This year, the London Design Festival celebrates creativity, innovation, and the transformative potential of design in addressing societal challenges and enriching our daily lives. The diversity and dynamism of the global design community and London’s central role as a hub of creativity will be highlighted.

The eleven “Design Districts,” each with their unique character, are once again an important part of the festival—from Bankside to the Shoreditch Design Triangle and the William Morris Design Line. While sustainability, artificial intelligence, and inclusion continue to be central themes, “the concept of play has emerged as a growing global trend within the creative industry.” Whether it’s exploring play as an activity, experimenting with materials, or integrating a sense of play into cutting-edge technologies, designers demonstrate how we can creatively engage with new concepts that enrich our lives and environment.

The program, designed to highlight creative clusters on-site, includes installations and museum exhibitions, a design fair, and a thought leadership program that brings together creative leaders to research solutions for global problems. Outstanding contributions to design are recognized through the “London Design Medals,” and the partnership program allows a range of design companies, emerging designers, recent graduates, NGOs, and small businesses to participate in the program.

The “Major Partner,” Johnnie Walker, will present a Landmark Project and a design innovation focusing on craftsmanship and luxury. A special Landmark Project, created in collaboration with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), is the modular system “Vert” for greening and cooling urban spaces, developed by Munich-based industrial design office Diez Office and the Frankfurt city greening specialists from the Office for Micro Climate Cultivation (OMC°C). The construction, made from American red oak plywood, consists of wooden frames in triangular shapes, covered with biodegradable nets and planted with 20 different species of annual plants. This creates a living ecosystem that enriches local biodiversity, serves as a habitat for insects, aesthetically enhances urban spaces, and provides a cooling shade area for relaxation. “Vert” will be presented in the courtyard of the Chelsea School of Art.

With the installation “Duo” Turkish designer and artist Melek Zeynep Bulut explores duality and interaction; Power Out of Restriction (POoR Collective), established to support young people and facilitate their access to the design industry, will create an installation with the Battersea Power Station for the new district on the Thames riverside.

The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) will also provoke thought through exhibitions and installations. Among others, the “SIM” project, created with Syrian refugees, examines the relationship between smartphones, belonging, and migration. The presentations are complemented by performances, workshops, installations, music, and much more.

For the tenth time, the V&A hosts the “Global Design Forum,” a curated thought leadership program of the festival. Keynote contributions from over 60 speakers will cover responses to conflicts and disasters; communication of cultural heritage; what it means to be human; design through a non-human lens; creating resilient, healthy, green cities; and redefining the role of designers. Last but not least, the design fair “Material Matters” featuring fifty exhibitors, provides meeting points for everyone interested in design, new products, and current trends.