Founded in 1990, the MAK Design Info Pool (DIP) is concerned with all aspects of contemporary design. As a part of the MAK's overall strategy it not only serves as communicator, clearance area, and research laboratory, it also constitutes a segment of the Museum's collection. The attempt is to lend the traditional collection an adequate virtual form beyond a mere assembly of physical objects for a better, contemporary access to various ideas.

An archive of contemporary Austrian design was established in the process of applied basic research. Its form and abundance of material make this design archive the only museum collection of its kind worldwide. Comprised of documentations of objects, portfolios, and publications of more than 800 Austrian designers, its spectrum ranges from classical industrial design to handcrafted product design, furniture and light design, textile design, fashion and jewelry, as well as fringe areas of architecture and art.

Alongside the scientific work and documentation, digital forms of design mediation have been applied since 1994 such as the design database on the Internet. Sponsored by the EU, new techniques for museum presentations as well as museum didactics are being developed in order to optimize the standards for assembling and visualizing information.