IKEA x VIENNA DESIGN WEEK: OPEN CALL “FRAKTA – More than a Bag”

Order is half of life. Things arrive, remain, move on — and with them the question of how we organise our everyday lives. As part of their collaboration, IKEA and VIENNA DESIGN WEEK are turning their attention this time to an object that is both everyday and iconic, and accompanies many of us: the FRAKTA bag. With the open call “FRAKTA – More than a Bag”, the partners invite young designers to rethink FRAKTA. Not only as a means of transport, but as a flexible tool for order, structure and new uses in everyday life. The focus of IKEA’s contribution to VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2026 is on creative talents who develop surprising concepts, installations and functional solutions with and from FRAKTA.

Selected projects should demonstrate within the framework of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK how design can redefine order beyond conventional storage solutions. The submissions engage creatively with the FRAKTA bag, open up new perspectives on organising, and address different visitor groups. Ideally, the concepts invite interaction and make order tangible as something dynamic, personal or playful.

“FRAKTA – More than a Bag”

We all know the feeling: things accumulate, shift their place, escape order. Between living, working, storing and being on the move, there is often a lack of solutions that grow with our lives.
The FRAKTA bag symbolises movement, flexibility and pragmatism. But what happens after carrying? What can emerge if FRAKTA not only transports things, but helps to structure, organise and rethink them?

We are looking for ideas that show how FRAKTA can be:

  • transformed, expanded or combined
  • applied in different contexts: home, office, studio, basement, balcony or public space
  • used to make order emotionally, intuitively or playfully accessible
  • developed with sustainability, reuse and longevity in mind

FRAKTA thus becomes not a means to an end, but a starting point for new systems, rituals and ways of thinking about order in everyday life.

What we are not looking for:

  • FRAKTA fashion pieces (clothing, bags, etc.)
  • decorative alterations of the bag (painting, sticking, etc.)

We invite emerging artists, designers and architects — as individuals or groups — to apply for this collaboration. From May 4 to June 7, 2026, you can submit your ideas. Based on an initial concept, one winning project will be selected and realised as part of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK. In addition, 10 further submissions will be nominated by the jury and presented on site as concepts.

For the winning project, a production budget of up to €2,000 (incl. VAT) is available. The winner receives a prize of €5,000.
The 10 nominees will each receive €500.

The submitted materials serve the jury to determine the winning projects. The best concept/project will be realised by the winners within the framework of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK and exhibited in IKEA’s exhibition space at the festival headquarters. Applicants must upload the following materials in full by June 7, 2026, 23:50: https://forms.gle/JfVpj4TaVZrznAzs7

  • Concept and visualisation (sketch and possibly photo)
  • Description of the idea
  • Completed contact form
  • CV
  • Signed copyright declaration
  • Consent to publication

DOWNLOADS:
Open Call
Application form

Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 2026