We Took Our Students to OFFF and Here’s What Happened

Design people know: OFFF weekend is sacred.

Every year, OFFF Barcelona transforms Barcelona into a global meeting point for creatives—a space where designers, artists, and studios come together not only to present their work, but to openly share how that work is conceived, developed, and refined.

This year, Harbour.Space was right there in the middle of it all. Not as spectators, but as active participants—bringing our students into an environment where inspiration is constant, conversations are direct, and creative energy is everywhere.

For three days, it wasn’t just about attending a festival. It was about stepping inside the creative industry as it unfolds in real time.

OFFF is not a typical design event and that distinction is exactly what makes it so relevant.

Hosted at the Disseny Hub Barcelona, the festival brings together some of the most influential voices in contemporary design, from world-renowned studios to emerging artists redefining visual culture.

What sets OFFF apart is its openness. Talks don’t simply showcase finished outcomes—they unpack the thinking behind them. Speakers discuss their workflows, uncertainties, failures, and the creative decisions that shaped their work. It’s a rare level of transparency in an industry often focused on polished results.

Across lectures, installations, and informal exchanges, OFFF becomes a living ecosystem of ideas. For students and professionals alike, it offers a clear, unfiltered perspective on where design is heading and what it demands from those who want to be part of it.

This year, we made a deliberate choice: our students shouldn’t just hear about OFFF, they should experience it firsthand.

We provided tickets to students and alumni interested in the field, particularly those within our Interaction Design program, allowing them to immerse themselves directly in the conversations and environments shaping the industry.

At OFFF, learning happens differently. It is not structured or contained within a syllabus, it is fluid, observational, and experiential. It happens by seeing how professionals think, how they present ideas, and how they engage with complexity in real time.

For many students, this meant discovering new creative languages, understanding industry expectations at a deeper level, and beginning to position themselves within a global design context.

These are the moments where education becomes tangible and where ambition becomes more defined.

Among the many experiences of the weekend, one moment stood out as especially meaningful for our community.

Our student Robin was selected from hundreds of applicants to have his work projected on the facade of the Disseny Hub Barcelona, one of the most visible and iconic stages of the festival.

Seeing his work displayed at that scale, in front of an international audience, was a powerful milestone. It reflects not only individual talent, but also the level of exploration and execution our students are reaching.

It is a reminder that they are not just preparing for the industry they are already contributing to it.

More about Robin’s project and journey is available in a dedicated article.

Another defining moment of the weekend was a private session with Pep Salazar, the director of OFFF Barcelona, organized exclusively for Harbour.Space.

In a more intimate setting, away from the main stage and public program, our students had the opportunity to engage directly with the person shaping the festival’s vision. The conversation went beyond formal presentation, it explored how OFFF has evolved over time, how creative industries are shifting, and what it takes to build and sustain a globally relevant platform for contemporary design.

Students were able to ask direct questions, challenge ideas, and gain insight into the realities behind large-scale creative programming. It was a rare opportunity to understand not just the outcome of a festival, but the thinking and decisions behind it.

Experiences like this are difficult to replicate, and they add a depth that goes far beyond passive attendance.

Yes, OFFF is inspiring but inspiration alone is never the point.

What matters most is what remains after the event ends: the references that stay with you, the conversations that continue to resonate, and the ideas that slowly reshape how you think about your own work.

For many of our students, the experience shifted perspective. It turned the abstract idea of “working in design” into something concrete, visible, attainable, and evolving.

They didn’t simply observe the industry; they experienced its pace, its expectations, and its creative intensity up close. And that kind of exposure has a lasting effect, influencing not only what they create next, but how they approach their future.

For Harbour.Space, OFFF Barcelona 2026 was more than a festival. It was a continuation of how we approach education: immersive, connected, and rooted in real-world experience.

From student participation to direct access to industry leaders, the weekend reinforced something we strongly believe in—that learning is most powerful when it is lived.

Safe to say… we’re already looking forward to next year.