Why the Zurich Design Weeks 2025 are worth a visit

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The fourth edition of the Zurich Design Weeks, taking place from 4 to 14 September 2025, will adopt the slogan ‘Team up’, which deliberately emphasises the importance of collaboration and interdisciplinary exchange.

Design is no longer an isolated process, but rather a collaborative practice that transcends boundaries – whether between disciplines, cultures, or technologies. Zurich Design Weeks 2025 invites visitors to discover the diverse forms of collaboration that are increasingly necessary, both in the creative industry and in society as a whole – from interdisciplinary teamwork to global cooperation.

Circular Design Rules

How can office chairs, coffee capsules, or underwear be part of a cycle? The ‘Circular Design Rules’ provide answers. Developed by the Institute of Design Research Vienna IDRV on behalf of the Austrian Ministry of Climate Protection, the nine clearly formulated rules use everyday Swiss products to show, for the first time, how materials, components, and services can be designed with a view to closing cycles.

Nuova Tavolata

This dinner event combines design, cuisine, and art to create a multi-sensory experience. Natascha Madeiski and Laurin Schaub design unconventional tableware that combines function and artistic expression. Benjamin Plsek (formerly Maison Manesse) transforms regional, sustainable ingredients into surprising dishes. Projected images of Fabian Häfeli’s food photographs expand the space visually.

Design Biennale 2025 – ‘Side by Side’

Bringing design to life and appealing to all the senses. The Old Botanical Garden at UZH is hosting eleven visionary design projects and installations that explore the interplay between society, materials, and technology, inviting visitors to discover and reflect. The Design Biennale Zurich is aimed at a broad audience and integrates all areas of design: game, interaction design, fashion, product, scenography, textiles, and visual communication. Guided tours, performances, and workshops for children complement the free exhibition.

Ring for Bling

Using the hand as a tool, jewellery as a medium, and adopting flow as a goal, ‘Ring for Bling’ provides a counterpoint to the constant digital noise, creating space for mental focus, haptic experience, and the joy of creating. The mobile workshop provides a constructive response to digital fatigue – and to the growing desire for tangible moments and authentic encounters, far removed from screens and social media.

Design for Inclusion

The Swiss Paraplegic Foundation (SPF) is pooling its design initiatives to improve the quality of life of people with spinal cord injuries under the umbrella project, ‘Design for Inclusion’. This comprises three core areas: ‘ADAPT by SPF: Fashion for wheelchair users’, ‘Design Prize Switzerland: Open call for innovation’ and ‘ParaVerse: Barrier-free access to the digital world’. A selection of the best work by design students from the first two areas is on display.

How to Demokratie

How does democracy work? And how does it feel? In the board game HOW TO DEMOKRATIE, players take on different political roles with their own goals. They discuss, vote, and jointly shape a game world. The aim of the project is to make democratic processes tangible, enable a change of perspective, and create space for discussion.

Repair? Reuse? Recycle?

In circular design and sustainable development, the time has come to talk about solutions that are worthwhile rather than just commendable. Impact is not generated solely by attitude and good will, but by highlighting advantages – including economic advantages. So what is worthwhile? And what is not? How do pioneers grapple with this? These questions will be explored in three keynote speeches and an open discussion.