With R.A.W., Dutch Design Week (DDW) embraces a theme that returns to the essence of design. At a time when control is becoming increasingly dominant, DDW turns its attention to what cannot be controlled: the raw. Because design does not begin with perfection, but with the urge to break open existing structures, explore, question and reveal new possibilities.
A sense of change is in the air. Systems are shifting and old certainties are making way for new possibilities. We live in a reality that seems increasingly malleable: optimised, filtered and packaged into something that appears controllable. Appears. Because beneath that constructed layer is where things get real. That is where rebellion happens, where things grow and something new emerges. That is where it is raw and authentic. That is R.A.W. (Rebel Authentic Worth).
Over the past decades, design has evolved into much more than shaping products or objects. Designers explore complex challenges, connect perspectives and imagine new futures. At the same time, the term ‘design’ is being used more broadly than ever, sometimes blurring what makes it distinctive. With R.A.W. as its theme, DDW deliberately embraces the unpolished and experimental. The design process is about questioning, experimenting and revealing alternative possibilities. Design as fuel for innovation. Designers as inventors of the future. DDW as a frontrunner of progress.
This design process is deeply embedded in DDW’s DNA and forms the foundation of the festival. During these nine days, you will see not only finished results, but also the first, raw iterations of design. Some projects evolve across multiple editions of DDW, allowing visitors to follow their development over time.
This way of working is also reflected in Eindhoven’s history. The city is in constant transition and has a long-standing relationship with design. It has a tradition of imagining, making, testing and starting again. Its industrial history is not a backdrop, but fertile ground for a growing ecosystem in which design continuously creates new connections.
DDW26
DDW26 is about the essence of design. DDW R.A.W. reveals that design is more than an outcome. It challenges, inspires and provokes thought. It also shows that design does not always have to be comfortable. Sometimes it is confronting. Sometimes uncomfortable. Sometimes hopeful. And sometimes simply very beautiful.
From 17 to 25 October 2026, Dutch Design Week once again brings together the full breadth of design. For nine days, DDW reveals how design takes shape, how it evolves and how it contributes to change. Unpolished, exploratory and real.
