About Design Matters

Two days of learning Scandinavian philosophy and the future of digital design

Design Matters is a Copenhagen-based conference on digital design – made for designers, by designers. We have been sharing stories about new movements in design and giving inspiration to designers from all over the world since 2015, growing each year and reaching 1000 participants in 2019.

For the first time ever, Design Matters opens its doors in Asia for a 2-day event on January 29-30 in Tokyo. We will present some of the best speakers from Design Matters, who will share their insights and learnings on digital design with Japanese designers. But also, skilled Japanese designers will be on stage to share their knowledge on digital design.

We are very inspired by art, music, and the Scandinavian lifestyle. In fact, Design is in our DNA. Design is in constant change and so are we! Each year we change the design, the venue, and the format of our conference. This time, we aren’t only changing the venue, we’re also crossing geographical and cultural borders and going to Tokyo!

As always, our goal is to host a lively conversation about new movements in design. This means having designers talking about their processes, challenges, ideas, and inspiration. But this also means that we try to avoid sales pitches, bullshit, and hot air. Design Matters is a place for competent, visionary, nerdy, and engaging talks, workshops, and discussions about the work and role of designers – now and in the future.

Discover the Danish playful approach to design!

With the rapid growth of our international audience, more and more people have asked us to “export” our playful, informal, and rebellious approach to design abroad. Providing quality while maintaining an informal and light approach is characteristic of the Danish mindset.

Design Matters stands out because of its joyful and festival-ish atmosphere that creates an open environment for designers to share their ideas. We will bring our hyggelig atmosphere to Japan!

Design Matters also represents a non-mainstream alternative to many design conferences that have a more formal and corporate style. Japanese designers sometimes lack a valid alternative to the mainstream mindset and approach. Our pop-up event will bring a breath of fresh air and a different way of thinking design!

Japan takes pride in a long tradition of craftsmanship, that has always ensured the high quality of its products. At the same time Danish people are famous for their practical attitude and outlook on life. Design Matters Tokyo will be the perfect intersection between these worlds.

We found that Japan is showing great interest and curiosity towards Scandinavian design and the “Danishness” of our approach. But also, Japan is seeking new inspiration outside its borders. For this reason, we chose Tokyo as the location of our pop-up event!

The format

Design Matters Tokyo is a two-day event. 10 talks will explore the most important topics for digital designers today and 4 practical workshops will dive deeper into design methods and processes. All the talks and workshops revolve around four themes that are relevant now and in the future.

We aim to create the best design events in the world, and therefore, this affects how we select our speakers, collaborate with partners, plan experiences, and decide on food and beverages.

Expanding our community

We believe in the power of community, and we’re very proud of bringing together so many creative minds from all over the world to discuss the creation, innovation, and impact of digital design.

Back in 2015, we started out as a small gathering for 150 local designers in Copenhagen. In 2019, we counted at Design Matters 19 in Copenhagen about 1000 participants coming from 45 different Countries around the world. The pop-up in Tokyo will be an event of smaller size, but this doesn’t mean it is of lesser importance! It is a fantastic opportunity to become part of an international design community.

Our community is diverse and knowledgeable, and that is why we seek its advice every year by asking for ideas regarding the themes and the speakers. We also like to travel the globe to meet up with local front-runners for new inspiration.

Behind the Scenes

Design Matters started with a group of designers who wished to create a place where designers could meet to learn from and inspire each other – that’s how the first Design Matters became alive in 2015.

Now, 5 years later, with a dramatic acceleration in scale and impact, Design Matters has grown to an internationally renowned event, which makes us proud to be acknowledged as one of the most important design conferences in the world.

Design Matters is created by designers, for designers, with designers speaking on stage.