Design inspiration awaits you in Belgium!
Over the past decade, Belgium has emerged as a hotspot for innovation in all artistic disciplines. From sprawling multi-day festivals exploring the exciting convergence of art, science and technology, to focused one-day design conferences, Belgium has a vibrant calendar of events guaranteed to spark inspiration. Whether you're an experienced designer, a budding developer or simply someone with a passion for creativity, Belgium has something special in store for you. In this post, we'll be your guide to some of the most exciting design events taking place in Belgium this year, helping you to find the perfect conference to fuel your creative fire.
Women in Digital Summit
On May 16, 2024, KIKK is organizing the Women in Digital Summit, the first Walloon summit for women in digital creativity. Digital creativity is an effervescent sector in Wallonia, destined to become a real lever of economic development for the region. But women are often under-represented in these professions. That's why the WID summit by KIKK aims to raise awareness and inspire women in the world of technology and the cultural and creative industries, while bringing together a dynamic network of entrepreneurs and students.
📅 May 16, 2024
📍 Namur
🎓 Good for diigital designers and developers
🎟️ galaxy.kikk.be
and& Leuven
and& focus in 2024 on start-ups & scale-ups at the intersection of health, high-tech, and creativity, curated for the curious. and& champions a well-selected collage of thinkers, inventors, entrepreneurs, citizens, and artists of all backgrounds. What to expect? No less than three vibrant days full of inspiration. A festive opening night at the Depot and two conference days at the M-Museum with national and international speakers, pitches, dinners, breakfast sessions, and much more.
📅 October March 16-20, 2024
📍 Leuven
🎓 Good for all kinds of creatives working in the start-up scene
🎟️ andleuven.com
Bump Festival
One-day creative conference focus on design, motion graphics, creative coding, and technological innovation. Bump is organized by the students at Devine, a bachalor Digital Design & Development part of The Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the Royal Conservatory.
📅 June 21, 2024
📍 Kortrijk
🎓 Good for digital creators of all kinds…
🎟️ bump-festival.be
Love Tomorrow
Love Tomorrow is a gathering created in the spirit of Tomorrowland, exploring the intersection of consciousness, innovation and entertainment to shape a future we can all fall in love with.
Experience inspirational talks and live music from top DJs and artists, alongside a unique job fair with forward-thinking companies. End the day with magical evening shows set on the iconic grounds of Tomorrowland.
📅 July 25
📍 Boom
🎓 Good for all types of creatives
🎟️ lovetomorrow.com
Us by Night
Immerse yourself in a three-night extravaganza of design and creativity at Us by Night! This unique festival transforms Antwerp into a haven for inspiration, featuring over 70 renowned artists from across the globe.
Us by Night goes beyond the typical design conference. Come for the insightful talks by leading creatives, but stay for the unforgettable experience. Explore a vibrant marketplace filled with treasures, indulge in delicious local cuisine, or test your skills at the fluorescent ping-pong tables. Feeling adventurous? Get a one-of-a-kind tattoo from a visiting artist.
Us by Night takes place on Thursday, September 26th, Friday, September 27th, and Saturday, September 28th, 2024. Doors open at 4 pm each day, with keynotes starting at 5 pm. The final keynote ends at 11 pm, ensuring a full evening of creative immersion. Tickets grant access for all three days, so you won't miss a beat.
Don't let hunger stifle your creativity! The Us by Night market boasts a wide range of delectable local foods to keep you energized throughout the festival.
📅 September 26–28, 2024
📍 Antwerp
🎓 Good for all kinds of creative people
🎟️ usbynight.be
Extra: During the Us by Night weekend, the Cindy Sherman exhibition in FOMU opens as part of the festive year ENSOR 2024. Like James Ensor, American artist Cindy Sherman is renowned for her critical and ironic commentary on social conventions through masquerades. This is a unique opportunity to see so much of Sherman’s work together.
Us by Night offers you free entrance to this exhibition; gain access by showing your wristband.
KIKK Festival
KIKK Festival is a multi-track festival at the intersection of art, science
and technology to explore the economic and artistic implications of new technologies.
The festival runs for 4 days, with a conference, pro meetings, workshops, master classes, and four days of exhibitions.
