Dubai continues to cement its position as a global hub for design and innovation. The graphic design industry in Dubai gathers at Dubai Design Week to network with architects, designers, engineers, and urbanists, alongside design-driven brands and cultural institutions. This year's program, featuring installations, new commissions, exhibitions, talks, and workshops, highlights the latest trends and innovations in the graphic design industry.
One of the standout programs of Dubai Design Week is Abwab, meaning ‘doors’ in Arabic. This initiative supports practitioners from the South West Asian and North African (SWANA) region through commissioned installations and pavilions. Reflecting timely global and regional contexts, Abwab has seen participation from over 180 designers from countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE. This platform not only showcases the region’s rich design heritage but also fosters cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration. In 2023, the Abwab commission “Of Palm” by Emirati architect Abdalla Almulla gained significant recognition, receiving the 2024 Monocle Design Award. This global prize celebrates inspiring and ingenious products, models, and structures, and the creative minds behind them.
Another highlight of Dubai Design Week is the talk “Species in Dialog: Design Explorations Beyond ‘The Human’” by Studio Gionata Gatto. This discussion explored multispecies design, using contamination as a focal point to explore design practices that transcend the human-nonhuman dichotomy. Gionata Gatto, a prominent figure in multispecies design, leads a studio that operates between Dubai, Venice, and Rotterdam. His work and academic contributions, including his role as a Product Design lecturer at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI), emphasize the importance of broadening the scope of design to include other species and ecological considerations.