Next, Now, Then

Looking back and thinking ahead

The initiative German Design Graduates presents outstanding graduation projects from design schools across Germany. The exhibition "Next, Now, Then" explores how emerging talents reinterpret the past, question the present, and imagine futures. It reveals time as a medium for creative practice.
Strijp-S
Living Environment
Speculative & Social Design
Education
Sustainability
B7
Area 51
Ketelhuisplein 18
5617AE

Entrance fee

Free access

Hosted by

German Design Council
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Opening hours

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Dogs Allowed Dogs are allowed
Free Wifi Free wifi available
Toilets Toilets available
Wheelchair Friendly Partially wheelchair accessible
Wheelchair Friendly Toilet Wheelchair friendly toilet available

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Projection of the Past & Facility of the Present

What if superstition shaped our choices? What if nature were our teacher? Several projects draw on cultural memory and reinterpret forgotten practices as tools for the present day. Others address the immediate conditions of daily life: How can public transport be improved? How can we feel safe? Together, they show how design can translate the wisdom of the past, connect it with the urgency of the present, and turn it into tangible interventions.

Memory of the Future & Transition of the Now

Did we use so much plastic? Did we really treat animals that way? Were there wars that we ignored? Projects require us to view the present through the eyes of tomorrow, where today’s choices will be remembered as responsibility or neglect. Alongside this speculative lens, other works investigate the threshold we currently cross: Can we optimise ourselves, can artificial intelligence reshape our work? Emerging practices explore digital tools, hybrid workflows and new forms of making that blur the line between humans and machines. Combined, these perspectives reveal how design anticipates consequences, navigates transition and opens paths for societies yet to come.

Form follows Friendship

The exhibition also extends into dialogue. On Sunday, 19 October 2025, a networking breakfast in Eindhoven will bring together emerging graduates and professionals from Germany and the Netherlands. Under the title “Form follows Friendship”, the encounter highlights collaboration as a driving force in contemporary practice. Participation is by invitation only. Applications can be directed to katrin.krupka@gdc.de.

Touching time through material
Touching time through material
Almicheal Fraay
Reflecting on design futures
Reflecting on design futures
Almicheal Fraay
Participants

Hosted by German Design Council

The German Design Council is the authority on design in Germany – since 1953. As a thought leader, it bears a special responsibility to unlock the potential of design for a sustainable future. To this end, it brings together business and design – for circular design, transformation, and economic success.

Colofon

Curators, Raw Color
Christoph Brach & Daniera ter Haar
Project Lead, German Design Graduates
Katrin Krupka
Communications Lead, German Design Graduates
Florian Kleinsteuber

Partners

Sponsored by Next, Now, Then
Sponsored by Next, Now, Then

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