Edition 2024-2026

The Flemish design sector is currently experiencing strong international momentum. Flemish designers are carrying out projects for prestigious international clients, are increasingly collaborating across disciplines, and are gaining international visibility. Enrollment is also on the rise: according to a recent survey by Emilie Rijckaert, the number of design students at Flemish universities of applied sciences has increased by 37% over the past ten years.

With this yearbook, Designpunt aims to document notable projects, highlight relevant developments, and create space for reflection on Flemish design culture. The 2024–2026 edition marks the beginning of an annual reference series intended to document the sector’s evolution over time. The book showcases a design culture that does not focus exclusively on “form,” but is increasingly concerned with processes and relationships: between people and materials, between individuals and communities, between the past and the future, between projects and systems, and between design and the broader social context in which it emerges. 

With this first edition, Designpunt lays the groundwork for an annual series that highlights the evolution of Flemish design culture. The yearbook aims not only to document what is happening today, but also to continue fueling the conversation about the future of design.

Projects

Projects were evaluated based on their conceptual clarity, social relevance, authenticity, material intelligence, cultural significance, and their ability to forge connections between people, systems, and their environment. Although the selected projects are very diverse, clear trends are emerging. Notable is the renewed focus on materials, craftsmanship, and manufacturing processes. In addition, many designers address ecological challenges through materials research, circularity, and reuse. A third recurring theme is design as a social practice that fosters connections between people and communities. At the same time, many projects take a distinctly critical stance toward existing systems and social structures. Finally, themes such as care, slowing down, memory, and the search for meaning recur with striking frequency.

The selected projects are:

100% - 195071 (Thibeau Scarcériaux) / BENDig (Tore Bleuzé) / Borro (Glenn Verhaege, Niels Willems, Lucio Pentagna Guimarães Neto & Bianca Pentagna Guimarães Neto) / Bowls and Tulips (Ann Van Hoey & team Loewe) / Bristle & Marble (Linde Hermans & Ick Reuvis) / Browser Dating (Dries Depoorter) / Cairn Lights (Maarten De Ceulaer) / Coral Colours (Heleen Sintobin & Amandine David) / Curated Connections (Soft Connection Lab) / The linotypist of
the 21st century (Ann Bessemans & Kevin Bormans) / Decentering Design (Research Center Futures through Design, Devine & Art Paper Editions) / Design is a voice (Omvorm) / Duomobiel Aimé (Pilipili NV) / Ecoline Sofa (Frederik Aerts) / Fauteuil Relict (Dries Truyers) / Felted Tapestries (Morevi) / Fever Dream (Victor Verhelst, Corbin Mahieu & Lennart Van den Bossche) / FLAX (Jan Lefevere) / Fluid Joinery - Side Table I (Linde Freya Tangelder) / Ford Relict (Jo Klaps & Pieter Van Eenoge) / Frames (Muller Van Severen) / Freeze Frame 82.2 (Unfold) / Gymna Elexeo (Blackbirds) / Het TheaterFestival 24-25 (Studio de Ronners) / hetdoek communityartproject (Lies Van Assche) / Hotel beds [H.414] (OS_Studio) / How I Got Over (Middernacht & Alexander) / How to_you do? (Arnaud Vanrafelghem) / JAM Hotel Gent (Studio Lionel Jadot) / NOEST (Giel Dedeurwaerder & Brent Neve) / Phonobet (Walda Verbaenen) / Photosynthesising Flowerpots (LarbitsSisters) / Polesano Bollard (Deltalight & Dean Skira) / Recare About Shoes (Omvorm) / SPECTRUM (Margot Thyssen) / Scrap Chair and Scrap Table (Tom De Koninck) / Shifting Colors (Esther Van Schuylenbergh) / Soft power: The Brussels Way of Making the City (Aslı Çiçek) / Stella Koffie Bar (Grond Studio & Wøti) / Voices from the Drought (Annelys de Vet) / Stilled Sentiments. The lost jewels of Queen Louise-Marie d’Orléans (Charlotte Vanhoubroeck) / SUN (Bram Kerkhofs) / Sunrise Air (Comate) / Table Talk (Axelle Vertommen, Emma Terweduwe & Leda Devoldere) / The Mirror at Dusk collection (Nel Verbeke) / Thoughts Revolt (Joeri Vanlaer) / Timelab Eatery (Erjen Gregoire & Onbetaalbaar) / Transisthor (Niek Kosten & Kristof Vrancken) / Urbanisto (Benjamin Declercq & Superellipse) / VAKlab pavilion (Michaël Verheyden) / VRIJ-spel (Studio Ludiek) / Wall Flower (Janne Schimmel)

Essays

The Design Yearbook also aims to provide a space for genuine in-depth exploration and the development of discourse. The essays included offer a glimpse into the ideas, tensions, and possibilities that shape the contemporary design field. From their own perspectives, the authors explore how design
relates to the challenges of our time: ecological change, technological acceleration, social connectedness, cultural identity, and the search for new forms of meaning.

The essays in the yearbook were commissioned and are:

  • Design and entangled time: policy and creative identity in Europe - Zsuzsanna Böröcz
  • Designing for the Symbiocene - Fabienne Beernaert
  • Digital Materialities. Crafting slowness, attention, and care - Cristina Bargna
  • AI: an amplifier of creativity? - Thomas Valcke
  • Craftsmanship Revitalised - Ingrid Allaerts
  • The Last Blue Salmon. On Environmental Melancholy - Nel Verbeke
  • Elegance, or an implication. Applied arts as implicit art - Vlad Ionescu

Met voorwoorden van:

Foreword by the Flemish Minister of Welfare and Poverty Reduction, Culture, and Equal Opportunities - Ms. Caroline Gennez

Design in Flanders Today: More Than What We Make - Annelies Thoelen

Colophon

  • Publisher: Designpunt / Design Museum Gent
  • Book coordination: Annelies Thoelen
  • Authors: Ingrid Allaerts, Cristina Bargna, Fabienne Beernaert, Zsuzsanna Böröcz, Christophe De Schauvre, Elien Haentjens, Ils Huygens, Bie Luyssaert, Vlad Ionescu, Emilie Rijckaert, Annelies Thoelen, Thomas Valcke, Nel Verbeke, Olivier Van D’huynslager
  • Jury: Evelien Bracke, Francis Carpentier, Karolien De Clippel, Jan Denolf, Ils Huygens, Jeroen Junte, Christian Oosterlinck, Amelie Rombouts, Maarten Statius Muller, Olivier Van D’huynslager, Heleen Van Loon, Inge Vranken
  • Editing: UwTekst.be
  • Translations: Language Buró, Emilie Rijckaert
  • Graphic design: Tim Bisschop
  • Printing: Albe De Coker, Antwerpen
  • Paper: 90g Munken Print White, 120g Clairefontaine Gems
  • Cover paper: 300g Arena Rough extra white
  • Distribution: IDEA Books, Amsterdam
  • ISBN: 9789464943733
  • Legal depot: D/2026/16423/0001

Interested?

The Yearbook is available for purchase throughout Flanders, including via this link at Standaard Boekhandel.

The open call for the 2025–2027 edition is currently accepting applications.