What Design Can Do, Amsterdam | The Design Village
Campaigns & Communication
Project Background
What Design Can Do (WDCD) is a global platform based in Amsterdam that champions the role of design in driving social and environmental justice. Since 2011, WDCD has hosted international festivals to spotlight creative changemakers and design-led solutions for systemic issues.
In 2025, WDCD landed in India for the first time—bringing its live event format to Delhi, one of South Asia’s most dynamic and complex cities. The Design Village was invited to design the exhibition and merchandise experience, in partnership with them C4SD led the conceptualisation and production.
Our challenge was to create an experience that honored WDCD’s global identity while being deeply rooted in the Indian context—without compromising on material sustainability, circularity, or storytelling power.
Design and curation of the exhibition and merchandise for WDCD Live Delhi with The Design Village. Crafting a sustainable, reusable, and contextually grounded experience that embodied the festival’s vision of a fair and regenerative future.
Objectives
To localize a global design festival in the context of Delhi’s urban fabric
To build a zero-waste spatial experience and design collaterals that are adaptable and modular
To communicate stories of climate action and justice through clear, visual, and material language
Key Features Delivered
Design and execution of a modular exhibition system
Curation of content flow, spatial storytelling, and zone-wise layout
Development of eco-conscious merchandise rooted in use, visibility, and low waste
Communication design including signage, collateral, and environmental graphics
End-to-end material sourcing, vendor coordination, and site readiness
Integration of WDCD’s visual identity within local material, language, and color cues
Our Approach
Immersion & Mapping
Conducted site visits and mapping to understand flow, constraints, and energy of the chosen space
Developed technical layouts using AutoCAD and created renders to visualize zones and interactions
Defined thematic zones to guide audience journey, provoke reflection, and inspire action
Sustainable Exhibition Design
Created a fully reusable and adaptable exhibition system using low-impact materials
Designed structures that could be dismantled and reconfigured for future WDCD editions across geographies
Prioritized minimal material use, low-energy fabrication, and easy setup-teardown workflows
Narrative & Visual Storytelling
Co-curated exhibit content with WDCD and TDV to align with global themes: climate justice, gender, equity, circularity
Designed visual language that translated complex ideas into intuitive, bold, and accessible messaging
Prototyped and produced limited-edition merchandise rooted in reuse, identity, and purpose
Execution & Rollout
Coordinated sourcing, fabrication, on-site assembly, and team workflows
Supported in vendor and stakeholder management to ensure timely delivery and quality
Deployed design team on-ground to manage live install and adapt to real-time needs
Results
Delivered a high-impact exhibition that reflected WDCD’s global values through a distinctly Indian lens
Created a scalable, circular exhibit model that can be reused without reconstruction or material waste
Developed merchandise and collateral that acted as everyday reminders of design’s power for good
Strengthened the ecosystem between global design organizations and Indian academic/social design networks
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