What VIENNA DESIGN WEEK does

VIENNA DESIGN WEEK is Austria's most important multidisciplinary and curated design festival, organized annually since 2007 by the registered nonprofit association Verein Neigungsgruppe Design, operating under the brand name VIENNA DESIGN OFFICE from Große Sperlgasse 26/5, 1020 Vienna. The 10-day festival serves two principal audience segments: design professionals and students seeking exhibitions, talks, and networking, and a broader general public including families, with dedicated children's programming such as Mini-MAK and MAK4FAMILY. Its programs include Passionswege (designer pairings with traditional Viennese manufacturers), Laboratory (public design workspace), Talks, and Debut (platform for young designers).

The festival's underlying product is not technology but a curated cultural program delivered through physical venues across Vienna, including the MAK (Museum of Applied Arts), the Liechtenstein Museum, design studios, and partner companies, supplemented by a digital archive and media player on viennadesignweek.at covering every edition from 2007 to 2025. There is no proprietary software, no mobile application, and no API. Distribution is hybrid: a concentrated 10-day physical window each autumn plus year-round digital access to archival content and a newsletter.

VIENNA DESIGN WEEK operates as a nonprofit funded primarily through public sponsorship. Its principal partners are Stadt Wien Kultur and BMWKMS (Public Principal Partners) and Wirtschaftsagentur Wien (Principal Partner); general commercial sponsors include Erste Bank MehrWERT, RADO, IKEA, and Mission Acoustic. The festival also runs deep collaborative partnerships with cultural and academic institutions, including the MAK, designforum Wien, Architekturzentrum Wien, and Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, as well as traditional Viennese manufacturers (Augarten, Lobmeyr, Wittmann, Köchert, Wiener Silber Manufactur). A small team of 9 employees executes the program under the chairmanship of Gabriel Roland MA. No revenue, budget, or financial figures are publicly disclosed.

Name

VIENNA DESIGN WEEK

Legal name

Verein Neigungsgruppe Design

Website

https://viennadesignweek.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VIENNA DESIGN WEEK is a Vienna-based nonprofit that runs Austria's leading annual multidisciplinary design festival, curating exhibitions, talks, and designer-manufacturer collaborations for design professionals and the general public since 2007.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Festival / Cultural Events

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail, Consumer Goods & Lifestyle Shows Organizers (THAHABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional & Certification Expos Organizers (THAHABAD)

Keywords

• Design festival
• Curated design exhibitions
• Design workshops
• Cultural events
• Design collaborations

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Festival Operations: The festival operates as a nonprofit organization (Verein Neigungsgruppe Design) funded primarily through public sponsorships from Austrian government entities (Stadt Wien Kultur, BMWKMS), principal partnerships with Wirtschaftsagentur Wien, and general sponsorships from companies like Erste Bank, RADO, IKEA, and Mission Acoustic.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

VIENNA DESIGN WEEK is an annual multidisciplinary curated design festival held in Vienna, featuring exhibitions, workshops, talks, laboratory programs, and designer-company collaborations. The festival's signature programs include Passionswege (international designers collaborating with traditional Viennese manufacturers), Laboratory (public design workspace), Talks (lectures and discussions), Debut (platform for young designers), designsafari tours, and family/children programs (Mini-MAK, MAK4FAMILY). The 20th edition is scheduled for 25 September – 4 October 2026.

