The Red Dot Design Award-winner exhibition opens its gates again: 360 Design Budapest

The free exhibition organised by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA) displays the pieces of 31 domestic and over 10 regional designers between the 3rd and the 9th of October. This year, storytelling, education, and digitalisation are in the focus of the exhibition that has received numerous international awards including the Red Dot Design Award. Design enthusiasts can attend the keynote speeches of world-famous designers, roundtable discussions, and, similarly to previous years, the “Meet the Designer” programme in Bálna Budapest.

The design pieces at 360 Design Budapest presenting domestic and regional designers emphasise the effort for sustainable product design in 2022 as well. This time, the interconnectedness and meeting points between past and future and the digital and physical space are in the concept’s centre. For this reason, besides creations of Hungarian designers and emerging talents, creators of innovative plans could enter their 3D products into their own category. The breathtaking blueprints can be viewed digitally, on LED projectors. The exhibition’s visitors can step into the physical exhibition space from this special virtual space. You can learn more about the connections between storytelling and timelines in the design history section.

“It was especially important for us, together with prominent organisations of different areas of expertise, to call attention to the interconnectedness of different sectors of art. So this year, 360 Design Budapest is realised in close cooperation with Art Market Budapest. The main element of this partnership is the Inside Art & Design programme, which includes world-renowned designers’ presentations and roundtable discussions. The goal of the exhibition’s concept is to demonstrate the importance of using the experience from applied arts heritage, regional cooperation possibilities, and technology that may enrich the design world with newer and newer ideas.” – explained the ideas behind the concept at the opening of the exhibition Anita Forintos-Szűcs, Deputy CEO of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency.

In addition to regional professional organisations, such as LuCreate Design Development Foundation, Czechdesign, Budapest Design Week, Art Market Budapest, and the Museum of Applied Arts, internationally acclaimed star designers will visit the exhibition as keynote speakers such as Piero Lissoni, one of the most outstanding architects and designers of our age, and Draga Obradovic and Aurel K. Basedow, the leading designer duo of Baxter, the Italian furniture factory.

Based on the decision of the professional jury, 31 Hungarian and several regional design brands will appear in the exhibition, 14 of which participated in the Agency’s design LAB mentoring programme. Their pieces will be presented at exclusive guided tours by Dr Judit Horváth, Head of the Department of the Contemporary Design Collection in the Museum of Applied Arts; Judit Osvárt, Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Decoration; and Iván Vitáris, lead singer of the Ivan & the Parazol band, through their own lens. Those interested can participate in further guided tours by Gáspár Bonta, Programme Director and Curator of 360 Design Budapest, joined by Piero Lissoni on Thursday.

The range of programmes is completed by the HFDA Academy roundtable discussions. These aim to incentivise professional dialogue and knowledge sharing between creative industry actors, providing a platform for those interested in the sector that allows them to deepen their knowledge regarding topical industry issues. In the discussion entitled Collaboration as the Driving Force behind Innovation, manufacturer-designer pairs supported by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s design LAB incubational programme share their experiences gained during the collaboration, taking into account the involvement of design-conscious enterprises and their innovative use of tools. During the English discussion Points of Intersection: Art & Design, the participants will discuss the differences, overlaps, and interconnectedness of fine arts and product design with the participation of international guests. In cooperation with Art Market, a photo selection was made for Art Photo Budapest 2022 that includes a few of the leading Hungarian photographers in whose oeuvre the intersection, or rather the interweaving, between fashion photography and fine art photography, is strikingly evident.

“The dialogue and knowledge sharing between actors of different sectors and international cooperation serve the event’s long-term goals, including strengthening the role of Hungary as a regional design centre, facilitating domestic brands’ appearance on the international markets, and increasing the recognition of Hungarian and regional product designers. Design, just like our architectural heritage, natural wonders, and gastronomy, contributes to shaping our country’s image. Cultural interest is not only an increasingly strong motivation to travel but helps tourists to stay longer and enjoy a quality experience in our country. Since its foundation in 2018, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency has been a staunch supporter of the representatives of Hungarian fashion and design to reach international success and a wider audience. It fills us with great joy that 360 Design Budapest has gained vast popularity not only among visitors but the profession in the only three years since its foundation” – added Zsófia Jakab, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s CEO.

In addition to winning the Red Dot Design Award, in previous years, 360 Design Budapest has achieved outstanding results in several international design competitions; it was awarded podium in two categories at the A' Design Award & Competition and was awarded gold in the Virtual Expo category and bronze in the Art Event category at the 11th Global Eventex Awards, among nearly 600 entries.