Events
Set the agenda – Summer 2024
Vicky Stoakes
Communications DIrector
Long days, warm nights, ice-cream and cold beer. Holidays with warm seas and siestas. That’s summer (we hope!). But before you put your ‘out of office’ on, how about this awesome line up design events? It looks like the design industry is seriously spoiling you this June and July, so if you’re looking to expand your knowledge and spark your creativity, here’s our pick of what’s coming up.
Birmingham Design Festival – June 6-8
Now in its sixth year, the 2024 edition of the Birmingham Design Festival returns to a full festival format featuring over 80 speakers and 100 events across three days and multiple venues. The festival programme is split into four Design Districts focused on different strands: Graphic, Digital, Product and Illustration. The theme this year is ‘process’ so expect to hear brilliant insights from speakers including Jim Sutherland of Studio Sutherl&, Michael Johnson of Johnson Banks and Nick Eagleton of Saboteur who will also be sharing his life in design with Claire, in the first ever LIVE podcast recording of My Life in Design.
By Design Conference – Bratislava, 8 June
Stefan Sagmeister was a guest at the first By Design Conference ten years ago, and he’ll be back as one of their last. This marks 10 years of By Design Conference held in Bratislava, Slovakia. The theme? ‘How to end things’. We were there last year and thought it was excellent. Don’t miss this.
OFFF Vienna, June 14-15
After the huge success of OFFF Barcelona, OFFF is back with a comeback in Vienna. A two-day program featuring great speakers, local artists, and international design idols and agencies such as Craig Black, Found Studio, Mister Burton and more. Along with creative workshops, a market, and some extra surprises. June in Vienna? Yes please. But if you can’t make it, tune into to Craig Black’s interview with our founder Claire on the podcast My Life in Design (series 3, episode 5).
UK Creative Festival – Dreamland, Margate, 10-11 July
The UK Creative Festival is a two-day event taking place at Dreamland, Margate, celebrating the best of the UK creative industries. The festival with a line-up of speakers including Vicki Maguire CCO Havas and Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy, importantly also includes a careers fair (which is free to all young creatives). We’re big fans of the retro iconic Dreamland amusement park (which has a long history of working with amazing designers Hemingway Design, Studio Moross and wayfinding agency Spaceagency), so using it as a venue to celebrate future design is a perfect partnership.
New Designers – London, 26 June-6 July
And finally, a shout out to New Designers, the annual London showcase of the UK’s most innovative emerging design talent. Since its inception 39 years ago, New Designers has provided a platform for over 3,000 graduates every year to present their visionary ideas to industry professionals and the public. The event takes place over two weeks, with different disciplines highlighted each week from fashion, textiles, product design, illustration, and more. Good luck to all the new brand design graduates starting their careers this year.
