Confessions of a Designer: ICoD’s First Regional Meeting in Balkan Europe

For the first time, the International Council of Design (ICoD) brings its Regional Meeting to Balkan Europe, opening up a focused discussion on how design decisions are formed, who shapes them, and what defines their impact. Hosted within the European Design Festival 2026 in Sofia, the meeting introduces a structured framework for examining decision-making in design across regional and global contexts.

Under the theme Confessions of a Designer: Design, Decisions and Impact, the meeting addresses decision-making as a central component of design practice.

Decision-making is described as a process that is rarely unbiased and continuously evolving, influenced by knowledge, values, accountability, human sensitivity, artificial intelligence and institutional structures. The meeting sets out to examine how criteria for design decisions are established, who is responsible for them, and what factors shape them.

Participants are encouraged to reflect on their own approaches to design, acknowledging both the vulnerabilities and the agency involved in making decisions. Through shared perspectives, comparative mapping and dialogue, the meeting will explore how awareness—or blind spots—affect public life and tangible outcomes.

ICoD Regional Meetings function as platforms for members and stakeholders to address shared regional challenges while connecting these discussions with international perspectives across the organisation’s global network.

Programme Overview

Morning: Framing and decoding design decisions

The opening session introduces the theme and sets the context for the day, focusing on how design decisions are formed, informed and transformed within current geopolitical, economic and technological conditions, including the role of artificial intelligence in Balkan Europe.

Three keynote presentations will examine decision-making through the lenses of how, who and what shapes design choices. Each speaker will address their own perspective in relation to geopolitical, economic and technological (AI) disruptions.

The first Collective Mapping session presents findings from a pre-event survey, highlighting how regional cultural contexts, institutional frameworks and societal expectations influence design decisions across Balkan Europe. This session is followed by an open discussion with participants.

Afternoon: Global perspectives and decision practices

The second Collective Mapping session expands the discussion to global contexts, building on the earlier findings. It focuses on how decision-making evolves across different regions and examines the relationship between human intuition and machine learning, including the role of data and design ethics.

The plenary session brings together insights from both mapping sessions, focusing on awareness, inclusivity and transparency in design decision-making.

The meeting concludes with closing remarks from the ICoD President, summarising key points and outlining future directions for integrating decision-making awareness into design practice, education and leadership.

Event Details

Theme: Confessions of a Designer — Design, Decisions and Impact
Date: 11 June 2026
Location: National Palace of Culture (NKD), Sofia, Bulgaria
Part of: European Design Festival 2026

Participation

Participants are invited to actively contribute to this exchange through reflection, dialogue and shared perspectives on design decision-making.

Registration & Information

Register here
For further information: Events@theicod.org