NYCxDESIGN organizes moments throughout the year for designers to showcase and highlight their work through concentrated celebrations that activate the five boroughs with design. Year-round, NYCxDESIGN amplifies the voices of New York City designers through The Magazine, the first edition of which features dozens of contributions from NYC designers, as well as NYCxDESIGN’s new podcast hosted by Debbie Millman entitled The Mic. These platforms highlight NYC’s most creative minds and provide ongoing opportunities for the creative community through Open Calls. In 2021, NYCxDESIGN launched The Breakout Grant, focusing on entrepreneurship in independent design. The grant seeks to fund independent designers or design businesses that embody the entrepreneurial, creative, and innovative spirit of NYC, with a foundational commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability.

NYCxDESIGN’s Steering Committee is comprised of representatives from New York City’s top design schools, museums, cultural institutions, membership organizations, city entities, and districts. These members act as NYCxDESIGN brand advocates, community influencers, event organizers, and programming partners.

NYCxDESIGN was first established in 2012 as a City Council initiative to convene and promote the design industry in New York. City organizations including NYC & Company and NYCEDC managed the “design week” for six years, growing it into one of the leading design festivals in the world alongside Milan, Paris, and London. The annual festival originated in the month of May to leverage the success of long-standing design events in NYC including ICFF and WantedDesign. Over the past eight years, new anchor events have been established to celebrate design week including Design Pavilion, the NYCxDESIGN Student Showcase, and NYCxDESIGN Awards. In 2019, the City of New York transitioned management of NYCxDESIGN to SANDOW, a company deeply rooted in design, to strengthen and grow the program. In November 2020, after assessment by SANDOW and several members of the NYCxDESIGN Steering Committee, it was determined that NYCxDESIGN should transition to a not-for-profit entity to best serve our community. The transition positions the organization for long-term success supporting NYC’s design community.

NYCxDESIGN’s internationally renowned Annual Design Festival, established in 2013, showcases the immense talent and diversity of the city’s designers, makers, and manufacturers, along with cutting-edge design businesses and districts, and world-class cultural and academic design institutions. The Festival attracts 300,000+ national and international visitors to the city, generating significant economic activity across the boroughs with hundreds of events about design and innovation, creativity, culture, inclusivity, sustainability, and resiliency.

The NYCxDESIGN Festival returns on May 10-20, 2022 for its tenth anniversary edition. The Festival will encompass renowned trade shows including WantedDesign and ICFF, as well as immersive public design experiences like Design Pavilion, and hundreds of additional partner events across the five boroughs of New York City. These once-a-year events attract thousands of national and international visitors to the city, making for the perfect opportunity for the creative industry to unite. The most recent Festival in November 2021 included 120 events across the five boroughs with 263 participating organizations, earning a significant media reach of over 590 million.

Learn more about the Festival here.

We invite all members of the design community to organize a design event between May 10-20, 2022, as part of the tenth anniversary edition of the NYCxDESIGN Festival. Group exhibitions, open studios, public installations, panels, virtual events, and more are welcome to be part of New York City’s official celebration of design. Learn about event hosting opportunities here.

NYCxDESIGN welcomes all residents and visitors (domestic and international) to experience the Festival. Most events are free to enter. Ticketed events are managed by host/organizing venues. Before attending, check the listing and details for each event you’re interested in.