mcbw 2026: Playground of Possibilities

munich creative business week (mcbw), Germany’s largest design event, returns from May 4–10, 2026. Organized by bayern design, it brings together an international community of creatives, designers, architects, companies, and students for a week of inspiration, exchange, and collaboration.

Taking place for the 15th time, mcbw invites you to rediscover the world of design under the annual theme Playground of Possibilities. The motto positions design as a driver for innovation, experimentation, and new ways of thinking—especially in times of uncertainty, where creativity becomes a key tool for shaping the future.

Guided by four principles—Empowering the Creative Self, Exploring the Creative Field, Turning Ideas into Action, and Creating Visions that Enrich—the program spans the full creative process, from first ideas to impactful solutions. Over seven days, Munich transforms into a vibrant platform with 200+ events, including exhibitions, installations, talks, workshops, and guided tours across a wide spectrum of creative disciplines.

The event attracts over 65,000 visitors from more than 17 nations, featuring 200+ events and 8 large-scale installations across the city. More than 200 partners contribute to making mcbw a hub for ideas, dialogue, and networking.

This year’s motto speaks to our times: amid complexity and uncertainty, design offers the chance to experiment, imagine, and shape the future. It is precisely this uncertainty that opens space for creativity, for playful, sensuous, and relevant solutions.

A key highlight is the mcbw Design Summit and Get Together on May 4, 2026, at Munich Urban CoLab, featuring international speakers and interdisciplinary perspectives on the annual theme. mcbw is open to all creative minds—from professionals to start-ups and students—and offers opportunities for active participation, including wildcard spots for outstanding ideas.

mcbw is organized by bayern design GmbH and sponsored by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development, and Energy, as well as the City of Munich.

More information about the program and the locations here.

When?
May 4–10, 2026

Where?
Munich Urban CoLab
Freddie-Mercury-Straße 5
80797 München
… as well as at other locations across the city of Munich.

Olive Young N Seongsu

The brand identity for Olive Young N Seongsu, an innovative flagship store completed in 2024, reflects an experiential space beyond health and beauty. Built on the concept of “N”—representing New, Next, Nest, Network and &—the identity expresses potential through a dynamic graphic system of “N” forms. Olive Young’s signature ellipse is reinterpreted as a portal where content flows. A color system centered on deep green, with pink, yellow, and light blue, creates a refined yet vibrant impression.

Olive Young N Seongsu

The brand identity for Olive Young N Seongsu, an innovative flagship store completed in 2024, reflects an experiential space beyond health and beauty. Built on the concept of “N”—representing New, Next, Nest, Network and &—the identity expresses potential through a dynamic graphic system of “N” forms. Olive Young’s signature ellipse is reinterpreted as a portal where content flows. A color system centered on deep green, with pink, yellow, and light blue, creates a refined yet vibrant impression.

meaning and form

This work explores typography as a structure in which meaning and form define one another. Fragmented words and repeated dots construct a visual rhythm where meaning emerges through form, and form is completed through meaning. Rather than treating letters as fixed signs, the work presents typography as a process of connection, perception, and becoming.

All Legs and Wings, Strange Sandy Eyes

Jioong Kang has worked on altering the physicality of photographs by utilizing various materials and environments, layering temporality onto images to detach the subject from its narrative. Based on a series of images and texts surrounding his works, designer Daebong Jung created a kind of dummy book, which, by undergoing the same process of distortion as Kang’s works, not only functions as a catalog for the two exhibitions but also acquires the status of a work of art in its own right.

Cheil Health Science

The package design system for Cheil Health Science’s oriental medicine line establishes a visual language that is intuitive and rooted in oriental aesthetics. Based on yin and yang, a two-part layout organizes information and category cues into distinct sections. Vertical typography, a medium-saturation color system, and refined line-based iconography form a cohesive identity. This system allows consumers to recognize product functions while maintaining a balanced visual tone.

29CM SEONGSU

’29CM SEONGSU’ offers an intuitive experience of curated brands, embodying 29CM’s evolving identity. CFC translated its philosophy into a physical space reflecting Seongsu, Seoul. The identity is built on the coexistence of the ‘unchanging’ and the ‘changing’: a fixed line system, inspired by centimeters, forms the stable core, while flexible content expands within it. This structured yet adaptable graphic language captures 29CM’s essence—kind yet whimsical.

29CM SEONGSU

’29CM SEONGSU’ offers an intuitive experience of curated brands, embodying 29CM’s evolving identity. CFC translated its philosophy into a physical space reflecting Seongsu, Seoul. The identity is built on the coexistence of the ‘unchanging’ and the ‘changing’: a fixed line system, inspired by centimeters, forms the stable core, while flexible content expands within it. This structured yet adaptable graphic language captures 29CM’s essence—kind yet whimsical.

29CM SEONGSU

’29CM SEONGSU’ offers an intuitive experience of curated brands, embodying 29CM’s evolving identity. CFC translated its philosophy into a physical space reflecting Seongsu, Seoul. The identity is built on the coexistence of the ‘unchanging’ and the ‘changing’: a fixed line system, inspired by centimeters, forms the stable core, while flexible content expands within it. This structured yet adaptable graphic language captures 29CM’s essence—kind yet whimsical.

Bárur

Bárur is a wavy display serif defined by rhythm, softness and flow. The typeface embraces movement as its core principle, echoing ocean waves and natural cycles. Its name, taken from Old Norse for “waves”, captures both its visual language and emotional tone.

