Three years of mcbw: holistic development of Germany’s most important design event
Quick Read
For several consecutive years, we have had the opportunity to continue shaping the content and design of Germany’s largest design event — the munich creative business week (mcbw for short). In 2022, 2023, and 2024, the task was to first define a theme that is both inviting and thought-provoking, and then to translate it into a design system that is bold and attention-grabbing, yet capable of evolving from one edition to the next.
Customer Challenge
That the mcbw does not conceive itself as a traditional Design Week in terms of its conceptual orientation is expressed already by the very name “Munich Creative Business Week”: it is about how the creative industries evolve and the challenges they have to overcome. Design is therefore understood as a holistic method for problem-solving, not merely as a visual discipline. With regard to its overall societal relevance, the mcbw sought to give this orientation a more sustainable expression, aiming to more closely connect the core target group of programme partners from industry and the like with a public increasingly interested in transformation topics.
Solution
The visual identity of mcbw 2023 was characterised by the geometric basic shapes circle, square, and triangle, which, arranged flexibly in eye-catching colours, defined a versatile layout toolkit. In 2024, we further developed this visual concept: the shapes no longer acted as separate elements but behaved “cooperatively” and even partially merged, which was further emphasised by coloured gradients. The primary colours reflected the spectrum of nature and humanity. This resulted in a distinctive appearance with a strong recognisability, significantly evolving the 2023 design and visually translating the theme in a striking way. As a result, the visibility of mcbw 2024 in Munich’s cityscape as well as in the digital realm increased further, despite no additional measures being implemented in purely quantitative terms.
Insight & Impact
For the content conception of mcbw 2024, we developed four clusters that translated the motto into key thematic areas: Re-Learn! (design solutions inspired by nature), Re-Generate! (design solutions benefiting both nature and people), Co-Work! (design solutions in collaboration with nature), and Un-Limit! (design solutions intertwining nature and technology). These four clusters not only structured the programme of the Munich Creative Business Week—comprising talks, exhibitions, workshops, and more—but also the mcbw magazine: on 144 pages, contributions from programme partners found their place within one of the four chapters alongside independent editorial articles. A total of 188 organisers, 230 events, and 65,000 visitors demonstrate the need for and success of the mcbw. We are happy and proud to be part of this success!
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