Make it Make Sense
‘Make It Make Sense’ is a phrase that circulates in internet culture as a succinct response to contradictions and overwhelming situations. Often accompanied by exaggerated images or ironic formats, the expression marks the moment when something no longer adds up and demands clarification.
Applied to design, ‘Make It Make Sense’ describes how to deal with complexity and the question of how complex relationships can be made comprehensible. ‘German Design Graduates’ takes up this idea and showcases work that engages with such situations. Design is thus revealed as a potential method for structuring complexity and making it accessible.
Potos: Lena Everding




Exhibition Partner




ProgrammE Partner











Exhibition and Programme
Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum
From October 16 to November 29, 2026, approximately 70 selected graduation projects from about 30 German universities will be presented. The exhibition will feature projects in product and industrial design, communication and digital design, as well as textile and fashion design. The selection offers insight into the breadth of current design approaches and demonstrates how a new generation of designers is engaging with social and technological developments.
The exhibition is accompanied by a programme specifically designed to foster dialogue. The opening will take place on 15 October 2026. This will be followed by full-day workshops in which graduates will work directly with companies and institutions in small groups. The programme will be complemented by discussion forums and a round-table discussion for representatives of higher education institutions.
FUnding Partner
In recent years, German Design Graduates has been exhibited at venues including the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt, the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin and the MAKK in Cologne. The changing exhibition venues reflect the aim of showcasing design in a variety of institutional contexts.
Program partner
Guided tours for school pupils and prospective students will be held throughout the exhibition. These tours provide an insight into current final-year projects and offer guidance on the various design degree programmes.
A program of workshops brings graduates together with companies and organisations from the design sector. Working in small groups, they explore topics such as design implementation, circular design, branding and design research.
Program Partner











ProjeCTS
Water from Air
Navigating futures with data visualization
Unravel
IVIS – Intravenous infusion system
Der Körper des Verbrechens
nothing reminds me of you
To Brick or Not to Brick
Kaleido – Intelligent Tools of Meaning Making in Design
Reclaiming Matter – Potenziale industrieller Nebenprodukte
Aesthetics, Architecture, Participatory Design: Learning with a Participatory Design process in a riverside community in Brazil
Augenschutz im Arbeitsschutz als Helmmodul
Eine Hommage an die Katzenwäsche
Astro – Modularer Begleiter für bewussten Medienkonsum
Repetition – Material in Motion
/DA UNTEN
Vom Ankerloch zum Ankerpunkt
Coffee for a Cause
Nexus – Eine urbane Schnittstelle
Redesign for Circularity: Unterarmgehstütze cuRe
Freya
VENTO Plus – Atmen ohne Kompromiss
KAMBIO – Nicht-invasive interne Baumdiagnostik
Repairing Access: Co-Designing Inclusive Repair Initiatives
ephemer – der anfang im ende
Schön war’s – und jetzt?
keine Kinkerlitzchen
ver(f)altet
XOXO– über Gossip, Geschichten und Textile Handarbeit
Knoten. Eine Auseinandersetzung in Theorie, Experiment und Gestaltung.
Is this still me or where do I end?
Peer2Play
Format und Katastrophe
AEONA – reproduktives Design
Talking Textiles
Ich kann dir nicht sagen wie sehr mein Herz brennt – Accessoires gegen die Auslöschung von trans* Identität im deutschen Faschismus
Soft Shade
Zwischen Echo und Resonanz
Hyperculture – Cultural practices across East and West
Interkultureller Kalender 2026
Dark Oxygen
Vagakey
nurVÉ – Bioactive knitwear that cares.
Komprimat
safe-in
Login_Sanctuary_
Das Abenteuer-ABC: Mitmachen, Basteln, Entdecken. Gestalterisches Konzept und illustrative Umsetzung eines multifunktionalen Buchprojekts für Kinder
NEST, private Stromspeicher im Kontext der Energiewende
6min/11sek – Angepisst vom Warten? (Die Gestaltung eines mobilen Urinals für menstruierende FLINTA*- Personen)
The Joy of Making
WHAT CAN AI DO?
Sofia Hand
Controlled Collapse: Gestaltung hybrider Materialien
KILL YOUR DARLINGS
Matter of Connectedness – An Embodied Design Research Through Collecting and Making
Retroscan
I am [not] a Robot — Realisierung einer Veranstaltung mit drei interaktiven Installationen, die sich mit der Identitätsprüfung im Internet befassen.
Ansammeln, Aufbewahren, Kuratieren, Teilen und Löschen – Zum Wandel der Kulturpraktiken des Sammelns und Löschens im Kontext der Digitalität
UNSeen: Outlining Antifeminist Structures in the United Nations
Vimoo – Seniorenmobil-Sharing für selbstbestimmte Mobilität im Alter
Proving Presence
HADES – Digitales Höhlenarchiv
Eine Ode an die Alge. Algen als zukünftige Nahrungsquelle in Europa. Eine unterschätzte Ressource im Fokus.
2.5
Partizipative Konzepte zur Musikunterrichtsgestaltung
SALVINIA
500l/s – Stuttgarter Mineralwasser
Gibt es ein Leben vor dem Tod?
midia
Zeit in Form
Sicher ist sicher – Gestalterische Untersuchung, Konzeption und Umsetzung von Risikokommunikation für Krisen und Katastrophen
black aesthetics: decentering white aesthetics
Information on photography and filming during events
Photographs and films taken on behalf of the German Design Council at events are used by the German Design Council exclusively for documentation, reporting and advertising purposes. By registering, the registrant agrees to this use. This consent can be revoked at any time without formal notice (e.g. by email to presse@gdc.de or in writing to the German Design Council).
The German Design Council reserves the right to cancel the event shortly before it takes place. If the event cannot take place or cannot take place in full due to force majeure, the registrant shall have no claims arising from this.