The typeface strikes a compelling balance between clarity and expressiveness. Its rounded, subtly sculpted serifs guide the eye smoothly across uppercase letterforms, creating an organic and almost kinetic reading experience. While Bárur references historical serif traditions, it deliberately avoids decorative excess. Instead, it leans toward a cleaner, more geometric construction that situates it firmly in a contemporary context.

Flexibility is built into the system: select characters come with optional serif-less alternates, allowing designers to modulate texture and rhythm within a layout. In addition, the typeface includes 39 ligatures, a full set of numerals, punctuation, and multilingual Latin support—offering a surprising range for a display-focused family.

Currently available in Light and Regular weights, with a Bold style in development, Bárur is released as an early-access typeface and will continue to evolve through free updates. Its strengths shine most clearly in large-scale applications such as logos, branding systems, packaging, editorial headlines and posters. Anywhere a typographic voice with movement and presence is required.

Learn more about Mindt® Studio here.

Bárur

Foundry: Mindt® Studio
Designer: Sarah Schroeder
Release: October 2025
File Formats: OTF/TTF/WOFF/WOFF2,
A trial license may be requested via email ([email protected]).
Include your name, company, position, and the intended use case.

BUY

Heirei

The brand identity for Heirei, a premium paint brand developed with Samhwa Paints, translates the act of painting into a visual language. Based on the interplay between liquid paint and the flat edge of a brush, the identity captures a balance of curved fluidity and linear precision. This contrast, along with the repetition of “ei” and the flexible form of “hr”, creates a tone that feels playful yet refined. Extending from the sculptural logotype, the system reflects a free-spirited lifestyle.

Heirei

The brand identity for Heirei, a premium paint brand developed with Samhwa Paints, translates the act of painting into a visual language. Based on the interplay between liquid paint and the flat edge of a brush, the identity captures a balance of curved fluidity and linear precision. This contrast, along with the repetition of “ei” and the flexible form of “hr”, creates a tone that feels playful yet refined. Extending from the sculptural logotype, the system reflects a free-spirited lifestyle.

Seoul Illustration Fair

The brand identity for the Seoul Illustration Fair (SIF) is based on the act of drawing and the canvas that contains it. Dynamic lines express drawing, while the ‘I’ between S and F functions as a canvas within a grid. In the key visual, this system expands through the theme of ‘the joy of collaboration’, translating the fair’s categories—drawing, story, graphic, motion, and metaverse—into visual elements that interact within the grid.

Apartmentary

The integrated identity system for ‘Apartmentary’ expresses ‘standardized beauty’ through modular construction while visualizing the brand name, combining ‘Apartment’ and ‘Documentary’. From the ideas of space and narrative, stacked lines and symbols—such as square meters, periods, and quotation marks—form a visual language. Interpreting the modular system as a grid, the identity delivers trust and wit within a consistent framework.

True Phoenixes

This poster, for the 2025 Daarvak International Competition, visually interprets a quote from Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther: “Our passions are true phoenixes; as the old burn out, the new straight rise up from the ashes.” The design focuses on emotional rebirth. By using the phoenix metaphor, it illustrates how the end of one intense passion inevitably fuels the next, transforming the point of extinction into a catalyst for a new beginning.

Forward Festival Frankfurt 2026

In 2026, Forward Festival expands its creative footprint with a new chapter, arriving in Frankfurt am Main for the very first time. As part of the World Design Capital 2026 program, the festival brings its signature mix of inspiration, exchange, and hands-on creativity to a fresh context, placing Frankfurt’s dynamic and often overlooked creative scene firmly in the spotlight. Taking place on June 11–12, 2026, this debut marks a milestone for Forward, which has developed over the past decade into one of the leading platforms for the international creative community. With more than 50,000 visitors across 33 events in four countries, the festival continues to connect designers, artists, strategists, and entrepreneurs from across disciplines and geographies.

The Frankfurt edition unfolds at Massif E and promises a carefully curated program shaped by international voices from across the creative industries. Early highlights include digital artist Johanna Jaskowska, who explores the aesthetics and possibilities of working digitally, type foundry Grilli Type, offering insight into contemporary type design practices, and Studio Dumbar / DEPT, sharing their approach to bold and effective brand identities. Across the 2026 season, Forward will feature over 100 speakers, with many more names to be announced, reflecting the festival’s ambition to present diverse perspectives and forward-thinking practices across design, branding, typography, and digital culture.

Beyond Talks—A Platform for Exchange

Forward Festival is more than a conference. It is a space where ideas begin to take shape and move into action. In Frankfurt, the program unfolds as a multifaceted experience that blends talks and keynotes, hands-on workshops, exhibitions, curated expo areas, side events, and networking opportunities. Visitors can also expect performances, immersive experiences, and moments of spontaneous collaboration. By merging formats rather than separating them, Forward creates an environment where inspiration meets practice, encouraging attendees to rethink their approaches, engage with peers, and turn ideas into action. Positioned within the context of World Design Capital 2026, Forward highlights design as a driver for innovation, cultural dialogue, and societal change, emphasizing the transformative potential of creative collaboration across industries and borders.

Forward Festival Frankfurt 2026

With its arrival in Frankfurt, Forward Festival not only expands geographically but also reinforces its role as a catalyst for creative exchange. The festival premieres at Massif E, a reimagined cultural landmark in the heart of the city that once housed the iconic E-Kinos and is now being transformed into a dynamic space where film, art, design, gastronomy, and culture converge.

When?
June 11–12, 2026

Where?
Massif E, Zeil 125, 60313 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Tickets and further information are available via the official website.