Design in Bavaria – Design meets opportunities

In 2013, the design industry in Germany generated total sales of EUR 18.9 billion; Bavaria's share in it was approximately 25 per cent. Sectors with a demand for design are as varied as they are different. It is this very variety that can be experienced at the Munich Creative Business Week, the largest German event of the design industry which is held in Munich.

Sometimes we are afraid to give up the good to attain the great. LUNAR has asked a selected group of designers and friends, “What do you think is great design? What idea surprised you? What product excited you? Which project would you have liked to be part of?” LUNAR will show the answers to these questions in the exhibition titled “I think this is GREAT” during the Munich Creative Business Week.

We encounter design everywhere in our daily lives. Yet, it is not so much the obvious things like the styles of the current summer collection, the courageous lines of a new car or the clever drafts for household furniture that make design so important for the German economy. Marko Müller, award winner of the Bavarian State Prize for Young Designers 2012, for example, developed “Wolt”, a wind generator specifically designed for vineyards, thus enabling the dual use of modern vineyards with the harvest of grapes and electricity. Therefore, creative design always represents the future, it develops future scenarios for use, defines requirements and opportunities, and even creates entire life designs – thus making it indispensable for modern, knowledge-based economies.

It is almost impossible to reflect this variety of what design means and how it expresses itself comprehensively, but in Munich, one can get an impression of it these days. From architecture to artisan craftwork to product design, from fashion to communication design: the creative industry presents itself in all its facets at the Munich Creative Business Week (http://www.mcbw.de/) in February 2015. Germany's largest event in the sector is a magnet for creative minds, business representatives and companies every year. At various events such as conferences, exhibitions, workshops or company tours, trade visitors and design enthusiasts from all over the world can obtain information on the latest trends and developments in the industry.

Promotion of design in Bavaria

It is not a coincidence that the industry's largest event takes place in Bavaria, for the State of Bavaria was the first German state to establish a promotion programme for design. Its goal is to make Bavaria a top location for design and innovation. The central point of contact is the bayern design GmbH which coordinates initiatives, brings together partners and bundles design-related activities.

The "Designers Market" platform, for example, includes a design business portal which promotes the development of new networks and the brokering of contacts between companies and creative minds. It is particularly exciting to have a look at the so-called “Designpool” where designers, agencies and creative minds present some of their projects and innovations, many of which have won awards.

One of the most renowned of these awards is the Bavarian State Prize for Young Designers. The prize, which has been awarded every other year since 1987, highlights the importance of excellent design, good craftsmanship and qualified professional training. It thereby underlines the significance of ground-breaking design and creative innovations for the competitiveness of the German economy.

Design exhibition with a long tradition

But it is not only the state's capital, Munich, that stands for good design and the promotion of design. In Coburg in Upper Franconia, the 27th Coburg Design Festival will take place this year. The long-standing exhibition offers creative minds, young designers and design-oriented companies from the region a platform where they can present their drafts, concepts and ideas to a broad audience.

The event is organised by the Coburger Designforum Oberfranken, an initiative whose goal is to raise awareness for design as an economic factor among decision-makers from the economic, administrative and political sector. The long and successful history of the Design Festival and many other design-related events proves the great degree to which this has been accomplished and to which design is perceived as a location factor and unique characteristic in the region.

If you would like to learn more about design made in Bavaria, specific initiatives or funding options, please get in touch with us. We look forward to talking to you.