About the festival

Gdynia Design Days (GDD) is a top Baltic design festival. Each edition of GDD serves as a pretext to discuss topics related to broadly-understood design in the context of changes taking place around us. The exhibitions, workshops, lectures and debates we offer concern topical subjects in the field of technology, process design, ecology, design, fashion, architecture, urban development and craft. Through what we do, we connect the design world with the world of business. Gdynia Design Days is an event addressed to professionals and to everyone who is fascinated by design and interested in finding out more about the changes taking place in dynamically developing societies.

What if the future starts today

We are starting the conversation about Gdynia Design Days in extraordinary times. The background brings us the global crisis, financial instability, unemployment, and mutating viruses. We ask ourselves questions about the future. We know that the world after the pandemic will not be the same, although we cannot imagine it yet. There are many scenarios for the future, and each depends on us. So how do we deal with times of constant change and uncertainty? We will be looking for an answer to this question during this year's festival, which, thanks to its educational nature, allows you to search for your own solutions, based on the content and ideas you have learned. The issues we face in recent times cannot be resolved top-down. Each of us, through our decisions and attitudes, creates our common future.

What if the city is a micro scale of global challenges

On a reduced scale, cities experience the same challenges and problems as the entire planet. The limitations we experience on a daily basis have shown that we can have the greatest impact on what is close and local. During the festival, we will show that the scale of the city is ideal for testing social and economic challenges, and thanks to the involvement of citizens, transformation takes place through joint action. It is also a pretext to look at how Gdynia has changed and what it has planned to meet the needs of its residents and face the challenges of climate change.

What if continuous growth becomes impossible

Devastated nature, dehumanized technology, social inequalities, and the lack of solidarity are universal challenges that are relevant regardless of our latitude. The current approach of striving for continuous economic growth and improving financial results has failed. The new challenge is to meet social needs without violating the limits of our planet's. We need to learn to think of profit not in terms of income, but above all, in terms of the legacy that we leave for future generations. This approach is possible and already tested in many cities and regions.

What if design is ethical

Designing and manufacturing products has never been such a responsible task. We can no longer pretend that our actions do not affect the world around us. The role of designers is to create a new purchasing pattern that will put the history of the product, its material, origin, durability and the amount of energy used for production on a par with its price. Thanks to this, we will be able to make purchasing decisions, being aware of the impact they have on our environment.

What if we are independently solidary

Our daily, independent actions and decisions have enormous potential and affect what our world will look like in the future. It is worth taking them consciously, because the future begins now. It is the sum of the individual gestures that makes up the great change.
The rushing capitalist world will not slow down quickly, but the pandemic has shown that a different approach is possible. This experience should teach us the mindfulness that will allow us to start changing ourselves.

We are starting our discussion in Gdynia, a modern, open city that cares about the community and the surrounding nature. We will try to change our perspective in solidarity by putting the planet in the center. By undertaking the fight personally, showing solidarity with each other and the natural environment. Without looking at what's next, without waiting for changes from the outside, let's do our part!

“More than one paranoia
There will be for us to overcome, by doing our part!
My dear, let’s do our part!
Let’s do our part! (…)
So that there is something to be right about!”
– Wojciech Młynarski (poem translated from Polish)

We believe that design can be an instrument of change. We want to inspire business, designers and our audiences to act, using design as a tool for efficient and sustainable growth. We are convinced that an open mind and a mindful approach may lead us to new solutions, which are so desperately needed today.