Designmonat Graz 2013
The fifth Design Month Graz, which took place from 3 May to 2 June 2013, attracted a total number of 78,000 visitors to around 53 events.

“Multifaceted, borderless, restless” is how one could describe Design Month Graz 2013 with its range of around 53 stunning events. Over 75,000 people flocked to the Design Month which featured local and international participants, exhibitions, festivals, discussions, conferences and actions. This time, the focus was on the economic aspect of design. On the opening weekend, the kick-off event on that topic, “European Design Business Dialogue”, was avidly discussed, amongst others, by Airbus chief designer Paul Edwards and Kone Art Director Anne Stenros. Like never before, Design Month 2013 was packed with international contributions presented by delegations from Kobe, Saint Etienne, Nagoya and Beijing, amongst others, as well as international lecturers and designers from Romania, Poland, Israel and many other countries.

Ten thousand visitors came to see the exhibitions at the designHalle
Some 850 guests came to the opening of the designHalle opposite CITYPARK shopping mall, which provided a central venue, just as it had done the year before.  The designHalle was home to the presentation of this year’s partner city Nagoya as well as the exhibitions titled “Werkzeuge für die Design-Revolution” (Tools for the Design Revolution), “SELECTED: it’s just Design!”, and “UNPolished – Young Design from Poland”. Featuring pop-up stores in the form of containers and the modular house “ContainMe!”, the designHalle’s entire outdoor area was utilised for the first time. This year, more than 10,000 visitors flocked to the exhibitions at the designHalle.

Ideas for businesses
Siegfried Nagl, Mayor of Graz, keen to show his enthusiasm for the event, says, “the Design Month demonstrates perfectly why Graz has become a UNESCO City of Design. It contributes decisively to linking up Graz as a creative location and proves that our creative scene is at eye level with other established cities.” Christian Buchmann, Regional Minister for Economy, Europe and Culture, adds, “Design Month Graz is an impressive competitive event that showcases Styrian innovative and creative enterprises while also providing the opportunity to network globally due to our connections with other Cities of Design. Growth in the creative sector is almost unrivalled, thus stimulating the Styrian economic landscape with a host of new approaches.”

300 reports in the media
That year’s event was well represented in media reports far beyond local and regional borders. In all, Design Month Graz was the subject of over 300 articles in the international media, including those from China, Brazil and Italy. Additionally, many businesses grasped the opportunity to get new ideas and inspiration for their own ways of dealing with design.