Nine days of design in London
Author: CIM COM
Conceived by Sir John Sorrell and Ben Evans, the London Design Festival was first staged in 2003. Their big idea was “to create an annual event that would promote the city's creativity, drawing in the country's greatest thinkers, practitioners, retailers and educators to a deliver an unmissable celebration of design.” This year the festival takes place from 17 to 25 September all across London. It’s a great showcase event, inspiring creatives around the country.
Learn about the background to the event with this video.
London Design Festival at the V&A, 2012 from London Design Festival on Vimeo.
The design of the London Design Festival
Domenic Lippa of Pentagram has designed this year’s festival brand which embodies the concept: ‘Design is in the detail’. The branding places as much emphasis on the negative space between lettering as it does on the typography itself, to create playful and engaging new perspectives.
Take a look at how the festival design has evolved over the years.
Plan to get your design fix
The festival incorporates specially commissioned installations across the city, plus exhibitions, talks and workshops at the V&A, and partnership with design fairs like these.
| Date | Fair | Venue |
| 18-24 September 2016 | 100% Design the meeting place of business and design |
Olympia London |
| 18-21 September 2016 | Decorex International 2016 the exhibition for designers and architects |
Syon Park, London |
| 18-23 September 2016 | Focus/16 Experience design close-up |
Chelsea Harbour |
| 22-25 September 2016 | London Design Fair including Tent London Super brands London The showcase for countries, designers and brands |
Old Truman Brewery |
| 22-25 September 2016 | Designjunction The exhibition of interior design and culture |
King’s Cross |
Installations in 2016
This year the installations will include:
- Visionary Crazy Golf in Trafalgar Square with holes designed by designers, artists and architects, and funded by a kickstarter campaign.
- The Smile is an urban structure designed by Alison Brooks that can be explored and provides a different view of the city.
- Baboushka Boxes which can be sat in and inhabited, aim to address the issue of the housing crisis.
- Mini Living, supported by the Mini car brand, explores ‘third places’ that are neither home or work by morphing previously unused areas into personalised public spaces.
First ever London Design Biennale
During the festival the first ever London Design Biennale takes place with 36 installations from 36 countries to reflect the theme of ‘Utopia by design’. The UK will be represented by consultancy Barber and Osgerby. Installations from a raft of leading global museums and design organisations will be on display including Smithsonian Design Museum (USA), German Design Council, Moscow Design Museum (Russia), India Design Forum, The Japan Foundation, and Victoria and Albert Museum (UK). The biennale takes place at Somerset House in London for an inspiring tour of the world.
Find out more on the LDF2016 website.