The design community came together to develop Malmö’s design festival
During the 2026 development year, stakeholders from across Malmö’s design community – including independent practitioners, industry organisations and design clusters, as well as representatives from the public sector and academia – came together to explore ideas, themes, and directions for the future development of the design festival.
The workshop took place on 4 March 2026 at Trikåfabriken in Malmö and formed part of the development process that laid the foundation for the next chapter in the festival’s history – Malmö Design Days.
With inspiring perspectives from Eindhoven-based social designer and researcher Pete Fung, participants explored what makes the festival unique and which themes, opportunities, and directions could take it forward. The workshop centred on conversations about the future of design, with participants working in groups across six different themes to discuss and develop ideas for what the festival could look like in 2035.
During the afternoon, attention also turned to the workshop venue itself. Kajsa Blum and Carin Daal from Stena Fastigheter offered insights into the development and next phase of Trikåfabriken – located in the heart of Möllevången, in a historic setting that you can read more about here.
Southern Sweden Design Days celebrated its fifth anniversary in May 2025. Following five successful years, the festival entered a development phase in 2026, with the aim of further strengthening its role as an international meeting place for sustainability, collaboration, development, and innovation. As part of this process, the festival was given a new name and will return in spring 2027 as Malmö Design Days.
The festival is organised by Form/Design Center – one of Sweden’s leading platforms for architecture, design, and crafts.
What’s next?
The development work carried out in 2026 laid the foundation for Malmö Design Days and the festival’s continued evolution. In May 2027, the sixth edition of Malmö’s international design festival will take place.
