International Design Week 2027 · LINE — Call for Workshops, Institute of Design & Communication (idk), FH JOANNEUM Graz
FH JOANNEUM Graz / Austria
Proposals until November 30, 2026
We are thrilled to announce the 6th edition of the International Design Week at the Institute of Design & Communication, FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences in our UNESCO City of Design Graz. Following the success of our previous themes – The Prepper, mutate or mute, Design Science F®ictions, unCOMMON underGROUND and Post-Human Resources – we now explore the intricate layers of LINE.
Workshop Theme
LINE is one of the most fundamental elements of human expression and design. It can define or connect, guide or divide, measure or imagine. From drawing and typography to maps, sound waves, timelines, code, choreography, and moving images, the line shapes how we communicate, navigate, and make sense of the world. The International Design Week 2027 invites participants to explore the many dimensions of LINE across disciplines, media, and cultures.
We’ll ask: How can lines connect, divide, guide and transform? How can design rethink the line as more than a simple mark but as a boundary, a movement, a system, a signal or a story? How do lines shape the ways we organize, navigate and communicate?
With workshops, cross-media collaborations and international guests, this week will trace LINE across creative disciplines, technologies and cultures.
Join us to follow, cross, question and redraw the lines that structure our world. To explore what happens between points, across boundaries and along unexpected paths, and to imagine where new lines might lead.
We are looking for workshop proposals for 3.5-day workshops that combine diverse design approaches, cross-medial making and cross-disciplinary thinking — spanning graphic design, sound, video, illustration, 3D, game, web and hybrid practices. This year, first-year master’s students of Communication & Exhibition Design as well as Interaction, Media & Sound Design and second-year bachelor’s Information Design students will participate in their chosen workshop alongside bachelor’s and master’s students from our international partner network. Over three and a half days, workshops (with small groups of approx. 9–14 students) should provide focused input, experimentation and collaborative production, culminating in a public presentation of documentation and results on the fifth day.
Workshop Format and Requirements
Workshop Duration
All workshops are 3.5 days,
Monday afternoon, Tuesday – Thursday 9 am to 5 pm, final presentations take place on Friday.
Workshop Size
9 – 14 students per workshop.
Workshop Language
English.
Cross-Media Focus
Workshops should promote collaboration across design disciplines. Consider combinations like illustration x immersion, sound x spatial design, graphic x interactive experiences, or editorial x video storytelling.
Outcomes and outputs
Give students a clear picture of the used studio setting (teamwork, individual work, exercises, field trips…) and projected outcomes (learning to do X with method Y) and outputs of the workshop (e.g. create a 360° video with software X and add a sonic layer with software Y, …)
Hands-on Methodologies
Emphasize active participation, prototyping, and tangible outcomes. We aim to foster an immersive learning environment where students can experiment and apply their skills.
Theme Integration
Our workshop should creatively interpret the LINE theme exploring lines as marks, boundaries, connections, movements, systems, signals, or stories, and considering how they shape the ways we communicate, navigate, organize, and understand the world.
Inclusivity and Diversity
Workshops should be designed for fourth-semester bachelor’s students in Information Design as well as second-semester master’s students from the Communication, Exhibition, Interaction, Media and Sound Design programs. They should also be accessible to incoming students from our international partner university network. Please consider flexible and inclusive approaches that accommodate different levels of experience, disciplines, and cultural backgrounds.
Skill Pre-requirements & Tools
Since students participate from different disciplines and level of study, we expect our lecturers to clearly state the software/hardware tools being used in class and be open about alternative use of open source/free technologies as well as non-restrictive on prior knowledge.
Ready to follow a line, cross it, bend it or collaboratively draw entirely new ones? We welcome workshop proposals that challenge familiar paths and open up unexpected connections.
Workshop proposal and Conditions
We would kindly ask lecturers to submit a proposal for a 3.5-day workshop including the following per online form until November 30, 2026:
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Workshop title
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Applied design disciplines
(Which two or more design disciplines does your workshop combine and how?)
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Workshop concept and content
- — Alignment with the theme LINE (How does your topic align with the theme?)
- — Goals (What will participants achieve?)
- — Intended methods
- — Workshop setting (Describe the format i.e. teamwork, individual work, exercises, field trips)
- — Accessibility/Diversity (How will you ensure accessibility for the diverse experience levels, disciplines, and cultural backgrounds?)
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Projected learning outcomes
- — Learned design skills (What will students learn to do using which method?)
- — Hands-on result (What tangible output will they produce using which tool(s)?)
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Equipment, Software & Hardware
- — Primary tools
- — Open source/free alternatives (if needed)
- — Pre-requirements (Are there mandatory skills students must have? If yes, specify.)
- — Materials/Equipment/Facilities needed from idk
- — Materials/Equipment provided by lecturer
Participants are expected to obtain an Erasmus+ Teaching Staff (STA) mobility grant from their home institution (within Europe) to cover travel, living and accommodation expenses related to their participation in the event. All participants are expected to be onsite in Graz for the entire program (Monday morning to Friday afternoon).
Preliminary Program
Networking Morning with international guest lecturers and the team of idk
Available facilities
- Photo studio and video studio (green screen & lighting)
- Audio studio and recording booth
- Workshop (basic woodworking, soldering)
- Prototyping lab (laser cutter, 3D printer, embroidery machine)
- Print studio (plotter, risograph, vinyl cutter)
- Vision Space (3D projection, audio spatialisation, motion tracking)
- Media Centre (equipment rental: cameras, VR glasses, microcontroller kits...)
Accommodation
We recommend Hotel Daniel Graz, while guests may opt for accommodation of their choice. Hotel Daniel is located at the train station and near FH JOANNEUM (10 min walk). As FH JOANNEUM guest you will receive a special rate. More information will be provided with your acceptance.