A calendar of the world’s best design events in 2017, from Minneapolis to Bratislava

With the price of airfares dropping, 2017 may be the year to search for creative inspiration beyond your city. For veteran or jaded conference goers, challenge yourself to step outside your usual creative circuit and head to a new destination to learn skills, encounter new ideas and meet people. Sometimes attending a forum that’s not entirely about your specialization can be revelatory too, offering a fuller picture of the various interdisciplinary forces that shape design.

By Anne Quito9 min readUpdated July 20, 2022

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And if you’re short on funds or vacation days this year, many events offer a free livestream or video archive of presentations. Universities, museums, embassies and local bookstores also often offer free design events throughout the year.

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January

Creative Mornings

Worldwide

Jan 6 through Dec 30

Start the work day with a shot of inspiration through this community-led breakfast series featuring local artists and visiting geniuses. This year, 158 cities—from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Vilnius, Lithuania—are convening Creative Morning events. Every 90-minute session (typically from 8:30–10 am) spotlights one speaker and includes a breakfast spread.

DLD17

Munich, Germany

Jan 15–17

Networking is a big part of this jam-packed conference organized by the German media company Herbert Burda. This year, 150 speakers from the world of design, art, science, politics, and start-ups are slated to give brief presentations at the DLD (Design Life Digital) conference in Munich. One must submit an application or be invited to attend. DLD is also convening in New York City in May.

Maison & Objet

Paris, France

Jan 20–24; Sept 8–12

This semi-annual interior trade fair is a mecca for fans of European furniture and product design. January’s program explores the theme of “silence” and includes an intriguing conference about creating a “haven from the roaring crash of words and images.” To enter the fair, you must prove that you’re a professional designer or student from an accredited school working in interior design or fashion.

February

Interaction 17

New York City, US

Feb 3–8

Screens, virtual reality, user experience, and usability will be the hot topics in this weeklong gathering organized by the US-based Interaction Design Association. Presenters from Google $GOOGL, IBM $IBM, Facebook $META, Microsoft $MSFT, Netflix $NFLX and LinkedIn will share the spotlight with independent designers, and researchers and professors.

Off Grid 17

Auckland, Christchurch, Brisbane, Sydney, Wellington

Feb 16–21

A design conference for those who can’t stand windowless conference rooms. Attendees will hop through five cities to ruminate on billboards, buttons, way-finding systems in this adventurous ”unconference” convened by the Society for Experiential Graphic Design and the Designers Institute of New Zealand. “Happenings” are planned in each location but participants are encouraged go on side adventures, which organizers say will enrich the conversations.

OFFSET Dublin

Dublin, Ireland

Feb 17–19

Graphic design, photography, animation, illustration, fashion, film, and industrial design are represented in this well-curated and comparatively affordable conference. A bonus for architecture lovers: OFFSET will be held in a theater designed by the World Trade Center’s architect Daniel Libeskind.

March

Design Indaba Conference

Cape Town, South Africa

March 1–3

Design Indaba is the largest creative industry event held in Africa. This year Senegalese fashion designer and Beyonce favorite Selly Raby Kane will serve as guest creative director for the 22-year old conference. Main stage presentations will be simulcast in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Potchefstroom, Windhoek, Lagos, and Nairobi. AirBnB’s co-founder Joe Gebbia and artist Olafur Eliasson are scheduled to speak.

SXSW

Austin, Texas

March 10–14

President Barack Obama was so inspired by South by Southwest’s format that he replicated it in the White House lawn last October. Brave the huge crowds and the litter of corporate-sponsored swag for the festival’s unique design track. This year’s schedule includes workshops on hand lettering, emoji design, data viz for presentations, and a talk on mixing architecture and hip-hop.

TEI

Yokohama, Japan

March 20–23

TEI (Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction) is for engineering-minded designers. Presenters will discuss various esoteric topics shaping the field of human-computer interaction in the beautiful port city of Yokohama. A workshop on “mechanical papercrafting design” promises to delight attendees.

April

Salone del Mobile Milano

Milan, Italy

April 4–9

With over 370,000 attendees and 2,500 exhibitors, Salon del Mobile is the world’s largest furniture showcase. Eye-popping exhibits and a circuit of design-themed event await visitors. Things can get overwhelming in the vast fair grounds—best to wear comfortable shoes and pause for gelato when things get too hectic.

Design for Next

Rome, Italy

April 12–14

Hosted by the Sapienza University of Rome, this provocative forum spotlights new research on design’s role in shaping business, technology, philosophy and culture.

TED

Vancouver, Canada

April 24–27

From the main stage talks, the artful configuration of viewing spaces, to the beautiful graphics in the venue, the D (for “design”) in TED is always worth watching out for. This year, TED hired Chee Pearlman as its design curator to invigorate the power gathering’s design program. Quartz will cover the conference with a special focus on design and architecture.

May

Pictoplasma Conference

Berlin, Germany

May 10–14

This “playground for collaborative creation” celebrates the best of character design art and animation. Gallery tours, workshops and inspired installations throughout the city.

