Dutch Design Week 2026: A Guide to R.A.W. Eindhoven

Dutch Design Week opened on Saturday, Oct. 17, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 25, turning Eindhoven into a nine-day stage for design. This year's theme is R.A.W., short for Rebel Authentic Worth, and the organizers say the week "returns to the essence of design" by embracing the unpolished, exploratory and experimental. This guide covers dates, tickets and a few projects from the official program.

The basics

According to the organizers, DDW takes place at dozens of locations across the city, in studios, museums, former factory buildings and public space. Most locations are open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., though hours vary and the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show opens at 1 p.m. on the first Saturday.

A nine-day ticket costs 32.50 euros for adults and 19.50 euros for students and young people aged 11 to 18, the rates that apply from Oct. 11. Children 11 and under enter free. Tickets can also be bought at the door at sites including the Klokgebouw, the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show, Building TX, Sectie-C, Eindhoven Central Station and the Van Abbemuseum.

What the ticket covers

The wristband gives access to the ticketed locations for all nine days. The festival's FAQ lists them as the Klokgebouw, the Design Academy graduation show, the Van Abbemuseum, Sectie-C, Kazerne, New Order of Fashion, Dutch Invertuals, the Forward Furniture exhibition on Strijp TX, the HUB Bouw aan morgen, Designing Society, De Kruisruimte, Building TT and the Young Graduates Hub. All other locations are free.

The festival's separate ticket page is not fully consistent with that list. It shows Kazerne at 5 euros per visit, Dutch Invertuals at 5 euros, New Order of Fashion Lab at 2.50 euros and the Philips Museum at 13.50 euros per visit. We could not reconcile the two pages, so confirm what your wristband includes at the door.

Getting around

With a wristband and registration, visitors can ride the Polestar Design Rides, which run daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. between official locations. Stops include Ketelhuisplein, Piet Hein Eek, Stadhuisplein, Fuutlaan, Design Academy Eindhoven and Sectie-C. The organizers advise allowing enough travel time between areas, since the program spreads across Strijp-S, Strijp T and R, Sectie-C, the station area and the west of the city.

Projects to look for

The online program lists work by discipline, from independent and critical design to product, craft and service design. A handful of entries, as the program describes them:

Reading Space Through Light, by studio Thier & van Daalen, explores how light, material and design shape the experience of space.

Groeipijn, presented in Hall 4, brings young Eindhoven creators together in a multidisciplinary exhibition about the city's growing pains.

Digital Camouflage, by Simon Weckert, is at Sectie-C.

BLUMENWIESE turns 276 painted flowers into a conceptual flower meadow in Strijp-S.

Colonic Cleansing Clinic, listed under Atelier Van Lieshout at Ketelhuisplein, is described as a speculative healthcare project that questions and transforms medical care through design.

The program page we viewed was a partial extract in which maker names and titles sit close together. Attributions above follow the page's layout and could be off by one entry, so check the project page before citing a name.

Events worth planning around

The program also lists a party at Sectie-C on Oct. 19 to mark the venue's first year in the building, and workshops and installations that run across the full nine days, such as IK ZIE JE, an immersive installation about a hidden reality at the You Ning Chinees Paviljoen.

Why design weeks matter to New Yorkers

Design weeks are where new ideas about materials, labor and technology tend to surface before they reach galleries and stores. DDW's R.A.W. theme positions the festival against polish, which is a notable choice in a season when other events have focused on craft and artificial intelligence. London Design Festival, which ended in September, covered similar ground. For readers in New York, the most useful comparison may be to graduation shows and student work, which DDW concentrates in one place.

What we could not confirm

We have not visited the festival. We did not verify attendance, the number of participating designers or the accuracy of every program listing. The organizers' two ticketing pages differ on which locations are included with a wristband. Weather and any last-minute program changes are not reflected here.

FAQ

When is Dutch Design Week 2026?

Oct. 17 to 25, in Eindhoven.

How much is a ticket?

32.50 euros for adults and 19.50 euros for students and youth; children 11 and under are free.

What is the theme?

R.A.W., which stands for Rebel Authentic Worth.

Sources

*Cover photo: Steven Lek, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Klokgebouw_Philips_Strijp-S_1.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Klokgebouw_Philips_Strijp-S_1.jpg)* (CC BY-SA 4.0).*