Standing at the intersection of design, dialogue, and world script culture, the partnership between DIVE'25 and GRANSHAN was a key moment in the emerging debate on the social and cultural potential of typography. In Munich, DIVE'25 was a lively forum for debate on how design can be a force for change across a range of disciplines, from politics and economics to education and ecology.
DIVE'25: Design as a Force for Change
Over 80 keynote and impulse speakers, more than 15 panel debates, and a diverse lineup of stage interviews, workshops, and roundtables - DIVE'25 brought together top actors from the design economy, government, academe, and the private sector. The platform provided a channel for interdisciplinary dialogue and alignment where actors were not invited as much as commanded to work and co-create together.
DIVE'25 debates focused on the transformative, social, ecological, and cultural value of design. It was a platform for best-practice case studies, visionary concepts, and real-world applications - all culminating in design as a force to shape sustainable and inclusive futures. The conference was able to bring the power of design to life, inviting stakeholders to engage with pressing societal questions through a design lens.
GRANSHAN's Contribution: Typography as Cultural Dialogue
With this, GRANSHAN's participation brought a necessary typographic element into the event. As an international forum dedicated to typeface beyond Latin design and script diversity, GRANSHAN's inclusion emphasized the international, multilingual, and intercultural nature of communication design.
The GRANSHAN delegation was highly active in the conference debates, contributing to the debate on how type and script can represent, sustain, and provide strength to cultural identities. In panels and dialogue with other design professionals, the GRANSHAN delegation emphasized inclusive typographic practice in educational and digital environments.
The GRANSHAN Exhibition at DIVE'25
One of the standout features of the partnership was the GRANSHAN Exhibition, showcased at the DIVE'25 venue. The exhibition featured a specially selected assortment of multiscript and beyond Latin typefaces to commemorate global script communities and typographic innovation.
The series was GRANSHAN's follow-up to its initiative to advance intercultural awareness through typography and to foreground the rich diversity of the world's writing systems. It also most fittingly contributed to DIVE'25's initiative to showcase how design, in all its forms, can impact and spur social change.
By placing script diversity in the broader context of design social responsibility, GRANSHAN positioned typography as not a niche concern but an inherent part of how we make and share meaning.
GRANSHAN at DIVE'25 made clear that writing systems are not just functional objects but essential tools of identity, belonging, and cultural continuity.
