Tasarımın üretime, ekonomik kalkınmaya, toplumsal gelişime, kültürel etkileşime ve bireylerin yaşam kalitesine olumlu etkisini vurgulamayı hedefleyen İstanbul Tasarım Bienali, kentsel tasarım (şehir ve bölge planlama), mimarlık, iç mimarlık, endüstriyel tasarım, grafik tasarım, moda ve tekstil tasarımı ve yeni medya tasarımı gibi başlıca tasarım mesleklerini ve bu mesleklerle ilişkili tüm yaratıcı alanları kapsamaktadır. Bu alanların tümüne ait üretimleri, yenilikçi fikirleri ve söylemleri ortaya koymayı ve toplumsal anlamda bir etkileşim sağlamayı hedeflemektedir.

With the aim of underlining the importance of design for production, economy, cultural interaction and quality of life, the Istanbul Design Biennial is open to all disciplines of the creative industries in major fields such as urban design, architecture, interior, industrial, graphic, new media and fashion design, as well as their subfields. The biennial aims to explore the products, creative ideas and discourses of the relevant fields and generate interactive relations within the society.

Turkey's growing role as an economic, political and cultural center has highlighted the importance of innovation and design and encouraged the development of creative industries, particularly in the multicultural metropolis of Istanbul. One of the Biennial’s primary objectives, therefore, is to celebrate this creative potential and share it with the international audience in the belief that diverse perspectives and the distinctive design discourse of Istanbul will enrich the global design culture.

The Istanbul Design Biennial primarily aims to raise public awareness with regards to "design" issues, to create a platform that supports the development of design and innovation policies and to support the constitution of a design archive on national and international scale. The biennial exhibitions aim to tackle global design problems by displaying various solutions and reveal the creative potential inherent in this area.

By displaying important examples both from Turkey and abroad, the Istanbul Design Biennial aims to discuss the notion of design and introduce different tendencies, movements and progressive thoughts to the audience. The biennial does not only intend to be an event that brings together a variety of activities lasting for two months, but also seeks to ensure long-term developments in social and cultural fields and to create an ongoing process with its yearlong activities.