Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], August 12: Design Democracy 2025, India’s leading stage for design, craft, and future thinking, will take place from 5–7 September at the HITEX Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad, bringing together over 120 leading brands, 80+ influential speakers, and an estimated 15,000+ visitors across three days of exhibitions, talks, installations, and curated experiences.
With a sharp focus on the future of Indian design, the festival will transform Hyderabad into the country’s creative epicenter, uniting professionals across architecture, interiors, product design, art, and visual culture.
A Panoramic Showcase of Indian Design Excellence
Design Democracy 2025 returns with a bold vision: to champion India’s evolving design identity on a global platform. The upcoming edition presents an expansive, cross-disciplinary showcase that spans furniture, lighting, flooring, home furnishings, kitchen & bath, décor accessories, and fine art, a celebration of innovation rooted in craft, culture, and storytelling.
With an emphasis on immersive storytelling, the festival introduces three distinct pavilions: Atelier, Canvas, and Muse, each a sensorial experience that dissolves the boundaries between craft, design, art, and culture. Participating names include Jaipur Rugs, The Charcoal Project, FAZO Project, Shailesh Rajput, AKFD + Anantaya, Within, Ravish Vohra Homes, Ek Kalakaar, and AMH Singapore, among others, each contributing to a larger narrative of India’s creative future.
“Hyderabad’s growth, both economic and architectural, makes it the ideal home for a contemporary design forum.”
— Shailja Patwari, Co-Founder
“Design is the silent language of beauty. It lifts a place beyond function, into feeling.”
— Pallika Sreewastav, Co-Founder
“Design Democracy is a platform created to engage with the design community through showcases, conversations, and collaborations. It is about building connections, between creators, users, and the larger ecosystem.”
— Arjun Rathi, Co-Founder & Curator
DD Talks: India’s Most Impactful Design Dialogue Platform
Taking place on September 5 & 6, DD Talks will host two days of dynamic talks, panels, and keynotes, with over 80 speakers addressing the urgent and inspirational themes shaping India’s design future, from climate resilience and circular economies to cultural storytelling and spatial equity. Expect powerful exchanges on sustainability, craft, innovation, and public space, led by visionaries like Reza Kabul, Pavitra Rajaram, Sussanne Khan, Supraja Rao, Chitra Vishwanath, Samuel Barclay, Akshat Bhatt, and others.
More than a conversation, DD Talks is where ideas meet action and design meets purpose.
DD Focus: On-the-Floor Dialogues with India’s Design Vanguard
DD Focus returns with its in-booth dialogues hosted directly within exhibitor spaces. These informal yet sharp exchanges bring to light behind-the-scenes stories, studio cultures, and material experiments, offering visitors authentic glimpses into the processes shaping the future of Indian design. Confirmed participants include Gowri Adappa, Swanzal Kak Kapoor, Kalyani Chawla, Ali Baldiwala, Sona Reddy, and many more.
The Big Reveal: 4 Cultural Showstoppers You’ll Only See at DD 2025
At the heart of Design Democracy 2025 lies a quartet of exhibitions that explore the evolving language of Indian design through materiality, memory, and imagination. These showcases go beyond aesthetics, they invite reflection, provoke questions, and reframe what design can mean in today’s India.
Museum of Telangana (MOT)
Curated by Supraja Rao (Design House)
Now in its third edition, this much-loved showcase returns with Stone and Shade, a poetic exploration of architecture rooted in India’s climate. Designers are challenged to reimagine shelter using stone, wood, and plant life, asking: Can a tree be a roof? Can architecture breathe?
Gallery of Sustainability
Co – Curated by Abin Chaudhuri & Snehashri Nandi (Abin Design Studio)
This thoughtful, future-facing exhibition brings together conscious design practices from across India. Through objects, spaces, and installations, it reflects on not just how we build, but why, exploring the designer’s role in shaping an ethical and resilient future.
Precious Objects
Curated by Farah Ahmed (FADD Studio)
In its debut edition, this intimate and immersive gallery celebrates objects that are not only beautiful but meaningful. Each piece tells a story of craftsmanship, emotion, and intention, inviting visitors to slow down, reflect, and connect with the quiet luxury of everyday things.
FLOW
Curated by Nuru Karim (Nudes)
More than an installation, this site-wide spatial intervention reimagines movement, pause, and transition within the exhibition itself. Blending structure with story, Nuru’s work invites visitors to experience space as a living narrative, where rhythm becomes architecture.
Beyond the Booths: A Multi-Sensory Journey Through Art, Light & Flavor
At Design Democracy 2025, the experience doesn’t stop at the design showcases, it spills into the walkways, walls, and even your plate. This year’s edition transforms the venue into a living canvas, with immersive public installations by Artcafe, Krsna Mehta, Leidenschaft, RM Homes, House of Katachi, Arjun Rathi Design, Cult of Collectibles, Padamkamal Bali Works, The Lune Living, Alfiya, and Varun Goyal, turning every corner into a moment of visual storytelling.
And just when you think you’ve seen it all, the Gourmet Zone invites you to taste design in action. Curated to celebrate Hyderabad’s rich culinary culture, expect experiential cafés, concept kitchens, and craft bars by the city’s most inventive culinary voices, making this a true feast for all the senses.
Powered by India’s Design Powerhouses
Design Democracy 2025 is backed by the country’s leading design visionaries. The Charcoal Project leads as Title Sponsor, joined by Beautiful Homes by Asian Paints as Platinum Sponsor. ANCA and Bondtite come on board as Gold Sponsors, with FIMA, Osum, Dimore, Tabu Veneers, MCI, and West Elm as Associate Sponsors, collectively infusing the festival with craft, innovation, and global design energy.
Why This Matters
Hyderabad has long been a city of heritage and entrepreneurship.
With Design Democracy 2025, it’s positioning itself as the creative capital of South India, attracting the country’s top design voices and audiences from across the globe. It’s not just a festival; it’s a statement about where Indian design is headed next.
About Design Democracy
Founded in 2023, Design Democracy is an annual event held in Hyderabad, focused on celebrating and shaping the landscape of Indian interior and architectural design. With each edition, it continues to bring together a diverse collective of product makers, brands and design professionals to engage in a dialogue about the future of design and craft-led innovation in India. The show presents the latest range of designs in furniture, home accessories, lighting design, surfaces and architectural materials from the country’s top studios and balances curation, commerce, and community-building in a format that is both accessible yet deeply considered.
To register, partner, or learn more, visit: https://designdemocracy.in/
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