OFFF Barcelona 2025: An Open Lab for the Creative Mind
The 25th anniversary edition of OFFF Barcelona has officially come to a close. Held from May 8 to 10, 2025, at Disseny Hub Barcelona— the heart of the city’s design district—the festival transformed the venue into a vibrant hub that brought together practitioners, thinkers, and creatives from around the world. This milestone event featured 70 speakers from diverse disciplines, including illustrators, graphic designers, digital artists, AI creators, directors, and representatives from global branding studios. With over 4,000 daily visitors at Disseny Hub and more than 6,000 participants engaged in the citywide “OFFF a la Ciutat” program, this iteration marked the most ambitious and impactful edition of OFFF to date.
The presence of big names such as DixonBaxi, Territory Studio, Marshmallow Laser Feast, Anna Ginsburg, FIELD, and Brosmind signified the festival’s commitment to forward-thinking, culturally-relevant programming. More than just showcasing work, the festival offered a rare insight into creative processes, strategic thinking, and adaptive approaches to surviving an ever-evolving industry.
DixonBaxi opened the festival with a special video exclusively created for OFFF’s 25th anniversary. Known for its bold yet minimal branding, this London-based agency showcased the same sharp visual language that has defined their work with global media platforms such as CW and Hulu. Meanwhile, Territory Studio followed with a cinematic deep dive into their iconic motion design projects, including Blade Runner 2049 and Avengers: Endgame. Their presentation offered an inside look at the studio’s design thinking and production workflows that bring futuristic worlds to life.
Pushing the boundaries and experimentation, Marshmallow Laser Feast invited audiences into an immersive, interdisciplinary experience that bridged science, art, and technology. Studio FIELD presented conceptually driven generative art projects, while Domestic Data Streamers demonstrated how data storytelling can birth educational and installation-based experiences.
One of the most talked-about sessions was a panel discussion featuring artists Boldtron, Ines Alpha, Paul Trillo, and Niceaunties, who explored the intersection of AI and creativity. Moderated by Creative Review, the conversation unpacked their varied approaches to character creation, virtual spaces, and data-driven animation. The panel delved into urgent questions, such as the complexities of originality, machine control, and the ethical dilemma that emerged from AI-generated art.
Outside the main program, OFFF provided abundant opportunities for experimentation and professional development. Leading creative companies such as Adobe, Procreate, Maxon, and Houdini offered live demos and technical workshops—reinforcing OFFF’s identity not just as an educational and inspiring event, but as a hands-on platform for skill-building and creative exploration. Simultaneously, the NXT platformed local design talent, with students from 12 local design schools presenting their graduation projects to an international audience. This showcase reaffirmed OFFF’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of creatives.
This year also marked the launch of OFFF’s new visual identity, crafted by COLLINS, the transformation studio based in San Francisco and New York. Designed to position OFFF as a gravitational center for diverse creative practices, the rebrand introduced a new logo, typography, and visual system that blends sophistication with youthful energy. COLLINS, whose portfolio includes Spotify, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and the San Francisco Symphony, brought its signature rigor into the redesign. The studio was recently named Agency of the Year by D&AD.
OFFF 2025 further expanded its reach by offering public programming beyond the festival’s main venue. Under the banner “OFFF a la ciutat”(translated to “OFFF for the City”), various activities were made accessible to the wider public without requiring a festival pass. The area surrounding Disseny Hub came alive through different initiatives, including La Plaça, a design market showcasing the work of local and international creators.
A standout feature this year was The Screen, a large-scale projection on the facade of Disseny Hub featuring curated works selected from an open call to the global OFFF community. Every night culminated in immersive public events that fused visual technology with music, creating an afterparty style experience in the public square. The visual curation of The Screen was led by director and experience designer Nathalie van Sasse van Ysselt.
Despite its expansive programming, OFFF always remained deeply anchored in its core themes: exploration, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the pursuit of new visual frontiers. These themes were resonant in talks by figures like Marina Willer and Samar Maakaroun of Pentagram London, who offered conceptual perspectives on identity design and the powerful role of visuals in shaping cultural narratives. Their work showcased the capacity of design to communicate meaning without compromising emotional or narrative depth.
At its heart, OFFF continues to be an open laboratory for creatives who are unafraid to take risks, embrace failure, and to take detours in their artistic journeys. It stands as a node—a dynamic meeting point where seemingly unrelated disciplines and ideas intersect, collide, and enrich one another.
