Four days, hundreds of international guests, and one shared theme — how design shapes the world around us.
For the first time, Bulgaria hosted the European Design Festival — one of Europe’s most significant events in the field of communication design. From 11 to 14 June, Sofia welcomed leading designers, studios, educators, students, organisations, and representatives of the creative industries from dozens of countries, becoming a stage for the exchange of ideas, experience, and new perspectives.
Among the many positive responses we received after the festival, the words of European Design Awards Director Demetrios Fakinos perhaps best capture the spirit of this year’s edition:
“Four days in Sofia reminded me why the European Design Festival exists. It’s not because of the trophies or the winners.
Those things matter, of course. But they are not the reason people travel across Europe every year. The real value lies elsewhere.
It is found in the conversations between old and new acquaintances. In the exchange of ideas between designers from different cultures and generations. In the opportunity to step outside our own bubbles and discover that the challenges we face are often shared by colleagues thousands of kilometres away.
This year, more than ever, I was struck by how much the European design community still values craft, curiosity and meaningful work. At a time when the design profession is changing rapidly, it was reassuring to see that the qualities designers admire most remain remarkably constant: originality, generosity, courage and the determination to make things better than they were before.
My sincere thanks to everyone who helped make Sofia such a memorable edition: our hosts at Studio Komplekt and the Melba Foundation, our speakers, jury members, volunteers, partners at the International Council of Design (ICoD) and, above all, the hundreds of designers who travelled from across Europe to be part of it.”
From the International Council of Design (ICoD) Regional Meeting, through exhibitions, workshops, studio visits and city tours, to the conference and the European Design Awards Ceremony, the festival offered a rich international programme that showcased the diversity of contemporary European communication design and highlighted Bulgaria’s role in the international design dialogue.
Among the programme’s highlights were the two days of ED-Conference | Talks at Toplocentrala. The stage welcomed Andrea Gassner, Melike Taşcıoğlu Vaughan, Paul Voggenreiter and Miroslav Zhivkov, Léa Bruneau, Ivaylo Nedkov and Tsvetislava Koleva, Frank Baas and Yuri Nauta, Yannis Konstantinidis, Maria Todorova, Krassimir Stavrev and Svetla Todorova, Vangelis Liakos, Plamen Motev and Rozalina Burkova. Their presentations offered a wide range of perspectives on contemporary communication design — from branding, typography and visual communication to animation, editorial design, creative leadership and cultural initiatives.
Despite the diversity of topics and professional perspectives, several common themes emerged throughout the conference. At a time when artificial intelligence is transforming creative professions at an unprecedented pace, many speakers reflected on the importance of the human element in design — the role of curiosity, critical thinking, personal experience and individual perspective. Equally prominent was the emphasis on craft, hands-on making and the value of time, care and dedication invested in creating meaningful work. No matter how rapidly technology evolves, attention to detail, experimentation and human sensitivity remain at the heart of good design.
The festival extended far beyond the conference stage through exhibitions, city tours, workshops and studio visits across Sofia. The programme included &NowEast, an exhibition dedicated to contemporary poster design from Eastern Europe; 20 Years of Communication Design at Lovers’ Bridge; BOOK’N’SPACE; Magic Between the Pages; REFORMS by IKEA & the National Academy of Art, showcasing student work; a special presentation of the IKEA PS Collection; an exhibition dedicated to the work of Gaetano Pesce; and Sebastian Curi’s solo exhibition, To Plant a Garden Is to Believe in Tomorrow.
The festival culminated in the European Design Awards 2026 Ceremony. Sofia welcomed nominees, winners, jury members and representatives of the design community from dozens of countries across Europe. The full list of winners and awarded projects is available here.
A particularly joyful moment during the ceremony was the success of Paul Voggenreiter and Miroslav Zhivkov – Dzhingibi, who received a Silver European Design Award for their project “TaM 13th Birthday Poster” in the Self-Promotion – Print category. For the first time in the history of the awards, a designer from Bulgaria was among both the nominees and the winners, making this recognition especially significant for the local design community.
It was an honour for us to host the European Design Festival and welcome so many talented people from across Europe to Sofia. We hope that the connections, conversations and collaborations that began here will continue long after the festival has come to an end.
The festival would not have been possible without the support of our institutional and strategic partners.
Photos: Mihail Novakov
We look forward to welcoming you again this autumn — on 12 October for the next edition of Melba Talks and from 5–15 November for the ninth edition of the Melba Design Festival.
Kinga Csengő is a project manager at the Hungarian Fashion and Design Agency, where she is responsible for supporting the sales activities of Hungarian brands at local and international level. She is also head of the manufacturer mentor programme, where Hungarian manufacturers receive support on business development issues.
Melba Meetings 21 will take place on September 29th at 7.00 PM at the independent space for contemporary art and culture Derida Stage (32 Tsar Samuil Street). The event is free of charge thanks to our longtime partners,
