London Design Festival

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London Design Festival
IndustryDesign
Founded2003
Headquarters
London, United Kingdom
ProductsFestival
Parent IDEA Operations Ltd.
Websitelondondesignfestival.com

London Design Festival is a citywide cultural event that takes place over nine days every September across London. It was founded by John Sorrell and Ben Evans in 2003 and will stage its 23rd edition from 13 to 21 September 2025. [1] [2] In an article by Wallpaper, the festival chairman 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." [3] [4] [5]

Contents

About

MultiPly by Waugh Thistleton Architects at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2018) Multiply-3.jpg
MultiPly by Waugh Thistleton Architects at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2018)

The inaugural edition of the London Design Festival took place from the 20 to 28 September 2003, where 90 speakers attended the festival across over 60 events. [7] Participation grew in 2017, as the audience was increased to 420,000 visitors. It increased again in 2019, attracting 600,000. [8] [9] [10] Over 2,000 design businesses participate each year, including brands and universities.[ citation needed ]

The Festival comprises over 400 events and exhibitions staged by over 300 partner organisations across the design spectrum and from around the world. [11] The Festival also commissions and curates its program of Landmark Projects, exhibitions and special projects at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and other commissions and events throughout the city. [12] [13] [14] [15]

The Festival also has events including its thought-leadership programme the Global Design Forum, [16] talks, keynotes, daily tours, and workshops. [17] [18] In 2019 it had 50 speakers from 18 countries and 2,800 visitors. [19]

Landmark Projects

The Smile designed by Alison Brooks (in collaboration with AHEC and Arup) at the Chelsea College of Arts (2016) London Design Festival, The Smile - geograph.org.uk - 5132997.jpg
The Smile designed by Alison Brooks (in collaboration with AHEC and Arup) at the Chelsea College of Arts (2016)

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 the following months or years. Working with businesses and designers, previous Landmark Projects have included Sclera by David Adjaye (2008), Endless Stair by Alex de Rijke (2013), [20] The Smile by Alison Brooks Architects (2016), [21] [22] Medusa by Tin Drum and Sou Fujimoto (2021), [23] INTO SIGHT by Sony Design (2022), and Sabine Marcelis's swivelling stone chairs on St Giles Square (2022). [24] [25] [26] [13] [27] [28]

Location

Placard for the festival at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2024) London Design Festival at the V&A 2024 - 1.jpg
Placard for the festival at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2024)
In Praise of Shadows at the Victoria and Albert Museum curated by Jane Withers (2009) In Praise of Shadows at the V&A.JPG
In Praise of Shadows at the Victoria and Albert Museum curated by Jane Withers (2009)

Since 2009, the Victoria and Albert Museum has been the central hub for the London Design Festival, celebrating fourteen years of partnership in 2022. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] It has been called the "true epicentre" of the festival. [35] [36] Museum director Tristram Hunt said that the "London Design Festival occupies a vital role in London's thriving design sector, reaffirming London's position as one of the world's leading global design capitals." [37] [38] Ben Evans, the festival's director said "I still have to pinch myself that they let us come and play in their museum". [39]

In 2022, twelve Design Districts across London participated – Bankside, Brompton, Pimlico Road, Clerkenwell, King's Cross, Design District (Greenwich Peninsula), Mayfair, Shoreditch, Islington, Park Royal, William Morris Design Line and Southwark. Other districts have participated in previous editions including Paddington Central, West Kensington, Marylebone, and Chelsea.[ citation needed ]

Awards

2018 Medallists: Hussein Chalayan, Eva Jiricna, and Grace Wales Bonner flanked by London Design Festival Co-founders Sir John Sorrell (left) and Ben Evans (right). Not pictured: Neri Oxman LDFMedals.jpg
2018 Medallists: Hussein Chalayan, Eva Jiricna, and Grace Wales Bonner flanked by London Design Festival Co-founders Sir John Sorrell (left) and Ben Evans (right). Not pictured: Neri Oxman
2015 Medallists: Marjan Van Aubel, Ken Adam, Barber Osgerby, Will Crawford and Peter Brewin British Land Celebration of Design Winners 2015.png
2015 Medallists: Marjan Van Aubel, Ken Adam, Barber Osgerby, Will Crawford and Peter Brewin

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. [40] [41]

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." [42]

The London Design Medal is designed each year by jewellery designer Hannah Martin. [43] The Medals feature a London bird, the Cockney Sparrow, in flight. [44]

