Creating change

Around 2,000 projects are to be developed and implemented in collaboration with approximately 400 partners over the course of the coming year, including events, exhibitions, workshops and discussion panels. Under the motto ‘Looking forward – shaping tomorrow together’, the aim is to bring design to life as a tool for social change and to have a lasting impact on the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region. The aim is to highlight the potential of design in this context. The programme will also give the various participants the opportunity to network with each other on a long-term basis. There are also plans to establish a design week for the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region, which is scheduled to take place in June 2026.

World Design Capital® (WDC) is an initiative of the globally recognised, non-governmental World Design Organisation (WDO)® to recognise cities that use design as a driver for economic, social, cultural and environmental progress. Frankfurt Rhine-Main has been awarded the title for 2026 with the theme "Design for Democracy. Atmospheres for a better life‘, which was formulated by Prof. Matthias Wagner K, Director of the Museum Angewandte Kunst. ’All the transformation processes affecting us as individuals and as socielties asa whole present new tasks and roles for designers. The accompanying responsibility demands that we refrain from actions and design practices that could pose an existential threat to the world, to a free democratic society, and to future generations. Design is inherently driven by the spirit of questioning existing conditions, envisioning the future, and bringing about change. (...) Its common basis is a participatory and dynamic platform open to everyone who wants to shape the world, to all those with a creative drive, and to all designers willing to engage in a collaborative and co-creative process", write Anna Scheuermann and Matthias Wagner K in their publication "What impact does design have?".

Following the opening event at Centralstation Darmstadt on 16 January 2026, the WDC Hub at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt am Main will become the central point of contact. This also includes the WDC Campus, which will give young creatives the opportunity to present and discuss their ideas for society, the economy and a sustainable future. The programme's general questions include how public spaces should be designed to offer added value to society, how architecture, mobility and digitalisation can contribute to a better quality of life, and what role design plays in a vibrant democracy.

In Frankfurt Rhine-Main, the aim is to set a movement in motion and create a platform dedicated to the most pressing issues of our time, developing concrete projects from the discourses. The aim is to initiate a change that strengthens society and, with it, democracy. ‘Democracy is not a product. So it's clear that this year is not primarily about products, but about processes,’ says Barbara Lersch, Chief Programme Officer World Design Capital Frankfurt Rhine-Main 2026.

The programme planned for 2026 is so multifaceted and interdisciplinary that it can seem overwhelming at first glance. Over the past few months, the team has therefore analysed both fields of action and focal points in order to cluster the offerings thematically:

– Designing living spaces: building, living and working
– Future in motion: design and mobility
– Rethinking learning: design and education
– Democratising public space: spaces for everyone
– Cycles of the future: design, economy and innovation
– Laboratories of ideas: science and research – Design at universities
– Participating instead of watching: participation
– Shaping democracy: design in politics

The agenda will be dynamically developed throughout the year within these defined areas. The final highlight will be a gathering at Frankfurt's Paulskirche in November 2026, which will open the dialogue with regional politics. There, the international network of World Design Capitals will meet at the regional level. During the festive Convocation Ceremony, the WDC title will be handed over to Busan, South Korea. (am)