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Exhibitions and Conferences

Falling in Love with all Genders

9–11 June 2026 | Open Design Week on the WDC Campus during World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026

From 9 to 11 June 2026, the International Gender Design Network, iGDN, will be hosted by Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt as part of Open Design Week within the programme of World Design Capital's WDC Campus.

Under the title "Falling in Love with all Genders", iGDN presents a three-day programme on gender and design with an exhibition, workshops and a public "Dialogwerkstatt" with lectures, panel talks and exchange.

The program spans a wide range of topics, from an introduction to gender design through education, the history of graphic design, digital systems, and AI, to gender-sensitive medicine, political activism, and the question of how gender can be taught in design.

With contributions from Prof. Dr. Uta Brandes, Dr. Julia Pierzina, Prof. Dr. Petra Eisele, Prof. Dr. Isabel Naegele, Claudia Herling, Prof. Dr. Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, Catharina Dörr, and Prof. Dr. Griselda Flesler, as well as a panel of experts from design, medicine, branding, activism, and research, the event creates a space for exchange, networking, and new perspectives.

An exhibition of selected and awarded projects from the iphiGenia Gender Design Award shows how designers, researchers and initiatives address gender, diversity, visibility and participation through design. It offers concrete examples of gender-sensitive design practice across communication, products, digital applications, education, research and activism.

The programme asks: Who is considered in design processes? Who remains unseen? Which assumptions and biases shape images, objects, interfaces and systems? And how can design contribute to more inclusive and socially responsible futures?

Please note that the programme will be primarily in German.

An event by the international Gender Design Network as part of WDC 2026. WDC 2026 is funded by the State of Hesse, the City of Frankfurt/Main and the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain.

Falling in Love with all Genders:

Exhibition

9. June – 11. June 2026

The exhibition showcases selected projects from the international iphiGenia Gender Design Award. Since 2017, the award has recognized companies, initiatives, designers, and emerging talents who exemplify gender-sensitive design. The exhibition highlights the breadth and relevance of gender design: from communication and education to digital systems, products, services, and social innovations. On display are works that demonstrate how design can open up new perspectives, approaches, and solutions for all genders.

The exhibition is open to the public, no registration required.

Falling in Love with all Genders:

Workshop: „Designing Care Futures: How Do We Design Gender-Sensitive Health Products?

9. June 2026 | 11:00-13:30 | forum MAK

How can we design health products that take into account different bodies, data, and life experiences? This workshop combines gender design with gender-sensitive medicine. Following a brief introduction, participants will develop future scenarios and initial criteria for more equitable health products.

iGDN with GenDiMedNet | Workshop held in German, by Claudia Herling

Falling in Love with all Genders:

Workshop: Design for Fair Futures: How do we set the right goals?

9. June | 14:00-16:30 | forum MAK

How do broad concerns become effective goals? This workshop combines strategic thinking with questions of justice. After a brief introduction, participants will develop their own draft goals, realistic intermediate steps, and concrete next steps for their advocacy efforts.

iGDN | Workshop held in German, by Lena Schlumbohm

Falling in Love with all Genders:

Dialogwerkstatt

10. June 2026 | 12:00 - 20:00 | forum MAK

The iGDN "Dialogwerkstatt" brings together international perspectives from the fields of design, research, medicine, education, and activism. Through lectures, book launches, a moderated panel discussion, and open conversations, the workshop highlights the diversity of gender design today: as a creative practice, a research perspective, a topic in design education, and a social responsibility.
Detailed programme see below.
Note: The presentations will be given primarily in German.

Starting at 6 p.m., a get-together invites participants to engage in informal conversation.

Falling in Love with all Genders:

Workshop: How to Gender Design – Gender-Sensitive Design Methods in Practice

11. June | 14:00-16:30 | forum MAK

Are you a designer or a design student? Do you work at an agency, manage creative projects, or develop communication materials for companies and institutions? And are you wondering how you can integrate gender-sensitive design into your own practice? Then this workshop is exactly what you need.
The focus is primarily on practical application: What questions should designers ask during the design process? What methods and tools can be used to implement gender-sensitive design in practice? And how can this knowledge be meaningfully integrated into your daily work?

iGDN | Workshop held in German, by Prof. Tanja Godlewsky and Claudia Herling

iGDN Dialogwerkstatt: Programme

Wednesday, 10 June 2026 | forum Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt

12:00–12:20
Prof. Dr. Uta Brandes
Einführung Gender Design

12:25–13:00
Dr. Julia Pierzina
Gender Design Schule
Book release

13:05–13:40
Prof. Dr. Petra Eisele + Prof. Dr. Isabel Naegele, Designlabor Gutenberg, Mainz: UN/SEEN Frauen im Grafik-Design und Book Release

13:45–14:20
Dipl. Des. Claudia Herling
Gender Design, Digitale Systeme und KI

14:20–14:40
Pause

14:40–15:15
Prof. Dr. Sabine Oertelt-Prigione
Design in Gender-Sensitive Medical Research

15:20–16:05
Moderierter Panel Talk
Dr. Uta Brandes: Gründerin iGDN
Dr. Pia Schüler: Ärztin und Co-Moderatorin des Podcasts „Heile Welt“, Köln
Sanja Alessia Zündorf: Designerin und Gründerin von „Entzück dich selbst“
Claudia Herling: Designerin, iGDN Vorsitzende und wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin Universität Bielefeld „Geschlechtersensible Medizin“
Prof. Tanja Godlewsky: IU / Branding und Identitätsentwicklung

Moderation: Lucy Howe

16:05–16:20
Pause

16:25–17:10
Catharina Dörr
Diskussionsobjekte – Gender im Design lehren

17:15–17:45
Prof. Dr. Griselda Flesler
Gender Design as Political Activism: Perspectives from Argentina

From 18:00
Get-together