DHub | Disseny Hub Barcelona

What DHub | Disseny Hub Barcelona does

DHub (Disseny Hub Barcelona), formally the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona, is a public municipal museum and design institution wholly owned and operated by the Ajuntament de Barcelona. Founded in 2015, the institution consolidated four predecessor museums — the Museu de les Arts Decoratives, Museu de la Ceràmica, Museu de les Arts Tèxtils i del Vestit, and Gabinet de les Arts Gràfiques — into a single unified platform headquartered at Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, 37-38, Barcelona. The museum stewards over 12,000 catalogued objects across ten collection categories spanning product design, graphic design, fashion, ceramics (historical and contemporary), decorative arts, historical garments, textiles, and liturgical ornaments.

The institution's product and service surface is anchored by its permanent and rotating exhibitions (current and recent exhibitions include "Seny i rauxa," "Tècniques del ferro," "Matter Matters," "El cos vestit," and "Objectes comuns"), supported by a public Library and Archive, an online searchable catalog, and structured educational programming including family workshops, school programs, and summer creative talent camps. Revenue mechanics combine public municipal funding (the dominant pillar) with auxiliary earned income from ticket sales (entrades.eicub.net), a gift shop (DSHOP, also online at lacapell.com), a cafeteria, and corporate venue rental (Lloguer d'Espais). The institution hosts and co-organizes the Premis FAD and ADG Laus design awards in partnership with FAD (Fomento de las Artes y del Diseño), positioning it as the institutional venue for the professional design community of Catalonia.

The business model is not technology-driven and does not involve AI/ML or proprietary software products. Distribution combines a single physical visitor destination with a global online catalog and active multi-channel digital presence across Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Spotify, and TripAdvisor. The institution holds the Distintiu Garantia Qualitat Ambiental (environmental quality), BIOSPHERE sustainable tourism certification, and licenses website content under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The customer base is horizontal: general public and tourists, families, schools and educational institutions, creative professionals and designers, and corporate clients for events.

Name

DHub | Disseny Hub Barcelona

Legal name

Museu del Disseny de Barcelona

Website

https://museudeldisseny.cat

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DHub | Disseny Hub Barcelona is a municipal design museum owned by the Ajuntament de Barcelona, stewarding over 12,000 catalogued objects across product design, graphic design, fashion, ceramics, decorative arts, and textiles. It serves the general public, schools, families, creative professionals, and corporate event clients through exhibitions, an online catalog, library and archive services, and educational programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Museum and Cultural Heritage Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums (71211), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM), Arts & Crafts Workshops (Painting, Pottery, Ceramics, Sculpture) (THAJAKAA)

Keywords

• Design museum
• Cultural exhibitions
• Design collections
• Museum education programs
• Cultural archive services

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

DHub is a municipal design museum that preserves and publicly exhibits over 12,000 design objects across ten thematic collections (product design, graphic design, fashion, ceramics, decorative arts, historical garments, textiles, liturgical ornaments). It sells museum admissions, library and archive research services, educational programs (school visits, family workshops, summer camps), venue rental for corporate events, museum gift shop merchandise (DSHOP), and cafeteria services, supported by an online collection catalog.

