About the Istanbul Design Biennial
With the aim of underlining the importance of design for production, economy, cultural interaction and quality of life, the first Istanbul Design Biennial was realised in 2012 by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts.
Istanbul Design Biennial is open to all disciplines of the creative industries in major fields such as urban design, architecture, interior design, industrial design, graphic design, new media design and fashion design, as well as their subfields.

Why Istanbul?
Turkey’s growing role as an economic, political and cultural center has highlighted the importance of innovation and design and spurred the development of creative industries, particularly in the multicultural metropolis of Istanbul. One of the Biennial’s primary objectives, therefore, is to celebrate this creative potential and share it with the international audience in belief that the diverse view points and distinctive design discourse of Istanbul will enrich the global design culture. The Design Biennial also aims to create a platform to support the development of design and innovation policies as well as a design archive on national and international scale.