Every two years, World Design Organization awards the title of World Design Capital to a city or region. In 2026, Frankfurt RheinMain will become an international stage for design. We want to work with the region on pioneering projects and numerous events to explore what design can achieve – for society, for how we live together and for democracy.

Throughout the year, our programme focuses on different themes. They address topics from everyday life, give the programme a lively structure, and bring different dimensions of design to life.

Learn more about our vision, key messages and legacy

Our Vision

The world feels as though it has fallen out of joint: crises dominate the environment, health, politics, society and the economy. Our democracy is threatened by extreme forces. What seemed true yesterday already feels outdated today. Many people experience uncertainty, pessimism and the sense of a glass that is always half empty. We are countering this pessimism with the World Design Capital Frankfurt Rhine-Main 2026 and its vision of ‘Design for Democracy. Atmospheres for a better life’: moving away from a mood of crisis and towards opportunities. It is important not to be guided by headlines, but by clear values. Our actions should not be determined by fear, but by a clear stance. We create spaces that can be shaped collectively, where people can make a tangible impact – for a future worth experiencing. WDC wants to show what design can do: for our social cohesion, for innovation in the economy and for our climate.

Based on this approach, World Design Capital Frankfurt Rhine-Main 2026 is pursuing four key objectives: improving quality of life through design and shaping change in the region, strengthening regional identity with international appeal, ensuring sustainable innovation and future viability, and bringing democracy to life through participatory design.

What do we mean by design?

Design means much more than beautiful products or successful forms. It is a framework that can shape our coexistence in all areas of everyday life. Design develops innovative solutions for the relevant challenges of our present. The goal is always to have a lasting positive effect on the environment, economy, communication and politics. Design science and practice are based on sound methods and systematic research in order to achieve optimal, verifiable results. The actual product development is preceded by a detailed analysis of the task, contexts and usage scenarios. Findings from a wide range of disciplines – from engineering and materials science to the social sciences – are incorporated into the development process. The design process is guided by criteria such as sustainability, usability, less material, recyclability, etc.

The task of designers is to conceive, develop and communicate innovative products and solutions that make our society fit for the future. Design shapes a positive future and is thus a lever for the necessary transformation of society, economy and politics, strengthens our social coexistence and makes our values of living together aesthetically tangible.

Under the title ‘Design for Democracy: Atmospheres for a better life’, the future programme of the World Design Capital 2026 Frankfurt Rhine-Main shows how design promotes sustainable urban development, enables new forms of urban living and working, rethinks mobility and education, and supports environmentally conscious production and consumption.

Design as a driver of social change

Design is far more than attractive products or elegant forms. It provides the essential framework that shapes our shared lives in every aspect of the everyday. Much like the architecture of a house – not built for its own sake, but for the people who will live within it. Only through the design of space, light and atmosphere does a house become a home. Design creates the structures for an environment in which people can flourish.

At the same time, design enables us to initiate change and to act. It inspires, motivates and is contagious. In this way, it lays the foundation for a strong sense of community – and makes democratic coexistence possible. This is precisely what the Frankfurt RheinMain region needs today.

The Frankfurt RheinMain region is extremely heterogeneous and polycentric. In addition to the city of Frankfurt, it also comprises medium-sized and small towns. It is one of the most important economic and financial centres in Germany and Europe, with numerous strong employers, a large number of universities with different specialisations, beautiful landscapes and recreational areas. Yet the region has not yet forged a common identity: there is no shared narrative that unites these different aspects. This presents a major opportunity.

Design creates solutions to problems

World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 invites everyone to help shape a new, shared identity for the region and to tackle the central questions of our time together: How can public spaces create real value? How do architecture, mobility, business and digitalisation contribute to quality of life? And what role does design play in sustaining a vibrant democracy?

Our aim is to foster a culture of confidence, pragmatism and joy in taking action. Together we want to open spaces for ideas, embrace responsibility and develop concrete solutions that connect local engagement with global perspectives.

We work according to the following 3 core messages:

1. Transformation as tradition: democratic change in Frankfurt RheinMain
   The Frankfurt RheinMain region has repeatedly demonstrated innovation, diversity, and a remarkable capacity for transformation in times of social and economic crisis. Its internationally recognised legacy ranges from the Paulskirche movement and New Frankfurt to the Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt—initiatives made possible only through collaboration, civic commitment, and collective action. We understand the designation as World Design Capital 2026 not as a retrospective honour, but as a mandate to actively continue this tradition.
   
   
2. Design as a lever for change and sustainability
   Design is far more than form—it is a process that initiates change across all areas of how we live together. Mobility, service, communication, product, and architectural design shape everyday life and drive economic transformation. Social design, political design, and policy design translate values such as democratic cohesion and ecological responsibility into practical applications. They set social processes in motion, strengthen responsibility, courage, engagement, and the effectiveness of each individual, and create spaces where discourse can take place and participation becomes possible. Here and now, in concrete spaces and everyday actions, democracy becomes tangible.
   
   
3. Shaping together: the region as a workshop for a livable future and social cohesion
   A livable future emerges where people actively participate. In the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region, citizens, educational institutions, the cultural and creative industries, and companies of all sizes jointly develop new ideas. With around 450 projects and up to 2,000 events, the region will become a vibrant experimental field in 2026—one in which responsibility is taken on, ideas are tested, and the future is shaped together, generating impulses that will resonate far beyond the year itself.

Legacy: What lasts beyond 2026

The legacy of WDC 2026 is built on three pillars:

1. Proven practice: Projects and collaborations that demonstrate how design can concretely improve democratic processes
2. Enduring structures: Institutions, roles, and places that carry this way of working beyond 2026
3. Measurable impact: Studies that make visible what has changed – and what we can learn from it
   

How the legacy works – two movements with clear goals:

• Top-down: Embedding design in public administration and policymaking – for example through the Design Action Plan 2030, Chief Design Officers, policy experiments, and new, implementation-oriented models for projects in public space
• Bottom-up: Strengthening democratic design capacity across the entire region – for example through the FRM Design Hub, the Open – Design Week Frankfurt RheinMain, and professional training and education programmes.
  

How these measures contribute to the core goals of WDC 2026:

• Improving quality of life & shaping change: Through tested projects and participatory formats, public spaces, services, and everyday experiences become more tangible, more democratic, and more liveable.
• Building regional identity & international impact: Enduring structures and visible projects position Frankfurt RheinMain as a model region for design, innovation, and societal collaboration.
• Securing sustainable innovation & future readiness: The combination of top-down and bottom-up measures establishes networks, competence centres, and learning formats that support innovation, climate action, and democratic participation in the long term.

In short: WDC 2026 will have established a region empowered to actively shape democracy – with the tools, culture, and skills to make participation tangible and effective, far beyond 2026.