Events
Set the Agenda - Spring 2025
Vicky Stoakes
Communications Director
Spring has officially sprung, meteorologically speaking. It’s not just about longer days and warmer weather - it’s a season of fresh ideas, new perspectives, and a packed calendar of design events that make it the perfect time to get out and get inspired. From the sun-soaked energy of OFFF Barcelona to the creative buzz of D&AD Festival and the global innovation showcase at SXSW, there’s no shortage of opportunities to immerse yourself in the best of design.
What does your spring look like?
My Life in Design podcast – March (live recording on 12 March)
Our podcast is back this spring and our first guest is Kwame Taylor-Hayford, the current D&AD President and Co-Founder of NYC agency Kin. Excitingly, the podcast is not only in collaboration with D&AD, but host Claire (our founder) is doing a live recording with Kwame at The Working Assembly’s gorgeous NYC studio on March 12. If you’re around, grab a ticket and join us for the recording, drinks, nibbles and some great design networking!
Following Kwame, nine more design legends will be sharing their stories with Claire, watch this space!
Tickets for the live recording in NYC are FREE and limited – click here to grab your space >>> https://tickets.dandad.org/events/dandad/1591047
MEETING ROOM Presents – Brighton, UK, 20 March
As part of Brighton’s MEETING ROOM design community get together that takes place twice a year, our second ‘MEETING ROOM Presents!’ is coming with design super star guests Jim Sutherland of StudioSutherl& and Kate Dawkins of Kate Dawkins Studio.
MEETING ROOM Presents! is an opportunity for the wider design community, including students and young designers, to come together to hear from creative superstars, who will be sharing their thoughts on art, design, good practice and the role and impact of colour in their work.
Click here to find out more – tickets and student discounts.
MEETING ROOM is Brighton’s Design Gathering, planned, organised and managed by Dom Bailey, co-founder of Baxter & Bailey, and Red Setter’s Claire Blyth. Follow our socials to find out more.
OFFF Barcelona – 8-10 May
One of our favourite design events is OFFF Barcelona. A huge gathering of some of the world’s greatest and most visionary design talent sharing their stories in design, their work, their ideas and tackling some hot issues facing the industry right now. Alongside a lineup that includes Alex Center, Sibling Rivalry, Baxter & Bailey, COLLINS and Marina Willer of Pentagram, Claire will be hosting a live podcast recording of ‘My Life in Design’ with Marc Català, co-founder of design studio Mucho. We can’t wait for that (and to be in Barcelona!).
Grab your tickets here > https://www.offf-tickets.com
Northern Design Festival (Lancaster) - 15 – 17 May
Those Lancaster University design students (past and present) are continuing to build on last year’s inaugural event. Bigger and better, the event is fast becoming the North of England’s most exciting design event, bridging design students with all of the design industry in the UK. This year’s theme is ‘transparency’. We can’t wait to see the full line up but partners to this year’s event include D&AD, Typocircle, BBC Creative, DixonBaxi, Studio Sutherl& and more… including Red Setter. Hot off her OFFF Barcelona live recording, Claire will be bringing her podcast to the NDF and hosting a live recording here as well. Keep an eye out for more details by following @northerndesignfestival
Also shout outs to:
- SXSW (Austin, USA) – 7 – 15 March
- Culture and technology festival South by South West explores tech, film, music and design talks, exhibitions, product launches and screenings with over 450 discussions, keynotes, panels, seminars and workshops.
- D&AD Festival (London) – 21 – 22 May
- Festival for creative advertising and design based at London’s Southbank Centre.
- NYCxDesign (USA) – 16 to 23 May
- A festival across Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, including shows, talks, tours, exhibitions celebrating NYC as a hub for design.
