munich creative business week 2025

How can design help us build stronger, more connected communities? In a time marked by social fragmentation, political tension, and rapid technological change, this question feels more urgent than ever. The 2025 edition of munich creative business week (mcbw) dives headfirst into this challenge with the theme: “How to design a vibrant community.”

Organized by bayern design, mcbw is Germany’s largest design event and a dynamic platform for ideas, innovation, and exchange. From May 10 to 18, 2025, Munich will host a city-wide celebration of creativity and conversation—bringing together design professionals, thought leaders, and the public to explore how design can inspire empathy, foster participation, and create meaningful change. The idea is simple: the challenges we face—climate change, social division, digital transformation—can only be tackled together. What does that require? Openness, curiosity, collaboration, and a renewed sense of community.

Throughout the week, around 200 events and installations will activate public spaces across the city. From interactive exhibitions and creative workshops to talks and pop-up experiences, mcbw is more than a design conference—it’s an invitation to co-create the future. The program speaks not only to professionals in design and architecture but also to a broad audience of curious citizens. With contributions ranging from scientific deep dives to playful interventions, it invites participants to discuss, explore, and connect with one another. At the heart of the event is the mcbw Festival Center, a lively hub for spontaneous conversations, collaborative thinking, and new ideas. Munich itself becomes a stage for creative expression and social engagement, reflecting the core belief that design should not only be seen—it should be experienced, shared, and lived.

A highlight of the week is the mcbw design summit on May 12, 2025. Instead of relying on a single keynote, this year’s summit gathers six international Creative Explorers to present different perspectives on the year’s theme: Tim Brown (IDEO), Kim Dabbs (Steelcase), Alona Kharachenko (Ukrainian designer and activist), Ezio Manzini (expert in sustainable and social design), Ana Relvão (Relvãokellermann), and Carsten Waldeck (SHIFT).

A few additional standout events show how design fosters connection—across spaces, disciplines, and communities. “Take a Seat!” invites people to gather around a 23-meter-long table that only lights up when at least two sit together—turning interaction into illumination. Nearby, “Designblok Cosmos” surrounds visitors with mirrored walls and Czech glass design, creating an otherworldly space for reflection and inspiration. At the DIVE’25 conference, experts from design, politics, and science come together to explore how design can drive real-world change. And in a talk by “der Freitag”, the redesign of their digital platform becomes a case study in how design shapes identity, meaning, and media for a progressive future.

mcbw 2025 is an open invitation to rethink how we live, work, and interact—and to do so together. Whether you’re a creative professional, a student, a policymaker, or simply someone interested in shaping the future, this is your chance to engage, reflect, and take part in a week where design is not just on display, but alive in the city!

munich creative business week 2025

When?
May 10th, 2025 to May 18th, 2025

Where?
mcbw Festival Center and various other locations in Munich,
Ruffinistore inside Ruffinihaus,
Rindermarkt 10,
80331 Munich,
Germany

Further information here.

© Pictures by LÉROT, bayern design, Studio Olaf Becker, Luca Phil Franze LPF Photo, Vaclav Jirasek, Sintesi Labs Design, Propylea