Seven exhibitions that celebrate Australian-made design at Melbourne Design Week

Retrospectives of designers Trent Jansen and Volker Haug's work and 100 lights from emerging and established creatives across Australia were among the key exhibitions at Melbourne Design Week 2025.

As the largest design week in Australia, Melbourne Design Week this year highlighted local design talents that embraced a unique Australian cultural identity and its home-grown manufacturing.

Under the theme of "Design the World You Want", the ninth iteration of the festival invited both industry professionals and the public to create ideas that would create a better society for the future.

Read on for the seven key exhibitions from this year's Melbourne Design Week:

One month left to enter Dezeen and Bentley's Radical Renewal Competition

There is just one month left to enter our Radical Renewal Competition, which invites bold proposals to revitalise historic buildings while preserving their heritage. Enter now before the contest closes on 25 June.

Announced earlier this month, Dezeen and Bentley have teamed up to launch a global contest that invites architects and designers to propose future-facing ideas that thoughtfully update historic buildings.

Through the design contest, Dezeen and Bentley aim to discover innovative proposals that adapt existing architecture for the future, blending innovation and progress with respect for the past.

Contest calls for ideas to modernise historic buildings

Contestants are tasked with selecting a...

TV show Severance informs "theatrical" restaurant interior in Brisbane by JAR Office

Australian firm JAR Office has designed Central – a pared-back Cantonese restaurant and all-night venue in Brisbane that was modelled on the uncanny sets of television show Severance.

Set in Brisbane's central business district, Central is the brainchild of restaurateur David Flynn, who wanted a unique space for a city lacking late-night dining options.

Rather than opting for a familiar take on traditional Cantonese restaurant interiors, JAR Office founder Jared Webb drew on unusual references, including theatres and corporate office spaces, for the interior of the basement eatery.

"We created a modern expression of Cantonese culture...

UNREAL CHARACTERS 2025

Niall McLaughlin, Mariam Issoufou and Caroline Till revealed as Dezeen Awards 2025 judges

Architects Niall McLaughlin and Mariam Issoufou and designers Caroline Till, Dina Nur Satti and Tom Gozney have joined this year's judging panel for Dezeen Awards 2025.

Dezeen Awards, in partnership with Bentley, is the world's biggest awards programme across architecture, interior and design.

With only one day left until entries close, submit your projects by 23:59 London time tomorrow, 29 May, and have your work seen by our star-studded judging panel.

Read on to find out more about the leading industry professionals who will join this year's judging panel:

London-based architect McLaughlin, who founded...

DORCO

Founded in 1955 in South Korea, DORCO has become a global leader in the shaving industry, ranking 4th in worldwide market share for system razors as of 2024. Driven by its commitment to superior quality and perfect blade precision, DORCO made history in 2014 by developing the world's first seven-blade razor?proof of its competitive edge in the global market. Today, DORCO operates in more than 130 countries, leveraging both its proprietary brand and region-specific private labels. This project, in collaboration with PlusX, aims to showcase DORCO's innovative technology and 70-year legacy of authenticity in the global market, taking on new challenges...

OPTIKKA

FWA of the day 28 May 2025:

OPTIKKA

Project Link

OPTIKKA transforms design into intelligent, agent-driven systems—empowering brands to scale content creation, protect brand integrity, and accelerate revenue growth.

#FOTD #thefwa

Jordan Delcros Portfolio

I rebuilt my portfolio to showcase my top projects and highlight my skills in WebGL, animation, and interactive development to mark the start of my new journey as a freelance developer.

Amarie Gipson On The Reading Room, Houston’s Black Art and Culture Library

One of Amarie Gipson’s many gifts is an unyielding desire to ask questions. Having worked at institutions like The Contemporary Austin, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, Gipson has cultivated a practice of examining structures and pushing beyond their limitations. Her inquiries are incisive and rooted in a profound respect for people of all backgrounds, with a central goal of expanding art’s potential beyond museum walls.

A true polymath, Gipson is a writer, curator, DJ, and founder of The Reading Room, an independent reference library with more than 700 books devoted to Black art, culture, politics,...

4 Small Drawings