The Art of Ageing exhibition, curated by Aleksandra Majdzik-Cisowska and Izabela Serej, considers our collective future and how architecture, design, and technology can respond to the needs of the rapidly ageing population. The exhibition raises questions on how we can care, not only for the body, but for relationships and integration. Few experiences are as universal as ageing. And yet, despite its relevance to us all, we still struggle to ensure seniors’ participation in community life, often overlooking their creative potential.
Taking a step back from future projections, in the Housing as Product, we turn to a pressing issue rooted in the present – one that resonates strongly with residents of major Polish cities and beyond – the ongoing housing crisis. Zofia Piotrowska, Łukasz Stępnik, and Milena Trzcińska bring to GDD a reflection on the current state of available housing and the systemic conditions of the crisis. The focus is brought to the quality of this “product” rather than the difficulties in finding it in the first place. The curators evaluate typical Warsaw apartments, but built under different socio-economic systems. Their work asks to reflect on the quality of these architectural projects, considering their size or layout. “The construction process often overlooks a fundamental fact: that the final product is not just a new investment — it will be someone’s home”, note the curators.
“We are everywhere and nowhere in particular”, state the curators of the event, while simultaneously suggesting a momentary pause from the search, and a regain of focus.
What meaning hides behind the multiple terms reflecting societal expectations of contemporary design? How should we design in 2025? Divided into stages, the product’s birth, life and death carry unique consequences when meeting the natural environment. Dorota Kabała, in her work focused on sustainable product design, brings the Cycle exhibition. It aims to demystify the concept of environmental life cycle analysis (LCA) and demonstrate its practical applications. The multiplicity of voices surrounding sustainable practices, in both production and consumption, resonates with the theme of Dispersion.
The Past in Presence
Exploring this year’s theme within Polish design history, the Typoteka.pl exhibition traces the fragmented story of Polish type design, aiming to bring coherence to this scattered narrative. Curated by Mateusz Machalski, Borys Kosmyka, Ania Wieluńska, Andrzej Tomaszewski, Michał Jarociński, and Adam Twardoch, the team includes designers affiliated with the graphic arts departments of the Fine Arts Academies in Warsaw and Łódź, as well as key contributors to the creation of the rich digital archive and typeface index. Inviting to reflect on the power of the hidden architecture of written content, and how we perceive it, the curator’s note that in light of the modern overstimulation, they “(…) want to redirect attention to the letter – a presence so obvious it often escapes our awareness”.
Another exhibition offering a look at the past, anchoring it in today’s culture, suggests a new approach to what is broken, out of fashion, or worn out. Extending the scope beyond product design, Weave, Unravel, Repair explores the concept of repair in a broad sense, extending it beyond objects to encompass relationships, systems, and daily routines. Trying to move away from a culture so accustomed to discarding and replacing, the show suggests a new vision supported by Japanese Craft culture, texts by Donna Haraway, Ursula K. Le Guin, and object-oriented philosophy. “To repair is to create new relationships. Between the human and the thing, the future and the past, the broken and the possible”, notes the curator, Olga Konik.
Designing (in) the future
Reflecting the festival’s commitment to showcasing emerging designers, the New Generation exhibition returns to Gdynia. Thinking and building a world they want to live in, emerging voices ask different questions, and they do so with urgency. Contemporary design shifts away from consumerism, towards systems that favour repair, reuse and sharing.
This year, the city welcomes four projects from four Polish art and design schools. The selection features students’ work from Bydgoszcz University of Technology, as well as the Academies of Art in Szczecin, Gdańsk, and Kraków. The show, curated by Zespół Centrum Designu, Anna Szwaja, Ewa Protasiewicz, Magdalena Nowak and Marta Gębska, invites “to look at design through the eyes of the young generation – sensitive, aware, and full of determination”.
This year, Gdynia Design Days invites, above all, to engage in open debates and reflect, instead of competing for the most innovative solutions.
Continuing the conversation around the future of design closely intertwined with the past, Kuki Krzysztof Iwański, a visual artist and graphic designer known for his dynamic approach to applied art and his deep engagement with contemporary visual culture, presents Ghosts of Tomorrow. A series of flags reflects our collective failures – social, ecological, and systematic. With bold, minimalist compositions that speak volumes without preaching or being overly literal, the project seeks a fresh visual language, steered away from overused symbols. As such, the flag, a powerful and culturally ingrained symbol – warnings from the future – is reimagined here—not to represent nations or ideologies, but to spotlight urgent issues we tend to overlook, from the future of sorts – is reimagined here, not to represent nations or ideologies, but to spotlight the urgent problems we tend to overlook; confronting us with the consequences of our choices, our relationships, and our lack of accountability – directly and unflinchingly, leaving a lasting impression.
This year, Gdynia Design Days invites, above all, to engage in open debates and reflect, instead of competing for the most innovative solutions. Through the exhibitions, workshops, and lectures, the festival creates a platform for discussion around the path we can take towards change, utilising the tools and resources already available.
Gdynia Design Days 2025
June 24 – June 29, 2025
Gdynia, Poland
