Format.
Rotterdam.
Twelve talks on how design is shaped. One room, 400 seats, Friday 14 and Saturday 15 May 2027 in the Maassilo.
Buy a ticket, 390 eurosOne room.
One talk.
400
Format is a two-day conference about how design is shaped: by paper sizes, file formats, budgets and the length of a talk. It takes place on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 May 2027 in the Maassilo, a 1910 grain silo on the Maashaven quay in Rotterdam. There are 400 seats and a single room. One speaker is on stage at a time, so nobody chooses between tracks and everyone hears the same twelve talks, six on Friday and six on Saturday. A ticket for both days costs 390 euros.
MaraFriday 14 May. Why every poster is A2
Mara, print designer. She traces how the A-series, a ratio of 1 to 1.414, decides what gets made before anyone sketches. Her talk walks through one poster folded down from A0 to A6.
JoostFriday 14 May. The file that outlived the studio
Joost, type engineer. What happens to a design when its file format disappears, told through three fonts and one lost archive.
YukiFriday 14 May. Ninety seconds on a stage
Yuki, motion designer. How the length of a talk, a film or a loop shapes what can be said in it.
TomasFriday 14 May. Signs for a port city
Tomas, wayfinding designer. Cranes, container stacks and quay numbers: reading a harbour as one large typographic system.
IlseFriday 14 May. A grid you can fold
Ilse, book designer. Proportion in the printed programme, from margins to the fold, and why a good grid feels like relief.
KofiFriday 14 May. Rebuilding after the fact
Kofi, architect. Rotterdam was rebuilt after 1940. What the city teaches about designing for what nobody has seen yet.
AnoukSaturday 15 May. Colour out of the printer
Anouk, colour specialist. Why a flat orange looks different on screen, on newsprint and on the side of a silo.
BramSaturday 15 May. Concrete has a grain
Bram, materials researcher. Surface, texture and formwork: how a material remembers the shape it was poured into.
SelinSaturday 15 May. Interfaces at arm's length
Selin, product designer. Sizes and distances in screens, from the phone in a hand to a display in a hall.
DamiSaturday 15 May. The badge, the stub, the lanyard
Dami, identity designer. Small printed objects that carry a whole event, and the rules they follow without telling anyone.
PieterSaturday 15 May. Drawing for the machine
Pieter, illustrator. Working with plotters, risographs and cutters, where the tool sets the line.
LotteSaturday 15 May. What we keep, what we crop
Lotte, art director. Cropping as the most common act of design, and the closing talk of the weekend.
Each day runs on a clock
Same rhythm on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 May. One room, one talk at a time, six talks a day, so nobody has to choose between two stages. Open a stage to see its times.
Doors
Doors open at 09:00 at the Maassilo, Maashaven quay. Collect your lanyard badge and programme, find a seat among the 400 and take a coffee before the first talk at 10:00.
Talks
Three talks from 10:00 to 12:45, a break, then three more from 14:30 to 17:30. Each talk has its own title and its own slot. No parallel tracks.
Lunch
Lunch from 12:45 to 14:30, included in the ticket. Take it in the silo or out on the quay if the May light holds.
Evening
From 18:30 the room stays open for drinks and food. Friday ends at 22:00. On Saturday the evening follows the closing talk and runs until late.
400 seats
One room. Once they are gone, they are gone.
The ticket covers Friday 14 and Saturday 15 May 2027 in the Maassilo: all twelve talks, lunch on both days, the evenings, your lanyard badge and the printed programme.
Before you ask
Where is it?
In the Maassilo, a 1910 grain silo on the Maashaven quay in Rotterdam. Raw concrete, brick and one room with 400 seats.
How do I get there?
Take the metro to Maashaven, then walk five minutes along the quay. Rotterdam Centraal is a short ride away. Doors open at the times listed in the schedule.
Can I buy a ticket for one day?
No. There is one ticket, 390 euros, and it covers both days: Friday 14 and Saturday 15 May 2027.
Can I get a refund?
If you cannot come, write to us and we will take the ticket back while seats remain on sale. Once the conference starts we cannot refund.
What language are the talks in?
All twelve talks are given in English.
Is food included?
Yes. Lunch on both days and the evenings are part of the ticket. Tell us about allergies when you buy.
Can I pass my ticket to someone else?
Yes. Send us the new name before the first day and we will print a new lanyard badge.