The London Design Medal categories

Previous medal winners

See also

References

  1. ↑ "London Design Festival". London Design Festival. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  2. ↑ "Contemporary design takes center stage at London Design Festival 2025". Hube magazine. 16 September 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  3. ↑ Bertoli, Rosa (7 August 2022). "London Design Festival 2022: design highlights from across the city". Wallpaper . Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "First look at London Design Festival 2022". Design Week . 30 June 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  5. ↑ W. D. (23 June 1860). "Sorrel and sir John Fenwick" . Notes and Queries. s2-IX (234): 486–487. doi:10.1093/nq/s2-ix.234.486d. ISSN   1471-6941.
  6. ↑ "MultiPly – Display at · V&A". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  7. ↑ "LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL EDM (Early Day Motion)1749: tabled on 15 October 2003". UK Parliament . 15 October 2003.
  8. ↑ "London Design Festival". DRS. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  9. ↑ Hughes, Amy (16 September 2022). "What to expect at London Design Festival 2022". London Planner. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "About". London Design Festival. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  11. ↑ "Supporting London design | LGOV". www.london.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "Installations at the 2022 London Design Festival Explore Materiality, Movement and Light". ArchDaily. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  13. 1 2 "London Design Festival: Affinity in Autonomy". Sony . 26 August 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "London Design Festival 2024 – Festival at V&A South Kensington · V&A". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  15. ↑ "Why you're about to fall in love with Japanese design all over again". ELLE Decoration. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  16. ↑ "Global Design Forum". London Design Festival. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  17. ↑ Sharma, Anushka (8 October 2024). "Resilience, response and pluralism in design: a look at GDF's 2024 programme". Stirworld. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  18. ↑ "LDF's Global Design Forum returns to provoke debate in 2022". Dezeen . 16 September 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Global Design Forum programme announced". Surfaces International. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  20. ↑ "Movie with Alex de Rijke of dRMM architects on Endless Stair". Dezeen . 21 September 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "The Smile / Alison Brooks Architects". ArchDaily. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "The Smile by Alison Brooks". London Design Festival. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  23. ↑ Myers, Lynne (20 September 2021). "Sou Fujimoto creates immersive virtual experience at London Design Festival 2021". Designboom . Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  24. ↑ Finney, Alice (19 September 2022). "Swivel by Sabine Marcelis is a rotating chair installation in London". Dezeen . Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  25. ↑ Bertoli, Rosa (7 August 2022). "London Design Festival 2022: design highlights from across the city". Wallpaper . Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  26. ↑ Dixon, Eva (6 September 2022). "Sony continues LDF partnership to deliver an emotive, life-sized installation". Verge Magazine. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  27. ↑ "Affinity in Autonomy, Prince Consort Gallery". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  28. ↑ Finney, Alice (14 September 2022). "Ten must-see installations at London Design Festival 2022". Dezeen . Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  29. ↑ "In Praise of Shadows at The V&A". Dezeen. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  30. ↑ "London Design Festival". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  31. ↑ "Programme 2024 – V&A". London Design Festival. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  32. ↑ Bamford, Abbey (15 September 2023). "Inside the V&A's London Design Festival programme". Design Week . Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  33. ↑ "Affinity in Autonomy by Sony Design, Prince Consort Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum". London Design Festival. September 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  34. ↑ "Craft x Tech Tohoku Project, Prince Consort Gallery, V&A South Kensington". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  35. ↑ Zilli, Enrico (17 September 2019). "LDF2019: 7 installations pushing design boundaries at V&A". ArchiPanic. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  36. ↑ "Diverse forms of expression take centre-stage at the V&A". London Design Festival. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  37. ↑ Dex, Robert (22 May 2018). "A multi-level maze will be built in the V&A for London Design Festival". Evening Standard . Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  38. ↑ "Make it together: London Design Festival". Brummell. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  39. ↑ Treggiden, Katie (5 October 2018). "LDF18: 10 Years at the V&A and Other Stories". Design Milk. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  40. ↑ "Sandy Powell and Joycelyn Longdon among winners of 2022 London Design Medals". Dezeen. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  41. ↑ "London Design Medals". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  42. ↑ Evans, Ben. "British Land Celebration of Design". Archived from the original on 17 March 2016.
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 "London Design Festival 2013 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  44. ↑ "London Design Festival Medals". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  45. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2015 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  46. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2016 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  47. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2023 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  48. 1 2 3 4 Paghdar, Bansari (9 September 2025). "Spanning creative spectrums, LDF reveals winners of the 2025 London Design Medals". Stir World. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  49. 1 2 3 4 "Norman Foster among medal winners at London Design Festival 2025". Archinect. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  50. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2020 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  51. 1 2 "London Design Festival 2011 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  52. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2019 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  53. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2018 Medal Winners". London Design Festival. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  54. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2014 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  55. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2017 Medal Winners". London Design Festival. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  56. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2024 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  57. 1 2 3 4 "Winners of 2024 London Design Medals announced". Euronews . 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  58. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2021 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  59. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2012 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  60. ↑ "Norman Foster: 'My best building is not a building'". www.thetimes.com. 8 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  61. ↑ "London Design Festival 2007 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  62. ↑ "London Design Festival 2010 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  63. 1 2 3 4 "London Design Festival 2022 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  64. ↑ Jeffries, Stuart (19 September 2022). "War photographer Don McCullin: 'Wherever I go, there seems to be violence and death'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  65. ↑ "London Design Festival 2008 Medal Winners". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  66. ↑ "London Design Festival 2009 Medal Winner". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
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