Product overview

VIENNA DESIGN WEEK is Austria's most important multidisciplinary curated design festival. The organization does not offer traditional software products or technology platforms. Instead, it curates and organizes an annual design festival featuring exhibitions, workshops, talks, laboratory programs, and collaborative projects between designers and traditional Viennese businesses. The festival programs include Passionswege (designer collaborations with traditional companies), Laboratory (public design workspace), Talks (lectures and discussions), and Debut (platform for young designers). The organization operates as a non-profit association (Verein Neigungsgruppe Design) focused on exploring the role of designers in urban life and society.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VIENNA DESIGN WEEK Annual Festival An annual 10-day multidisciplinary curated design festival held in Vienna featuring exhibitions, workshops, talks, and collaborative projects. Designed for design professionals, students, and the general public.
• Passionswege Program Collaboration program pairing international designers with traditional Viennese manufacturers (Augarten, J. & L. Lobmeyr, Wittmann, A. E. Köchert, Wiener Silber Manufactur) for designer-led product projects. Provides manufacturers with access to contemporary design perspectives.
• Laboratory Program Public design workspace program offered as part of the festival, inviting designers to develop and showcase work in an open lab format.
• Talks Program Lectures and panel discussions on design topics held during the festival, often in partnership with Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien.
• Debut Platform Festival program providing a platform for young designers to present their work and gain exposure within the design community.
• designsafari Tours Curated guided tours of design venues across Vienna, co-developed with the Architekturzentrum Wien as part of the festival program.
• Mini-MAK and MAK4FAMILY Children's Programs Family and children's programming hosted in partnership with the MAK (Museum of Applied Arts), designed to introduce design culture to children and families.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MAK (Museum of Applied Arts)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary institutional partner hosting MAK Design NITE events, guided tours, exhibitions, and children's programming (MAK4FAMILY, Mini-MAK) as core festival venue.
• designforum WiencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey design institution partner collaborating on exhibitions, awards (Adolf Loos Staatspreis Design), and professional programming.
• Wiener Porzellanmanufaktur AugartenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraditional Viennese porcelain manufacturer collaborating through Passionswege program with designers.
• J. & L. LobmeyrminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraditional Viennese glass manufacturer with long history of Passionswege collaborations with international designers.
• Wittmann MöbelwerkstättenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraditional Viennese furniture manufacturer collaborating through Passionswege program.
• A. E. Köchert JuweliereminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric Viennese jeweler (since 1814) collaborating through Passionswege program with designers.
• Wiener Silber ManufacturminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVienna Silver Manufactory collaborating through Passionswege with international designers.
• Architekturzentrum WienminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVienna Architecture Centre co-developing designsafari tours with VIENNA DESIGN WEEK.
• Universität für angewandte Kunst WiencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner hosting conferences, student workshops, and educational programs as part of the festival.
• departure (Wirtschaftsagentur Wien)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative industries support agency of Vienna providing funding, Pecha Kucha Night collaboration, and departure Look/Book publications.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Design Biennale Zürich: Curated design exhibition and event series in Zürich with a thematic curatorial approach. Comparable in scale, curation, and city-based format to VIENNA DESIGN WEEK.
• Barcelona Design Week: Annual multidisciplinary design event organized by FAD (Foment de les Arts i del Disseny) with curated exhibitions and citywide programming. Comparable in curatorial format and citywide ambition.
• Stockholm Design Week: Annual design week organized by Stockholmsmässan featuring furniture, lighting, and broader design programming. Comparable in city-based multidisciplinary format with strong design industry ties.
• Dutch Design Week: Annual design event in Eindhoven presenting work from hundreds of designers across exhibitions, talks, and workshops. Closely comparable city-based multidisciplinary design festival with strong sponsor and institutional backing.
• Helsinki Design Week: Northern Europe's largest design festival held annually in Helsinki with a multidisciplinary, curated program of exhibitions, talks, and open calls. Closely comparable city-based design festival model.
• Lisbon Design Week: Annual design event across Lisbon with exhibitions, talks, and partner institutions. Comparable in citywide curated multidisciplinary format and emerging European design festival positioning.
• London Design Festival: Annual city-wide multidisciplinary design festival held across London venues with curated programs, partner institutions, and designer collaborations. Directly comparable in mission, scale ambition, and curatorial model to VIENNA DESIGN WEEK.
• Berlin Design Week: Annual city-wide design festival in Berlin featuring exhibitions, talks, and showrooms across multiple venues. Comparable in multidisciplinary, curated, decentralized format to VIENNA DESIGN WEEK.

Broad incumbents

• Maison & Objet (Paris): Major biannual trade fair for design, décor, and lifestyle held in Paris. While more trade-fair oriented than VIENNA DESIGN WEEK's curatorial approach, it overlaps in the design and lifestyle shows category and competes for similar sponsors.
• Milan Design Week (Salone del Mobile Milano): The world's largest design week anchored by the Salone del Mobile trade fair, plus the broader Fuorisalone city program. A much larger incumbent in the same category, comparable in curating a city-wide multidisciplinary design festival experience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/VIENNADESIGNWEEK
• Instagraminstagram.com/viennadesignweek
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vienna-design-week

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 VIENNA DESIGN WEEK