NYCxDESIGN 2026: 12 can’t-miss picks from New York City’s annual festival of design
Photo courtesy of NYCxDesign
Each spring, the spotlight returns to New York City as a major hub for global design. The 2026 NYCxDESIGN Festival runs from May 14 to May 20, drawing over 163,000 industry pros, brands, designers, creators, and lovers of interior design from all corners of the world and from the city’s own vibrant design scene. Anchored by iconic trade fairs and exhibitions like ICFF and WANTED, a full calendar of tours, talks, and product debuts will be happening throughout the five boroughs. The festival offers a sneak peek at tomorrow’s design trends and provides a chance to discover new talent in the worlds of furniture, lighting, textiles, and objects. Read on for a guide to this year’s top design fair picks.
New York City is an influential design destination, as well as being home to the world’s largest concentration of creatives per capita. The not-for-profit umbrella organization NYCxDESIGN plays an important role in promoting the success of the city’s diverse creative design community. The annual festival brings together the very people who embody their creative energy.
In addition to the mega-fairs, the annual Festival offers low-key cocktail events and sunset gatherings city-wide. International brand stores and local studios hold open-to-the-public events. Important cultural issues are the focus of panel discussions and workshops. Visit the Festival website for a complete calendar.
1. ICFF and WANTED design fairs
ICFF NYC
North America’s top platform for contemporary furnishing design welcomes the international design world to New York City as the global entry point for international brands. Attendants at the ICFF 2025 fair included over 3,000 architecture and interior design firms. The fair takes place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from May 17-19. This year’s theme is “Common Ground: A Global Dialogue on Design and Shared Values.”
WANTED
The WANTED fair-within-a-fair at ICFF celebrates the best of new design, and what’s on the horizon. This curated showcase for innovative work includes Look Book, the best of North American design, Launch Pad, celebrating international emerging talent, and the Schools Showcase and Schools Workshop, introducing student work.
2. NYCxDESIGN opening party
The official kickoff of the 2026 Festival happens May 14 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at HALO 28 in Downtown Manhattan. Meet the city’s design community and visitors, view large-scale installations by kinetic sculptor BREAKFAST, and enjoy the culinary offerings of Pinch Food Design and beverages from Massican Wines and Fort Hamilton Distillery.
3. Soho Design Night
Showrooms, stores, and studios city-wide will stay open late to offer cocktails and conversation; open studios offer a rare look behind the scenes with designers and artisans. Soho Design Night (May 15 from 6 p.m.-9 p.m.) is a collaboration of showrooms and galleries in the South of Houston Street downtown design Mecca. Participating brands will showcase product launches, design collections, and more. Participants include Roll & Hill, FLOS, Bang & Olufsen, Nordic Knots, Orior, Petra Hardware, and many more.
4. Creative Week
Creative Week features workshops and portfolio reviews, designed to foster discussion, reflection, and connection in the advertising and design industries as well as celebrate the best work of the past year by way of three internationally acclaimed award shows, The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, and the Young Ones Student Awards. There are also educational industry programs for everyone, from newbies to creative executives. Highlights include a client pitch competition and student portfolio reviews (bring your best work and get some feedback from top industry pros).
5. Tour: Dwelling and placemaking in Brownsville
City and local stakeholders, including affordable housing architect Mark Ginsberg, will host an open house and lead a tour that covers over six decades of public and affordable housing design and development on Brownsville’s Livonia Avenue, with an emphasis on connectivity and a collaborative, community-driven process for creating public spaces through streetscape design.
6. New York Sign Museum tour
Professional design association AIGA NY has teamed up with Noble Signs and the New York Sign Museum for a special behind-the-scenes tour of this working sign studio and historic collection, from rescued storefront signage to contemporary fabrication. Participants will explore both the museum’s impressive collection and Noble Signs’ active production floor.
7. Atlantic Avenue Day of Design
Running through the picturesque neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill, Atlantic Avenue possesses an especially high concentration of designers. On May 16 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., step inside any of the avenue’s chic shops to find standout products, art, and design. Spend an afternoon exploring the finest in jewelry, furniture, fragrance, apparel, lighting, ceramics, art, vintage items, and more. Start by checking in at the HQ at Hoyt Street and Atlantic Avenue from 12-3 p.m. for giveaways and guides.
8. Shopping: FAD Market and Brooklyn Made
FAD Market’s annual NYCxDESIGN pop-up takes place May 16–17 at St. Paul Hall in Cobble Hill. You’ll find the work of over 60 emerging designers, including home furnishings, tableware, apparel, jewelry, and more, framed by an 1838 architectural landmark.
Join Brooklyn Made at Industry City on May 16 from 1-4 p.m. to take a break at the immersive Oasiq lounge’s nature-inspired furniture in a curated outdoor seating area, and discover exclusive creations of Brooklyn Made’s Tokyo collab with Taisho University.
9. Rooftop Celebration for Award-Winning Landscape Architecture
Join ASLA-NY on May 14 from 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. in celebration of the 2026 Landscape Architecture Design Award Winners, along with food, drink, and conversation on the A&D Building’s 12th-floor rooftop. The event happens rain or shine (there’s an indoor showroom).
10. Design school tours for high school students
From May 15 to May 20, from 4 p.m.–5 p.m., NYCxDESIGN invites design-minded NYC high school students to tour the city’s top design colleges and get an up-close view of students’ annual exhibitions. Explore inspiring student offerings at Pratt, Parsons, FIT, NYSID, NYIT, and Cornell Tech; it’s a great way to experience the creativity of the schools shaping the next generation of designers.
11. DUMBO Design Day
On May 20, DUMBO Design Day will present over 25 events, including studios, insider tours, book talks, and exhibitions across the neighborhood’s famous design district. Highlights include an Art in DUMBO Tour featuring Yixuan Wu, Christopher Paul Jord, Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong, and Zander Schlacter, and open showrooms and studios from Fishs Eddy, Bliss Lau, Photoville and many more. The festivities will conclude with the Dumbo Design Day Closing Party from 6-9 p.m. at Superfine.
12. Future of Design Conference
There’s no doubt that AI will impact the future of design. On May 16 from 12-8 p.m. The Future of Design Conference will bring together designers, artists, founders, technologists, and students to explore and discuss the impact an AI-native world will have on design. Presenters include Vibescape Corp, Somya Gupta Events, Black Style Matters, Visionbrew Interactive, and Sanders Studios NYC.
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