The award-winning 360 Design Budapest awaits design enthusiasts with a section on design history, a digital section, and star designers

The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA) organises the 360 Design Budapest event series for the third year, which will await those interested in design in Bálna Budapest again between the 3^rd and 9^th of October. The Red Dot award-winner exhibition puts storytelling in the centre, and presents domestic and regional designers’ works with a separate virtual exhibition space. Already known design brands, emerging talents, and several 3D designers will display their works at the event. The now traditional “Meet the Designer” programme enables those interested to meet the exhibitors in person again. And the emphasis will be placed on the meeting points between applied arts and design at the “Inside Art & Design” professional meeting, which is a programme series realised in close collaboration with Art Market Budapest.

The 360 Design Budapest exhibition presenting innovative and sustainable product design directions awaits design enthusiasts for the third time now. The Red Dot-awarded programme, which can be visited for free, has received several international awards; it was awarded podium places in two categories at the world’s best-known design competition (A’ Design Award & Competition) and received a gold medal at the 11^th Global Eventex Awards’ Virtual Expo category and bronze in Art Event category from almost 600 entries.

“We are proud that 360 Design Budapest has won several prestigious awards in the last few years. These acknowledgements call even bigger global attention to Hungarian and regional product designers and Budapest. Our goal is to elevate Budapest into the region’s fashion and design capital through our prestigious events and attract international audiences’ attention to the creative potential in Hungary. Both our cultural events and the artworks created by our product designers shape the image of Hungary and help us appear as an exciting destination promising cultural experiences for tourists interested in design” – said Zsófia Jakab, CEO of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency about the touristic aspect of the event.

The 360 Design Budapest exhibition’s goal is to present domestic and regional product designers’ creations. This year, three categories – Emerging Talents, Hungarian Product Designers, and 3D Designers – were open to those wanting to present their works to  a broad audience in an exciting environment. Based on the professional jury’s decision, this year, 31 Hungarian design brands can display their works. Besides the 14 emerging talents, numerous other brands will debut in the 3D design category in the unconventional virtual exhibition space. In line with strategic goals, this year over 10 exceptional regional designers will join the event, strengthening international professional relations.

“With the tools of storytelling and technology, we want to create an experience that connects the past and the future and reality and the digital worlds simultaneously at the exhibition. The HFDA, in collaboration with numerous Hungarian and international design events – LuCreate Design Development Foundation, Budapest Design Week, Art Market Budapest, Museum of Applied Arts – realises its programme for this year, where meeting points in time and space and among artistic areas all get an accentuated role” – highlighted Anita Forintos-Szűcs, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s Deputy CEO.

It is the second time that the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency collaborates with Art Market Budapest, one of the leading international contemporary fine arts fairs. One of the key elements of the cooperation this year is the Inside Art & Design professional meeting, a dedicated day for connecting art and design. The programme featuring renowned international speakers, presentations by world-famous experts, roundtable discussions and guided tours will provide an insight into the possibilities of interoperability and connection between applied arts and design. For instance, Draga Obradovic and Aurel K. Basedow, the leading designer duo of the Italian furniture manufacturer, Baxter, known for their original and practical reuse of vintage pieces, will give a presentation as keynote speakers during the roundtable discussion.

This time, the event series held in Bálna Budapest will focus on storytelling, education, and digitalisation, connecting past and future and the virtual and physical worlds. Besides viewing innovative design objects, participants can visit several professional programmes as well. It is a unique possibility at the 360 Design Budapest to hear a keynote speech by one of the most outstanding architects of the world, a renowned master of contemporary design, Piero Lissoni. Just like in 2021, exclusive guided tours await those seeking a special experience, during which Dr Judit Horváth, Head of the Contemporary Design Department at the Museum of Applied Arts, Iván Vitáris, lead singer of Ivan & The Parazol band and Judit Osvárt, editor-in-chief of ELLE Decoration will present the exhibition through their own eyes.

The 360 Design Budapest to be realised between the 3^rd and the 9^th of October, 2022, similarly to previous years, aims to increase the recognition of Hungarian and regional product designers, facilitate domestic design brands to enter the international market, incentivise sales, and strengthen the role of Hungary as a regional design industry centre. The event calls our attention to the everyday role of design surrounding us in 360 degrees, using contemporary artists’ creations.

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About the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency

The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency was founded in 2018 to support every actor in the fashion and design industry in an efficient and structured way, following predetermined strategic pillars: professional coordination, enhancing Hungarian brands’ availability and trade opportunities, educational development and manufacturing development. To realise its goals, HFDA organises domestic events each year, such as the region’s major fashion event, the Budapest Central European Fashion Week, or the 360 Design Budapest exhibition, which has received international awards. Besides, they provide Hungarian creators opportunities for participation and debuting at international professional events such as the Milan Fashion Week. Strategic cooperation with professional organisations, increasing export, and supporting Hungarian brands’ professional development with mentoring programmes are among their accentuated goals.

360 Design Budapest

The 360 Design Budapest event series, organised yearly by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, draws attention to the everyday role of design surrounding us in 360 degrees with online and offline exhibitions, guided tours, and roundtable discussions. The event aims to make Hungarian and regional product designers more widely known using modern tools, help domestic design brands enter the international market, and present new, innovative, sustainable directions for the target audience interested in design. By realising the event, the Agency wants to help Hungary become a regional centre in the design industry, and wants to create a programme which is attractive for tourists from all around Europe.