Tag: 2026 Sofia

Since 1995, PS has been the collection where IKEA’s most experimental design takes shape, with nine editions that have explored the future of Scandinavian design and produced some of IKEA’s most loved and enduring designs. This tenth edition centres on playful functionality — useful, functional designs that do their job in the home, with an unexpected element of playfulness that you can’t help but engage with.

The full global reveal is set for May 13 and the first look of the collection in Bulgaria will take place at the IKEA Sofia store in early June, where the curated selection will be displayed for a limited period of time.

The students of the National Academy of Art, programmes “Industrial Design” and “Ceramics and Design of Porcelain and Glass” are challenged to rethink the functionality of everyday products, to look at materials and form from a different perspective, and to discover the potential for extending their lifespan or transforming them into art objects.
 The exhibition is part of an innovative project ‘Reforms: Creative Laboratory for Design’ in collaboration with IKEA Bulgaria, which integrates the topic of the circular economy into the NAA curriculum and points attention toward sustainable design.

Curator of the exhibition: Gergana Minkova
Organised and curated by: National Academy of Art in collaboration with IKEA Bulgaria

Working at the intersection of illustration, animation, and spatial practice, Sebastian Curi translates his distinctly graphic language into an immersive environment that unfolds across the architecture of the space. His practice is defined by a tension between immediacy and control where bold colour fields, rhythmic linework, and exaggerated figuration construct a visual vocabulary that is both accessible and psychologically charged. At L44, these elements are recontextualised as spatial gestures, activating the site through scale, repetition, and movement. The exhibition examines how a digitally native aesthetic can be rearticulated within a physical setting, inviting viewers into a perceptual field that is at once playful and disorienting.

Organised and curated by: L44

It brings together books that are rarely seen in one place. Today, we perceive the children’s book as a natural companion in growing up, but it has not always held this role. The collection reveals a range of approaches, styles, and periods in illustration, offering a perspective on the book as a visual and cultural object that is constantly evolving.

Organised and curated by: Illustration Station

Organised and produced by the Bucharest-based Local Design Circle, the platform brings together a new selection of works that expand the poster beyond its conventional function into the realm of a medium positioned between communication, authorship, and critical reflection.

Presented as a newly curated body of work, the exhibition foregrounds the poster as a site of inquiry, where graphic design operates simultaneously as cultural commentary and visual experimentation. This year’s selection is made after an open call in March and April, and reflects a broad spectrum of positions within the region, tracing shared concerns around identity, transition, and the shifting conditions of image-making today.

For its Sofia premiere, the project is contextualised through a curatorial framework that emphasizes dialogue between local and transnational perspectives, analogue traditions and digital processes, individual expression and collective narratives. The festival’s hosts – Studio Komplekt – join the jury for this year’s edition, contributing to the selection and framing of works within the broader programme of the European Design Festival.

As a central exhibition, AndNowEast situates the evolving language of the Eastern European poster within a wider international discourse, reaffirming its relevance as a critical and living medium.

Curated by: Local Design Circle

Curated and organised by Studio Komplekt as host of the 2026 edition, in consultation with the international jury of the awards, the exhibition brings together works across spatial design, illustration, branding, packaging, promotional design, editorial and publishing, typography, and digital media.

As part of a landmark international event for the city and expected to welcome over 400 guests from across Europe, the exhibition seeks to render visible the pervasive yet often overlooked role of communication design in everyday life. From urban wayfinding systems and typographic choices to mobile interfaces, packaging, and printed matter, design continuously shapes how information is perceived, navigated, and understood. By bringing together exemplary European practices, the exhibition constructs a shared visual field that is at once educational and experiential.

Through its accessible and public format, the exhibition fosters visual literacy and encourages a more informed and critical engagement with the designed environment. In doing so, it not only highlights the richness and diversity of contemporary communication design, but also frames it as a cultural force that informs behaviour, perception, and collective experience.