By Design Conference

Bratislava, Slovakia

May 20

Slovakia’s premiere conference about creativity and entrepreneurship offers a refreshing detour from the usual design capitals. “There was nothing happening in central Europe at that time so we’ve decided to create our own conference…We also wanted to create a network between designers in Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Czech Republic,” explained design consultant Jakub Ptačin, one of By Design’s organizers. Industrial design legend Hartmut Esslinger and Barcelona’s Mucho studio are among this year’s presenters.

What Design Can Do

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

May 23–24

Like its name suggests, this conference is for social change-minded designers. Aside from the usual round of inspirational talks, What Design Can Do tackles one global challenge each year. Last year, it asked designers to think of creative solutions to address the refugee crisis in Europe. The United Nations and Ikea Foundation are among the conference’s partners.

The Design Conference

Brisbane, Australia

May 25–26

What began as a small university conference six years ago has evolved to a vibrant gathering for professional designers in Australia. An international roster of award-winning designers is expected to regale attendees with their latest projects.

TYPO Berlin

Berlin, Germany

May 25–27

Font lovers, type sophisticates and graphic design pros converge in Berlin for Europe’s largest design conference. Embracing the theme “Wanderlust,” TYPO Berlin 2017 will delve into creativity-enhancing career segues and challenge attendees to leave their comfort zones. This year’s program includes over 60 presenters in 5 different stages.

RGD Design Thinkers 2017

Vancouver, Canada

May 30–31

Convened by RGD, Canada’s association for registered graphic designers, this year’s conference spotlights design luminaries such as AirBnB’s VP of Design Alex Schleifer and book design savant Chip Kidd.

REDO Cumulus

Kolding, Denmark

May 31–June 1

The biannual conference aspires to ”playfully inspire, challenge and develop the role, relevance and scope of design, art and media.” Hosted by the Design School Kolding, the roster of speakers include politicians, researchers and professional designers. A “Design Dating” event is planned to pair like-minded attendees working in similar fields.

June

99U Conference

New York City, US

June 7–9

Don’t come to 99U seeking lofty ideas. This popular Adobe $ADBE-sponsored gathering is all about practical career advice, pep talks and useful resources to get designers out of that proverbial creative rut.

NeoCon

Chicago, Illinois, US

June 12–14

Fifty-thousand design professionals are expected at this massive furniture and interior design fair featuring hundreds of top design brands. NeoCon showcases the latest in office furniture, building materials, lighting, and textiles. Attendees can also choose from over 100 free seminars during the fair.

July

New York Times Cities for Tomorrow

New York City, US

July 10–11

This forum is for anyone interested in the design of cities and the urban environment. Among last year’s highlights was an illuminating presentation by architect Jeanne Gang about how design could help rebuild trust in communities.

August

IDSA International Design Conference

Atlanta, Georgia, US

Aug 16–19

Hear from legendary product designers, inventors and theorists in this annual gathering organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America. This year’s forum explore the rise of chief design officers in big corporations and design’s central role in shaping business strategy.

September

Brand New Conference

Chicago, Illinois, US

Sept 14–15

If you love logos, corporate branding or read the design blog Brand New, this is for you. A highlight every year are the custom-designed name badges, bags and banners that are laboriously handmade by the event’s husband-and-wife organizers Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit.

London Design Festival

London, England

Sept 16–24

This lively city-wide festival testifies to why London is one of the best cities for design. Expect hundreds of imaginative installations, parties and rare access to local studios during the 9-day program. Orient yourself with a visit to the festival’s hub at the Victoria & Albert Museum and don’t miss its stellar line-up of workshops.

October

AIGA Design Conference

Minneapolis, Minnesota, US

Oct 12–14

Thousands of graphic designers will gather in Prince’s hometown where design-centric companies like Target $TGT and 3M $MMM are headquartered. Expect to meet design heroes, eager design students and lots of design vendors in this long-standing forum.

World Design Summit

Montreal, Canada

Oct 16–25

This ambitious, multi-disciplinary forum tackles the oft-discussed theme ”how design can shape the future.” Designers, policy makers, NGO’s and entrepreneurs will be at the 10-day design immersion in Montreal.

Adobe MAX

Las Vegas, Nevada, US

Oct 16–20

Coders mingle with Hollywood filmmakers, photographers and musicians in this five-day production that testifies to how much Adobe’s software shapes the creative industry. Bonus: The afterparty usually rocks.

Core 77 Conference

Chicago, Illinois, US

Oct, TBD

Makers, engineers and product designers—many featured on the design blog Core77—will present their newest experiments in the two-day conference.

November

AA Women and Architecture in Context

London, England

Nov 2–7

This year’s lecture series marks the centenary of women’s admission to London’s Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1917. After the death of Zaha Hadid last March, the academic conference promises to be a timely occasion to explore new paths for female architects who are often edged out of their own profession.

December

An Event Apart

Denver, Colorado

Dec 11–13

Web design is the focus of this series founded by the ”king of web standards” Jeffrey Zeldman. Hands-on workshops and practical wisdom on UX, coding, and digital design await attendees.