London Design Festival is a citywide design event that takes place over nine days every September across

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It was conceived by Sir John Sorrell and Ben Evans CBE in 2003 and celebrated its 20^th edition in September 2022. In an article by

Wallpaper Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" (so t ...

, the festive chairman Sir John Sorrell stated, "We consciously founded the London Design Festival to be public spirited. Over the last 20 years, the Festival has had incredible depth of penetration and success in bringing people together and distilling new ideas.".

About

Th
Festival
is made up of over 400 events and exhibitions staged by over 300 partner organisations across the design spectrum and from around the world. The Festival also commissions and curates its own program of Landmark Projects, Projects at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

and Special Commissions throughout the city. The Festival annually attracts a direct audience of over 600,000 visitors from over 75 countries. On average over 2,000 design businesses participate each year including brands and universities. The Festival also has events including its though-leadership programme th
Global Design Forum
talks, keynotes, daily tours, and workshops. In 2019 it had 50 speakers from 18 countries and 2,800 visitors.

Landmark Projects

The Festival commissions and curates large-scale installations across the city in indoor and outdoor locations. The installations are developed and shown during the Festival, with many later being shown in other cities or locations in following months or years. Working with businesses and designers, previous Landmark Projects have include
Sclera
by

David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect. He is known for having designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D. ...

(2008), Endless Stair by Alex de Rijke (2013), The Smile by

Alison Brooks Architects Alison Brooks, (born 29 December 1962) is a Canadian-British architect. She is the founder and creative director of Alison Brooks Architects, based in London. Her awards include the RIBA Stirling Prize, Manser Medal, Stephen Lawrence Prize, an ...

(2016)
Medusa
by Tin Drum and Sou Foujimoto (2021), an
INTO SIGHT
by Sony Design (2022).

Location

Since 2009, the

has been the central hub for the London Design Festival, celebrating fourteen years of partnership in 2022. In 2022, twelve Design Districts across London participated -

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befor ...

, Brompton, Pimlico Road,

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

, King's Cross, Design District (

Greenwich Peninsula The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South London, South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the River Thames, Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, Park Royal, William Morris Design Line and

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. Other districts have participated in previous editions including Paddington Central,

West Kensington West Kensington, formerly North End, is an area in the ancient parish of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. It covers most of the London postal area of W14, includin ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, and Chelsea.

Awards

Each year a jury composed of established designers, industry commentators and previous winners choose recipients of The London Design Medals across four categories. Winners are chosen from a wide range of design disciplines and awarded for their contribution to their field. The London Design Medal categories include: * London Design Medal: The highest accolade bestowed upon an individual who has distinguished themselves within the industry and demonstrated consistent design excellence. * Design Innovation Medal: Celebrates entrepreneurship in all its forms, both locally and internationally. It honours an individual for whom design lies at the core of their development and success. * Emerging Talent Medal: Recognises an impact made on the design scene within five or so years of graduation. * Lifetime Achievement Medal: Honours a significant and fundamental contribution to the design industry over the course of a career. Festival Director Ben Evens stated “While there is no shortage of design awards, we wanted to do it differently. So we took the Nobel Prize route – there’s no shortlist, just a winner. So that means there’s no losers either.” The London Design Medal is designed each year by jewellery designe
Hannah Martin
The Medals feature a London bird, the Cockney Sparrow, in flight. Previous medal winners include

Don McCullin Sir Donald McCullin (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the underside of society, and hi ...

, Sandy Powell, Michael Wolf (graphic designer), Dame Vivienne Westwood,

Tom Dixon Tom or Tommy Dixon may refer to: *Tom Dixon (American football) (born 1961), American football player * Tom Dixon (catcher) (1906–1982), Negro league baseball catcher * Tom Dixon (pitcher) (born 1955), Major League Baseball pitcher * Tom Dixon (C ...

Neri Oxman Neri Oxman ( he, נרי אוקסמן; born February 6, 1976) is an American–Israeli designer and professor at the MIT Media Lab, where she led the Mediated Matter research group. She is known for art and architecture that combine design, b ...

Hussein Chalayan Hussein Chalayan, (; tr, Hüseyin Çağlayan ; born 12 August 1970) is a British-Cypriot fashion designer. He has won the British Designer of the Year twice (in 1999 and 2000) and was awarded the MBE in 2006. Chalayan is currently teaching a ...

Grace Wales Bonner Grace Wales Bonner (born 1990) is an English fashion designer, whose work "proposes a distinct notion of cultural luxury that infuses European heritage with an Afro Atlantic spirit".

, Eva Jiricna,

Es Devlin Esmeralda "Es" Devlin (; born 24 September 1971) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms. Early life Devlin was born in Kingston upon Thames, ...

Margaret Calvert Margaret Vivienne Calvert (born 1936) is a British typographer and graphic designer who, with colleague Jock Kinneir, designed many of the road signs used throughout the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies, and British Overseas Territories, as w ...

Sir David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect. He is known for having designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C ...

Kenneth Grange Sir Kenneth Henry Grange, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Chartered Society of Designers, PPCSD, Royal Designers for Industry, RDI (born 17 July 1929, London) is a British industrial designer, renowned for a wide range of designs for familiar, ...

, Bethan Laura Wood, Daan Roosegaard, ,

Marjan Van Aubel Marjan van Aubel (born in 1985) is a Dutch solar designer based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Education Van Aubel graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy with a BA DesignLAB in 2009, and in 2012 gained an MA in Design Products from the Royal ...

Nicolas Roope Nicolas Roope (born 26 February 1972 in Singapore, Singapore) is a British industrial and digital media designer and entrepreneur. Education and career Roope received Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, Sculpture from Liverpool John Moores Univer ...

Dieter Rams Dieter Rams (born 20 May 1932) is a German industrial designer and retired academic who is closely associated with the consumer products company Braun, the furniture company Vitsœ, and the functionalist school of industrial design. His unobtr ...

David Constantine David John Constantine (born 1944) is an English poet, author and translator. Background Born in Salford, Constantine read Modern Languages at Wadham College, Oxford, and was a Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford, until 2000, when he became ...

, Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh,

Vidal Sassoon Vidal Sassoon (17 January 1928 – 9 May 2012) was a British hairstylist, businessman, and philanthropist. He was noted for repopularising a simple, close-cut geometric hairstyle called the bob cut, worn by famous fashion designers including Ma ...

, Sir Ken Adam, Peter Saville,

Marc Newson Marc Andrew Newson CBE RDI (born 20 October 1963) is an industrial designer who works in aircraft cabin design, product design, furniture design, jewellery, and clothing. His style uses smooth geometric lines, translucency, strength, tran ...

, Sir Paul Smith, Dame

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

Thomas Heatherwick Thomas Alexander Heatherwick, (born 17 February 1970) is an English designer and the founder of London-based design practice Heatherwick Studio. He works with a team of around 200 architects, designers and makers from a studio and workshop in ...

Sir Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989 The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran ...

, and Ron Arad.

References

{{Reflist

Design Festival British design exhibitions Festivals established in 2003 Design events