Our Germany studio, together with WPP agencies AKQA, Scholz & Friends Identify, OH-SO Digital and Landor, recently hosted the WPPxAgencies Berlin Design Week 2025 with the bold theme: Sense the Uncommon — Where creative minds challenge the ordinary.

Hosted at the WPP Berlin campus and opened by Dr. Percy Smend (CCO, WPP Germany) and Jan Mirus (Berlin Design Week), the event brought together clients, prospective partners, design enthusiasts, and other key stakeholders. The full-day event featured a dynamic programme of thought-provoking panel talks, hands-on studio sessions, and an unforgettable networking party with top-tier live music act, ÄTNA.

Programme highlights and panel talks include:

From Strong Design to Strong Design Brand

Hosted by Philipp Mühlebach (ECD, Northern Europe, Design Bridge and Partners) with Simone Lüling (Director, ELOA Unique Lights) and David Wendt (Co-Founder and CEO, OBJEKTE UNSERER TAGE) this session explored the journey of turning an idea or product into a recognisable and successful design brand, highlighting the challenges and creative strategic processes involved.

How to Find Uniqueness in the Age of AI

Led by Vincent Kyas (Managing Director, Design Bridge and Partners Germany), with Inga Bohn (Head of Brand & Customer Centricity, Amorelie), Thomas Zuchtriegl (CEO, Effekt-Etage) and Max Penk (Creative Innovation Director, David+Martin), the discussion tackled the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence, challenging attendees to reimagine what makes ideas truly unique in a tech-driven world. The panel explored how brands can leverage this new technology and deal with “Al-Fomo” as well as shape identities that not only stand out but deeply resonate.

The 7th Sense: How Instinct Shapes Uncommon Ideas

This talk highlighted the often-overlooked role of instinct in breakthrough thinking. Intuition isn’t often magic — it’s a deeply rooted sense.

In the panel “The 7th Sense” Melanie Neuer (Head of Strategy and Communications, WPP Germany), Anne Papenfuß (Business Development and Communications Director, Design Bridge and Partners), Pia Gerhardt (Managing Director, Scholz & Friends Identify), Felix Rompis (Managing Director, AKQA Germany) and Morris Spors (Director Design, OH-SO Digital) discussed how gut feeling and experience lead to ideas that break the rules and capture attention. How does the uncommon emerge when we stop over-planning and start trusting? Amid creative tension, bold decisions, and genuine “aha” moments, this conversation revealed what it truly means to Sense the Uncommon.

Other Panel Talks hosted by Berlin Design Week:

• Design City Berlin: Always Talent, Never Champion?
• Materials4Future: Circular Materials for Designers
• Circular Materials: When Innovation Meets Reality

How Brands Emotionally Motivate People, Design Bridge and Partners Studio Session

An engaging session hosted by Maria-Michaela Tonn (Creative Director) and Dominik Minte (Executive Strategy Director) focusing on emotions and human-centred design strategies.

In this interactive session, attendees discovered the power of emotional motives and how to address them through relevant, distinct and authentic brand experiences to truly move people. Design Bridge and Partners demonstrated how brands can uncover and realise emotional promises that activate, inspire and motivate the audiences that matter to them.

We explored how brands can bring this promise to life not only visually but in multisensory design that really resonates with people and sticks with them. Drawing on insights from psychology and behavioural economics, the session provided practical tools for building holistic brand experiences with magnetic appeal and lasting impact.

As day turned to night, the celebration continued with a lively evening party, offering guests the chance to network, unwind and enjoy a fantastic live performance by German live act Ätna (BMG Music via Scholz & Friends Sounds) — the perfect close to a day of bold ideas and boundary-pushing conversations.

Key Takeaways from the event:

Creative instinct remains a powerful driver in a data-led world.

While data, metrics, and algorithms continue to shape much of today’s creative process, the event reinforced the enduring value of human intuition. Panelists and speakers emphasized that instinct ⎼ that unquantifiable spark of insight ⎼ is often what leads to truly original and impactful ideas. Especially in an era flooded with predictable, data-driven content, trusting creative gut-feeling is more important than ever.

Emotional connection is the future of brand engagement.

Brands that resonate emotionally stand out. Across the panel talks and studio sessions, speakers explored how empathy, storytelling, and sensory design create lasting bonds between brands and people. Emotional branding was highlighted as a strategic imperative, not just a creative choice ⎼ it’s how brands earn loyalty, spark action, and build community.

AI is a tool ⎼ but originality still depends on human insight.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionising how we work, from idea generation to execution. But throughout the discussions, one theme was clear: while AI can accelerate processes and inspire, it cannot replace human creativity. The ability to craft unique narratives, make bold decisions, and bring cultural context to ideas is still ⎼ and will remain ⎼ distinctly human. The most powerful creative outcomes will come from a synergy between smart tools and even smarter people.

The event left attendees inspired to see design differently and reaffirmed WPP’s role in shaping the future of creativity.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make #SenseTheUncommon an unforgettable part of Berlin Design Week 2025.