Due to contributions from Buenos Aires, Switzerland, New York, Los Angeles or Amsterdam, international networking was a big topic within Designmonat Graz 2012. Stefan Sagmeister, international renowned graphic designer and born Austrian, came from New York and 900 visitors listened to his lecture ‘Design und Happiness’ at the Kasematten stage. The center of Designmonat Graz was designHalle, an industrial hall of 2,000 m², opposite the mall CITYPARK. At this location, amongst others, UNESCO City of Design Buenos Aires, Graz-based designer Herms Fritz, the program focus SELECTED:sustainable design and the exhibition SKIN – Future Materials, presented themselves. Additionally, there were numerous workshops and lectures. More than 8,000 visitors came to see the provided range at designHalle.

Designforum Steiermark displayed one of the greatest contemporary inventors, James Dyson. At Haus der Architektur they showed the exhibition ‘Grazer Schule’ and the Symposium ‘Dense Cities’ of the Faculty of Architecture, dedicated to the current challenges of urban development. The program also featured: Interior Design for children at ‘kids room – ZOOM’, the Hyper-Cube at Mariahilferplatz and the design duo MARCH GUT, as well as the furniture design label Inch Furniture, that was shown in Graz for the first time.

Additionally, there were various events in terms of theory and practice. Not to forget the musical highlight of the month, springfestival, for the first time with the format ‘springsessions’, the international conference for music and electronical media.

On the whole, there was a total of 58,000 visitors in the course of 51 events within Designmonat Graz in the UNESCO City of Design.