Product overview

DHub (Disseny Hub Barcelona), also known as the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona, operates as a unified platform comprising 11 distinct collections totaling over 10,000 objects, supported by library/archival services and educational programming. The collections span product design, graphic design, fashion design, ceramics (historical and contemporary), decorative arts, historical garments, textiles, and liturgical ornaments. The institution offers public access through physical exhibitions, an online catalog, research services, and educational activities including summer camps and workshops for various age groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museu del Disseny - Design Collections and Permanent Exhibitions Public museum offering permanent and rotating exhibitions across ten thematic design collections totaling over 12,000 objects: Product Design (1,707 pieces), Graphic Design (3,827 pieces), Fashion Design (1,421 pieces), Contemporary Ceramics (930 pieces), Graphic Arts (299 pieces), Decorative Arts (875 pieces), Historical Ceramics (2,147 pieces), Historical Garments (387 pieces), Textiles (449 pieces), and Liturgical Ornaments (12 pieces). Targeted at general public visitors, tourists, families, and design enthusiasts seeking cultural and design heritage experiences in Barcelona.
• Biblioteca i Arxiu del Disseny (Design Library and Archive) Research library and archive service providing consultation rooms, document lending, interlibrary loans, publication exchanges, and access to design books, magazines, and historical archives. Targeted at design researchers, academics, students, and creative professionals.
• Visites i Activitats Educatives (Educational Visits and Activities) Structured educational programs including guided school visits, curriculum-aligned projects, family activities, summer camps (Casal d'estiu Xup-Xup for ages 7-12, Taller d'estiu ZIP for ages 13-17), and creative talent development activities. Targeted at schools, families with children, and young creatives.
• Projectes Educatius per a Escoles (School Educational Projects) Dedicated educational projects and guided visits for school groups from primary to university level, designed to align with formal curricula. Targeted at educational institutions and school administrators seeking structured design education experiences.
• Col·leccions en Línia (Online Collections Database) Public digital catalog allowing users to search and browse over 12,000 collection objects by category, author, date, material, and other criteria. Targeted at remote researchers, students, design professionals, and the general public worldwide.
• DSHOP (Museum Gift Shop / Botiga) On-site gift shop selling design-related merchandise inspired by the museum's collections, also accessible online via lacapell.com. Targeted at museum visitors, tourists, and design enthusiasts.
• Bar DHub (Cafeteria and Restaurant) On-site cafeteria and restaurant serving food and beverages to museum visitors and event attendees. Targeted at museum visitors, tour groups, and event participants.
• Lloguer d'Espais (Space and Venue Rental) Venue rental service allowing organizations to host corporate events, professional conferences, private functions, and cultural gatherings within the museum's architectural spaces. Targeted at corporate event organizers, conference planners, and private function hosts.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FAD (Fomento de las Artes y del Diseño)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAD, a prominent design promotion association, organizes the Premis FAD (FAD Awards) and ADG Laus awards, which are hosted and exhibited at DHub. FAD and DHub collaborate on key design recognition events, with the museum serving as the venue and institutional partner for these major industry awards in architecture, interior design, graphic design, and communication.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MAK – Museum of Applied Arts (Vienna): Austrian museum of applied arts and contemporary design with a permanent collection spanning furniture, textiles, ceramics, and graphic design — directly comparable to DHub's multidisciplinary design scope.
• Vitra Design Museum: German design museum housing one of the world's most important collections of furniture and industrial design, with comparable exhibitions, educational programs, and curatorial publishing.
• Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum: Smithsonian-affiliated US design museum focused on historical and contemporary design across decorative arts, product design, and graphic design, with comparable educational programming and online collection access.
• Design Museum (London): Europe's leading dedicated design museum, covering product, graphic, fashion, and architectural design with a permanent collection, temporary exhibitions, and educational programs — the most direct international comparable to DHub.
• Museo del Diseño (previously MUBA / Museo de Barcelona): The same institution — DHub operates as the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona; listed here to acknowledge its canonical institutional identity, with cross-referenced collection and programming overlap.
• Triennale Milano: Italian design and architecture institution hosting exhibitions, conferences, and the Milan Triennale design museum — a leading Southern European peer with similar collection scope across decorative and industrial arts.

Broad incumbents

• Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A, London): Major global museum with substantial design, decorative arts, fashion, and ceramics collections that overlap directly with DHub's collection categories, though operating at much larger scale and broader historical scope.

Regional players

• Museu Picasso (Barcelona): Flagship Barcelona museum competing with DHub for the same municipal cultural budget, tourist visitor traffic, and school group bookings within the same geographic catchment.
• MACBA – Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona: Barcelona contemporary art museum sharing the same municipal funding pipeline, tourist audience, and Glòries-adjacent cultural district — directly competing for visitor mindshare and public resources.

Emerging players

• Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci (Milan): Major Italian cultural institution combining museum, education, and applied design exhibitions with significant overlap in industrial design and product-focused programming audiences.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCb8tvCnSVqm6zwZeKBoeQOg
• Facebookfacebook.com/dissenyhub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dissenyhub
• Instagraminstagram.com/dissenyhub
• TikToktiktok.com/@dissenyhub

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DHub | Disseny Hub Barcelona