TEAM UP: Zurich Design Weeks explore design as a collective force
From September 4-14, the Swiss festival is back under a new and exciting theme, TEAM UP. Let’s see what we are expecting from the upcoming edition of the event.
The Zurich Design Weeks will return from September 4-14 for their fourth edition, bringing together Switzerland’s most comprehensive design festival under a new theme. The festival has rapidly established itself as Switzerland’s largest design event, attracting more than 27,000 visitors yearly. In 2024, the event lasted 18 days, orchestrating an impressive program that included 3 partner events, 28 exhibitions and showrooms, 5 newcomer showcases, 10 workshops, and 19 talks. The success of this previous edition has only heightened anticipation for what promises to be an even more dynamic 2025 program.
For 2025, the festival celebrates the power of collaboration with its new TEAM UP theme. Recognising that in our increasingly complex and interconnected world, creative synergies and collaborative approaches are key drivers of innovation, enabling us to use design for meaningful change. Design is no longer an isolated process but a collaborative practice, whether between disciplines, cultures, or technologies.
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This shift reflects a broader movement in the design industry, where contamination is more and more common and often yields more interesting results. The design weeks will showcase projects that exemplify this collaborative spirit, demonstrating how the exchange of ideas and interdisciplinary teamwork can open up new perspectives to create forward-thinking solutions.
The theme extends beyond professional collaboration to reach community building and social impact. After all, design is a social discipline; everything in the field is created by people and (usually) for people. As the festival organisers explain, “It’s about more than just design – it’s about building communities to shape the future together.”
For this year, the key partner events include the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich and Design Biennale Zürich, institutions that bring significant cultural gravitas to the program. The festival targets “everyone who recognises the potential of design processes to improve the quality of life and believes they have the power to provide decisive answers to the questions of our time.” In alignment with the TEAM UP theme, the festival is not exclusive to industry professionals; instead, it focuses on creative problem solving in a way that can be useful for any individual seeking to make positive change.
The festival serves as both a celebration of existing Swiss design talent and a platform for emerging voices, especially through its Newcomer program, an initiative that showcases up and coming designers. Established house names will not be missed, as the program features exhibitions from IKEA, Hermès, Polestar, Freitag, USM, and more.
The stage is set for eleven days of intensive programming that will extensively demonstrate why collaboration is so essential for the demands of our complex world. As Zurich prepares to host the event, the city reinforces its position as a key European creative location. The Zurich Design Weeks promises to be more than an exhibition space; it will be an explorative laboratory about the future of design, and we can’t wait to see how it will unfold.