📅 October 24-27, 2024
📍 Namur
🎓 Good for creators of all kinds…
🎟️ kikk.be
🎧 Related interview: Curator Marie du Chastel on curating and transforming KIKK Festival into a platform for creativity
SmashingConf — Antwerp
Meet SmashingConf Antwerp — a conference on design & UX for designers and UI engineers who love the web. On design systems, usability, interface design and accessibility. A shiny gem in the heart of historic Antwerp! Smashing Magazines conference in Antwerp has 2 days of talks (single track), and 2 workshop days, with plenty of friendly side events before and after the event. All of them have one thing in common: wonderful speakers and practical takeaways! Get discount your ticket
📅 October 28–31, 2024
📍 Antwerp
🎓 Good for digital designers and developers
🎟️ smashingconf.com
To be announced
- Fig. Festival International de Graphisme
- Integrated Conference
- Antwerp Poster Festival
Besides these four major design conferences, there are numerous smaller events. Local organizations like Creative Network, Creative Belgium, and Flanders DC organize multiple events yearly in several cities across Belgium. Chapters of Creative Mornings in Brussels, Ghent, and Liege, organize events frequently as well.
Conclusion
As you can see, Belgium is a treasure trove of creativity and innovation, with events that are inclusive, community-focused, and designed to spark interaction and inspiration. Whether you attend a multi-day festival or a smaller meetup, you are sure to connect with like-minded people who share your passion for design and innovation. So mark your calendar and get ready for an unforgettable experience that will expand your skills and fuel your creativity. We hope you have found this guide useful and that it has inspired you to attend one of the many exciting design events in Belgium. And if we missed any events, please let us know - we'd love to hear from you!
- All works and screenshots are property of their respective owners.
Extra: Books on Belgium Design
For a deeper dive into Belgian design, I've selected a few books on contemporary graphic and urban design in Belgium to broaden your perspective on one of Europe's smallest and most densely populated countries.
Off the Grid: Histories of Belgian Graphic Design
This book offers a collaborative panorama of Belgian graphic design history from a variety of perspectives, including essays on type design, colonisation and labour relations. Contributors include historians, practising designers, teachers and first-hand accounts. With hundreds of previously unpublished images including posters, signage, typography, book design, logos and archive photographs. Interviews with Sophie Alouf-Bertot, Rob Buytaert, Boudewijn Delaere, Paul Ibou and Herman Lampaert. Essays by Jo De Baerdemaeker, Pia Jacques and Leroy Meyer, Sara De Bondt, Jan Ceuleers, Katrien Van Haute, Richard Hollis and Hilde Pauwels, among others.
BUY OFF THE GRID
Geometrically Speaking
A dive into the well-preserved digital archive of the Brussels-based studio visionandfactory and its founder Hugo Puttaert, spanning 30 years, has revealed a wealth of logos by designers searching for new solutions and developing an eclectic geometric interplay of letters and shapes.
HAVE A LOOK To be published.
TRANSITOLAND
Rob van Hoesel photographed al 35 Belgian highways from the passenger seat of his old Opel Corsa in 2006. The Netherlands’ southern neigbour Belgium has always been a transit country for Van Hoesel, being the first ‘abroad’ on the way to France, Spain, Italy or other (holiday) destinations. For this book Van Hoesel made a selection of 1,000 images, structured according to the road numbers of the individual highways, and supplied with additional information.
BUY TRANSITOLAND
Ugly Belgian houses
Ugly houses and witty quotes. This simple recipe from the blog Ugly Belgian House proved to be a hit. It started in 2011 by posting one photo of an architectural ‘misfire’ online. The result was a tsunami of likes and hundreds of comments, positive but also very negative. Creator Hannes Coudenys knew immediately: this concept would stir something up, not least because, architecturally speaking, just about anything is possible in Belgium. And so this book: not just a collection of ugly houses, but also a reflection on the sometimes surrealistic spatial planning and architecture in Belgium and on the universal perception of beauty and ugliness. With contributions by Peter Swinnen, David Helbich (Belgian Solutions), Charles Holland (Fat Architecture), Bent Van Looy...
BUY UGLY HOUSES
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