Design Policy Days

Democracy Needs Design

The third day of the Design Policy Days, taking place on 13 November at Goethe University Frankfurt, is the main conference day for anyone who views design as a political force. In collaboration with Deutscher Designtag and the Research Centre Normative Orders, it focuses on institutional politics: how can design be integrated into political decision-making processes in methodological, structural and normative terms – and how can politics itself be understood as a field of design?

The day is divided into three tracks: DEBATE addresses the major challenges of our time in roundtable discussions, exploring the interplay between design, politics and science. REFLECT forms the political science and design studies track, in which projects and papers are presented and the questions raised are framed theoretically. ACT expands the conference through workshops and an exhibition of international best-practice examples that demonstrate and bring to life how design is already acting as a political force today.

Contributors: Prof. Dr. Nicole Deitelhoff [Peace Research Institute], Thomas Hemmelgarn [Head of Unit of the EU Policy Lab], Prof. Dr. Sabine Junginger [Northumbria University], Prof. Regina Hanke [BEDA], Prof. Dr. Michael Saward [Democratic Design Framework], Prof. Dr. Markus Miessen [The Esh Clinics], Dr. Felix Petersen [Citizens Assemblies], Prof. Dr. Sven Siefken [Redesign Democratic Representation], Prof. Dr. Friedrich von Borries [Redesign Democratic Representation], Philipp Cartier [Gestaltungszentrale Politik], Prof. Dr. Anna Whicher [pdr, Cardiff]

Workshops: 21st Europe, Mehr Demokratie e. V., the German Society for Design Theory and Research (dgtf) in collaboration with the Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA)

Key topics:

• Design as a political and democratic competence
• Normative foundations of design and democracy
• Design in Government & Design Policy
• Institutionalisation of design within political structures
• Democratic innovation formats (citizens’ assemblies, new models of representation)
• From analysis to action: sustainable design policy for Europe

For further information and enquiries: felix.kosok@wdc2026.org