Opening: 19. 11. 2026, 18.00
Curators: Juraj Blaško, Michala Lipková
Exhibition period: 20. 11. 2026 – 21. 2. 2027
Space Q, Hlavná 27, Košice
WHY DESIGN?
As a question. For the public. For life. For memory. For the future.
What can design bring to our lives? How can it help us to find our way around, make our everyday tasks easier or bring us closer to culture? This selection of works of communicative and product design from the 2024 and 2025 Slovak Design Awards encourages us to consider design in terms of its purpose, context and benefits.
In curating the selection, we decided to move beyond the original award categories and explore the conceptual interconnections between works which vary widely in form, material and use. Books, information systems, furniture and modes of transport: they all provide solutions to similar needs, even though their input might not be apparent at first glance.
The social, technological and environmental challenges facing the contemporary world are interdisciplinary, and design is evolving accordingly, broadening its scope and integrating different types of knowledge and experience. Works acquire their final form through a collaborative process between designers, manufacturers, experts and their intended users.
The five themes examine design in everyday life and in the public space, probing its relationship to cultural memory, its capacity to pose questions and its role in shaping the future, allowing us to uncover the connections between the exhibited works and reflect upon who and what they can influence.
Look beyond the physical form of the works. For whom are they intended? What issues do they address? What do they enable and what questions do they ask? This perspective gives us a closer look at the designers’ craft and the values which are instilled in their work.
Juraj Blaško, 2024 SDA jury chair – Communication design
Michala Lipková, 2025 SDA jury chair – Product design
Design as a question.
Individual, experimental and research projects — design and research as critical and cultural praxis
Does design always require a final product? Can it encourage us to question preconceived notions? This section presents works which use creativity to pose questions about society, culture and the design process itself.
Here you can find experiments with typography and the book format, new uses for used materials and projects which provoke conversations and critical discussion. Projects which often arise at the initiative of the designers themselves rather than any specific client request or purpose.
The exhibited works often avoid definitive answers. What do they question? What is their point of view? Their contributions lie instead in the questions that they pose, the experiences that they facilitate, the new possibilities that they open up for us.
Design for the public.
Projects which serve the general public and influence public spaces and the environment — solutions for culture, education, civic life, welfare and transport
How can design serve the public? What helps people to travel safely, find their way around buildings or provide access to healthcare? This section features presents projects which are linked by the contributions and services they offer our shared environment.
Alongside information systems and projects for cultural institutions, we can also find modes of transport, medical aids, children’s furniture and tools for identifying environmental hazards. The designs combine people’s needs with technical requirements and norms to ensure safety, ease of use and reliability.
These seemingly diverse projects all aim to serve the public. How do they facilitate mobility, access to information or the work of professionals? Whom do they protect, whom do they assist? They demonstrate the role which design plays in providing services, ensuring access to culture and protecting the environment.
Design for life.
Solutions for everyday life — design which are easy to use, simplifying routine tasks
How many ingenious designs do we use every day without even noticing? Design is an integral part of living, travelling and relaxing. Sometimes, an item’s quality is only apparent when it is used: when it can be put together easily, holds firm or saves us space and time.
Here you can find furniture, lighting and camping or exercise equipment, but also graphics which we come across in our surroundings. A bed that can be assembled without tools, fitness equipment that is integrated into the home, objects with multiple uses: they all show how design can respond to the needs and constraints of everyday life.
Take a closer look at some familiar objects. Which details make them easier to use? How does their shape, material or method of use affect our experience? Even the most mundane objects are the work of designers who have carefully considered how to integrate them into our lives.
Design for memory.
Projects which preserve and revitalise cultural memory — design as an intersection between heritage, identity and the present
What have we preserved from the past and how do we engage with it today? Design can help us record local narratives, nurture craftsmanship or create brand identities for cultural institutions and events.
This section features books, typographies, visual identities, wine labels, clothes and costumes. Publications point out the hidden details of a city; textiles bring local heritage into contemporary fashion; packaging can indicate the origins of its product. Designers choose what to preserve from the past, interpreting and presenting it to modern audiences. In doing so, they shape contemporary culture which, over time, becomes part of our memory.
Cultural memory is not set in stone. What stories, symbols and approaches do you recognise in these works? How have they changed in their new contexts? Design not only helps us to preserve cultural heritage but also to reinterpret and evolve it.
Design for the future.
Projects with environmental, social or systematic ambitions — designs focused on a sustainable future
How will the decisions of today affect the life of tomorrow? How will we produce goods, get around or take part in collective decision-making? This section presents projects which seek out more responsible approaches towards society and the environment.
Here you can find newly developed materials, clothes and accessories, possible alternatives to the car, and campaigns opposing disinformation or encouraging people to vote. Plant-based alternatives to leather can offer better opportunities for craftswomen. New production processes can generate less waste. Communication design helps people to evaluate information and get involved in civic activities.
The future also influences the decisions which we make today. What resources do these designs need? What happens to these products after they have been used? Who do they enable? Design is not only a question of what we choose to create; it is also about how these decisions affect society and the environment.
