drupa has released a new brand and re-positioning for its next global appearance, which will take place at its spiritual home, the Messe Düsseldorf, from 9th to 17th May 2028. An initial glimpse of its conceptual and content-related repositioning, reveals an octopus as the central image – representing ‘networking, intelligence, agility, resilience and the simultaneous mastery of complex processes’ – alongside a new slogan: ‘drupa: dive into the unseen’.
Dr. Andreas Pleßke, drupa chairman, says: “drupa 2028 will be a drupa like never before. We are setting new standards in how technological developments, applications and markets are classified and brought together and this is something that is consistently reflected in the new brand identity.”
Urging visitors to ‘dive into the unseen’ aims to draw attention to developments whose significance often only becomes apparent in the overall context; for example, through the interaction of technologies, processes, and applications along the value chain. Pleßke adds: “It refers to a technological reality in which printing solutions are increasingly conceived as integrated systems, including sophisticated applications in the packaging environment. Processes are interlinked, workflows are networked, and efficiency is created through the interaction of hardware, software, materials, and automated applications.”
The slogan is said to stand for a solution-oriented classification of technological innovations, beyond individual products or short-term effects. Sabine Geldermann, director of drupa, portfolio print technologies, adds: “The slogan sums up what drupa stands for: vision, knowledge transfer, and orientation in an increasingly complex technological landscape. It underscores drupa’s claim and attitude of not presenting future topics and technological progress in isolation, but rather classifying them in a comprehensible way in the context of the market, application, and value creation.”
Against this backdrop, drupa 2028 will also introduce a new experience architecture for the first time. Content, applications, and formats for exchange, collaboration, and networking will be bundled along clearly defined thematic clusters. Messe Düsseldorf says this will make technological developments comprehensible and structured.
